JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #768.507.135!

The Mohawk Lodge - Wildfires (White Whale) :: Ugh.

Portico - Progeny Blues (Cooperspine) :: Had Kurt Cobain been born a woman, he would've stuck around to record this killer rock album.

Dana Gillespie - Weren't Born A Man (RCA) :: Too bad her record sales weren't as big as her tits.

Botch - America Nervoso (Hydra Head) :: But putting a pair on an album cover is still a good way to get my attention!

Mark Berube - What The River Gave The Boat (Kwalu) :: Why the reviewer gave the boot: Jobriath meets Tom Waits.

Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar) :: This is the absolute best cabaret angst record I've ever heard. It's the only cabaret angst record I've ever heard, but it's the absolute best.

SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Various Artists - Vee-Jay: The Definitive Collection (Shout! Factory) :: The hip record company that first introduced The Beatles to America over 50 years ago is back with this comprehensive 86-track compendium of everything essential that's absolutely worth hearing, from gospel and blues to soul and doo-wop with a hot load of rude rudimentary rock squirted deep in between for good measure. Some of the stellar standouts include: Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would," Pricilla Bowman's "Hands Off," Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too," Camille Howard's "Rock ‘n' Roll Mama," Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do," Christine Kittrell's "I'm A Woman," Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons' "Sherry," Betty Everett's "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)," Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love" and-my fave-the Honeycombs' "Have I The Right." With an all-star lineup like that, it goes without saying that this ecstatically eclectic four-disc box set is the perfect nonstop soundtrack for your next swingin' soirée, whether it's a soda-sippin' sweetheart sock hop or an oiled up orgy-a-go-go.

Be seeing you!