Steamboat Pilot & Today

Joey Cape, Tony Sly

"Acoustic"

Available at All That Jazz for $15.98

Sometimes I think they yell because they don't have much to say. And I imagine that behind all that distortion and volume, if I could listen to their guitars, I would realize that there wasn't much there.

Well, I actually never thought that about either Joey Cape or Tony Sly, about punk bands Lagwagon and No Use for a Name, respectively. But I still wondered what I'd discover when they took off the makeup, so to speak. In "Acoustic," they took out the acoustic guitars and presented an album that is a stripped down songwriter's showcase.

The album is a true collaboration. Sly wrote the first six tracks on the album, and Cape wrote the last six.

The phrase "good punk songwriter" might seem like an oxymoron, but there you have it. These are two good punk songwriters. With all the fuzz wiped away, this album is a nice chance to appreciate their lyrics, their guitar playing and their ability to harmonize and whisper what they usually shout.

Rated: They sound good naked.

Lagwagon

"Live in a Dive"

Available at All That Jazz for $15.98

Speaking of Lagwagon, if you're uber nerdy and listen to music on your computer (read: at work), this album opens with a video of the band's live performance followed by some disturbing footage of the band members in towels, sweating in the sauna, and answering questions from a ridiculous interviewer sitting on a toilet. And if you take this band seriously after watching that piece of trash, well, you're a true fan.

And if you are said uber nerd, listening to punk rock on your computer, you also will appreciate the liner notes (be they a bit violent) written in comic book form.

The album begins with Joey Cape stepping up to the microphone and thanking his fans for coming to hear his acoustic set. (See above.)

"You really must like me a lot," he said.

A mix of booing and applause comes from the audience. Cape plays a few bars of acoustic music, and then with a quick, "that wasn't so bad was it?" he plugs in and finishes a version of "Alien 8."

If you're like most Lagwagon fans, bless your little hearts, you'll be singing along as the band offers a concert of its most popular songs, recorded live at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

For a live album, this is hot. And, it concludes the Lagwagon binge that I began a couple of weeks ago with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

Rated: Moving on now.

The Streets

"a grand don't come for free"

Available at All That Jazz for $13.98

Is it bad to listen to an album just so you can make fun of British people? Maybe, but that's what I found myself doing as I worked my way (and it was work) through The Streets' "a grand don't come for free."

On the music stands, this is a hip-hop album, but in the headphones, it's more just some guy telling a story. No rhymes. More like someone reading a letter.

Someone who needs to learn how to read.

I liked the idea of an album that tells a story. Would you call it a rap opera? But the execution was a little hard for me to swallow. I found myself stumbling through this album, even as I recognized his references to nightlife and clumsy love. As I listened, to Skinner's unpretentious, often self-deprecating story, I wanted to like it, because I found myself liking him.

Rated: Alas, this Brit won't be getting my quid.

-- Autumn Phillips