Turns out the lull in record releases following the Fourth of July weekend was just the calm before the storm.
The Roots have been taking hip-hop to the next level for years, with a focus on live music and a full band backing up rapper Black Thought onstage and in the studio. This week, they release The Tipping Point, an album that borrows its title from Malcolm Gladwell's 2000 book of the same name, which explains how trends "tip" and become mainstream sensations, spreading like viruses.
Bringing the funny to this week's batch of new releases is Adam Sandler with his newest comedic effort, Shhh ... Don't Tell, his first release since 1999's Stan and Judy's Kid, which featured the second installation of the "Chanukah Song."
The Polyphonic Spree's latest, Together We're Heavy, (a title that is both literal, weight-wise, and ironic, sound-wise) hits stores this week. Meanwhile, They Might Be Giants release The Spine, their eighth full-length studio album.
KRS-One is back after just a year between albums. He releasesKeep Right this week, the follow-up to 2003's D.I.G.I.T.A.L. Dancehall star Beenie Man takes it Back to Basics on his new LP.
Jimmy Buffett gets even more laid back this time around, but it's OK: He has the proper documentation to mellow out for a while. The "Margaritaville" singer is releasing License to Chill. Blues Traveler, on the other hand, get a little more active with their live disc, Live on the Rocks.
Some other notable releases this week include Lars Frederiksen & the Bastards' Viking, Widespread Panic's Über Cobra, Dr. John's N'Awlinz: Dis, Dat, or D'Udda, the Fiery Furnaces' Blueberry Boat, Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby's The New Mixes, Volume One and Sparta's Porcelain.
Honorable mentions for creativity this week ... For best band name/concept: the George W. Bush Singers with Songs in the Key of W, an album of songs based on the president's speeches. For best album title: the Texas Thieves with Killer on Craig's List.
A Perfect Murder - Unbroken (Victory) Ancient - Night Visit (Metal Blade) Joan Armatrading - Live! All the Way from America (SLG/Denon) Beenie Man - Back to Basics (Virgin) Regina Belle - Lazy Afternoon (Peak) Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow and Billy Drummond - The Lost Chords (ECM) Blues Traveler - Live on the Rocks (Sanctuary) Jimmy Buffett - License to Chill (RCA Nashville) C.AARMÉ - C.AARMÉ (Burning Heart) Candiria - What Doesn't Kill You (Type A) Carbon Leaf - Indian Summer (Vanguard) Cattle Decapitation - Humanure (Metal Blade) The Cinch - Shake If You Got It (Punk Rock Dirtnap) Darlington - Euthanize Me (Disaster) DJ Clever - Troubled Waters (Gigantic) Dr. John - N'Awlinz: Dis, Dat or D'udda (Blue Note) The F Ups - The F Ups (Capitol) Ricky Fanté - Rewind (Virgin) The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat (Sanctuary/ Rough Trade) Michael Franti - Songs From the Front Porch (Boo Boo Wax/ iMUSIC) Lars Frederiksen & the Bastards - Viking (Hellcat) Von Freeman - The Great Divide (Premonition/ Koch) Funeral for a Friend - Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation (Atlantic) The George W. Bush Singers - Songs in the Key of W (True Believer/Oglio) Otis Gibbs - One Day Our Whispers (Benchmark) Gioia - Expose This (Koch) Dave Grusin - Now Playing: Movie Themes (GRP) Guttermouth - Eat Your Face (Epitaph) Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen - Heavy Juice (Concord) Jesse Harris and the Ferdinandos - While the Music Lasts (Blue Thumb/ Verve) Ezekiel Honig - People Places and Things (Gigantic) Charlie Hunter Trio - Friends Seen and Unseen (Ropeadope/ Artemis) Incapacity - Ninth Order Extinct (Metal Blade) Indian Summer - Carbon Leaf (Vanguard) Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby - The New Mixes, Volume One (Concord) Klement Julienne - Panamerican (Dreyfus) Junior Jack - Trust It (Nettwerk America) Kool Keith & Kutmasta Kurt - Break U Off (Dmaft/ Oglio) KRS-One - Keep Right (Grit/ Inebriated Rhythm) Joe Maneri, Barre Phillips and Mat Maneri - Angles of Repose (ECM) Märtini Brös - Love the Machines (Poker Flat) Mutual Admiration Society - Mutual Admiration Society (Sugar Hill) Nanook of the North - The Täby Tapes (Hidden Agenda) Only Crime - To the Nines (Fat Wreck Chords) David Pack - Unborn (Oglio) Joshua Payne - Your Love, My Home (Blue Thumb) Guy Pearce - Soundtrack to "A Slipping-Down Life" (Koch/ Commotion) Amanda Perez - I Pray (Virgin) The Polyphonic Spree - Together We're Heavy (Hollywood) Rescue - Flamingo Minutes (Slowdance) Chris Richards - Tumblers & Grit (Lake Effect/ Emergent/ RED) Rogue Wave - Out of the Shadow (Sub Pop) The Roots - The Tipping Point (Geffen) The Roots of Orchis - Crooked Ceilings (Slowdance) The Saint - Grown Folk Music (Uncle Junior/ 7 Heads) Adam Sandler - Shhh ... Don't Tell (Warner Bros.) Nikola Sarcevic - Lock-Sport-Krock (Burning Heart) Sheetal - Love of Ages (Artemis) Snapper - The Connect (Thump) Sparta - Porcelain (Geffen) Steel Pulse - African Holocaust (Sanctuary/ Ras) Ken Stringfellow - Soft Commands (Yep Roc) Tack Fu - 85 Decibel Monks (Rosemary) The Texas Thieves - Killer on Craig's List (Dr. Strange) They Might Be Giants - The Spine (Idlewild/Rounder) The U.N. - U.N. or U Out (W.O.R.L.D./ 456) Voetsek - The Castrator Album (Six Weeks) The Waxwings - Let's Make Our Descent (Rainbow Quartz) Widespread Panic - Über Cobra (Sanctuary) Various artists - 2XH Vs. HHR Vol. 1: Where Is My Robotic Boot? (Hydra Head) Various artists - Confuse Yr Idols: A Tribute to Sonic Youth (Narnack) Various artists - Jimmy Martin: A Tribute to the King of Bluegrass Vol. 1 (Koch Nashville) Various artists - The Blackest Album 4 - An Industrial Tribute to Metallica (Cleopatra) Various artists - Tranquility: Music for Yoga & Meditation (Vanguard) Various artists - Soundtrack to "A Cinderella Story" (Hollywood) Various artists - Soundtrack to "My Architect" (Koch) DVD: "Latino Freak Show Volume 1" (Music Video Distributors) Faces - Five Guys Walk Into a Bar (Rhino) Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives (Interscope) Read: [article id="1488053"]"Hives Album Preview: Out Of The Garage, Into The Laboratory"[/article]
Ashlee Simpson – Autobiography (Geffen) Read: [article id="1489216"]"Ashlee Simpson: The Rock Sister"[/article]
Kevin Lyttle - Kevin Lyttle (Atlantic) Old 97s - Drag it Up (New West) Pearl Jam - Live at Benaroya Hall (Ten Club/BMG) Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Live (Vanguard Records) Marc Broussard - Carencro (Island) 
