NOISE

Ten albums we can't stop talking about:

Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (early 2007). Hopefully the title doesn't refer to the band's intriguing new lineup, featuring ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

Lucinda Williams, West (February 13). No one sings of love and life like Lucinda. Though this one's been a lo-o-o-ng time coming, and she may have previously worried "I Lost It," we're pretty darn confident she's still got it.

MF Doom & Ghostface, Swift & Changeable (February). They teamed up for the best cuts on DangerDoom's The Mouse & The Mask and Ghost's More Fish, so this full-on collabo should be ridiculous.

Air, Pocket Symphony (March 6). We've worn out our copy of Talkie Walkie drifting off to dreamland night after night, so this new set of down-tempo treats comes at just the right time.

Jesse Malin, Glitter in the Gutter (March 6). The former D Generation frontman spent quality studio time with Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and Jakob Dylan. Here's hoping his third full-length (nevertheless) retains all the New York grit and sidewalk swagger of his previous efforts.

The Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (March). No band's got a tougher mission in 2007: trying to top the decade's most acclaimed debut. First cut "Intervention" is appropriately epic—here's hoping they've got nine or 10 more like that stashed away.

Bright Eyes, Cassadaga (April 10). It's been two whole years since the Boy Wonder has released anything (sorry, Motion Sickness and Noise Floor don't count), so fans can expect, what? A triple album? A new, more poppy direction? A foray into emotional contentment?

Rilo Kiley, TBA (Spring). Love The Elected? Frightened of The Watson Twins? Consider the glass half full when Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett reunite for the follow-up to one of the best-reviewed albums of 2004 (that'd be More Adventurous).

Cannibal Ox, TBA (October). Reportedly, The RZA and Pete Rock will join El-P to produce this long-awaited follow-up to 2001's The Cold Vein, aka the decade's most indispensable hip-hop LP.

Radiohead, TBA (2007). Of late, we've become convinced Hail to the Thief is the most satisfying of all Radiohead discs. That epiphany, combined with the slew of promising new material debuted over the summer, has us expecting a world-changer this time out.

1. Eminem, "Superman" (The Eminem Show, 2002). Calling women hos, bitches and sluts? That’ll get you kicked out of the Justice League for sure.

2. Five For Fighting, "Superman (It’s Not Easy)" (America Town, 2000). A radio hit almost as conflicted and whiny as the characters on Smallville.

3. The Spin Doctors, "Jimmy Olsen’s Blues" (Pocket Full of Kryptonite, 1991). If singer Chris Barron could overcome vocal-cord paralysis, surely the young photog can overcome his jealousy of Clark Kent.

4. Jim Croce, "You Don’t Mess Around with Jim" (You Don’t Mess Around with Jim, 1972) A toe-tapping beat, a folksy twang and a stern warning: You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.

5. The Kinks, "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" (Low Budget, 1979) Sorry, Ray Davies, but Supes wouldn’t approve of all that smoking and self-loathing.

6. Donovan, "Sunshine Superman" (Sunshine Superman, 1966) Rainbows, velvet thrones, beaches at sunset ... whatever happened to outpowering locomotives and disarming nukes?

7. Brown Boy, "Superman" (Livin’ Shady, 2005) An R&B-crooning, self-proclaimed Man of Steel heroically advises against remaining in an abusive relationship.

8. R.E.M., "Superman" (Lifes Rich Pageant, 1986) "I know what’s happening," proclaims Mike Mills. "I can do anything." Meanwhile, back at the Planet ...

9. The Flaming Lips, "Waitin’ For a Superman" (The Soft Bulletin, 1999) ... the psychedelic indie-rockers offer a differing opinion: Sometimes things are too heavy for even Superman to lift.

THE ETTES


SHAKE THE DUST (3 1/2 stars)

And thus it was proven: Raw garage-punk can swagger without being grating. The debut album by The Ettes—Coco, Poni and Jem, if you’re nasty—is disarmingly straightforward, full of solid beats and no-frills attitude. What good is a permanent sneer when this LA trio proves even their slower songs can authentically pack twice the angst?

Honeycut
The Day I Turned to Glass (4 stars)

This beardo-techno/soul trio's first album brings slick beats and contagious grooves that grow on you like a fast-growing fungus, while addicting rhythms and fine electro-analog sequencing shows that there can be life after RJD2 and Aphex Twin.