Music

Whoever put together the Desperate Housewives soundtrack must’ve raided the 45 shelf in my living room while I was away at work: Martina McBride doing “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Sara Evans “One’s on the Way” (rockin’!), Anna Nalick (reportedly too young to be marrying somebody who can’t get it up) “Band of Gold,” Liz Phair “Mother’s Little Helper” (better than the Stones’), Indigo Girls “Mrs. Robinson” (better than the Lemonheads’), Gloria Estefan “Young Hearts Run Free” (better than her “Turn the Beat Around”), K.D. Lang “Dreams of the Everyday Housewife.” The latter sounds mannered and lethargic, like Lang cares less about Glen Campbell’s great ’68 hit than about presenting herself as “classy,” and his ’69 “Where’s the Playground Susie” would’ve pulled off the Ice Storm key-party/Updike Couples slime better anyway, and by this point the album’s underlying drag-queen aesthetic has begun to drag. But Shania’s new “Shoes” makes up for it. (She likes ’em! A girl can never have too many! But she ain’t got time for the flip-flop kind! Hey, leave John Kerry alone already.)

GARY ALLAN
Tough All Over
(MCA Nashville country album)
Stream “Nickajack Cave (Johnny Cash’s Redemption)” (Windows Media)
Stream “Tough All Over” (Windows Media)

TERRI CLARK
Life Goes On
(Mercury country-rock album)
Stream “Life Goes On” (Windows Media)
Stream “I Wish He’d Been Drinking Whiskey” (Windows Media)

LITTLE BIG TOWN
The Road to Here
(Equity Music dark country album)
Stream “Pontiac” (Windows Media)
Stream “Don’t Waste My Time” (Windows Media)

THE MIZELL BROTHERS
Mizell
(EMI/Blue Note ’70s jazz-funk reissue)
Stream “N.R. Time” (Windows Media)
Stream “Wind Parade” (Windows Media)

RUN-D.M.C.
King of Rock
(Arista/Legacy ’80s hip-hop reissue)
Stream “Rock the House” (Windows Media)
Stream “King of Rock” (Windows Media)

RUN-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
(Arista/Legacy ’80s hip-hop reissue)
Stream “Hard Times” (Windows Media)
Stream “Rock Box” (Windows Media)

TODD SNIDER
That Was Me: The Best of Todd Snider 1994-1998
(Hip-O alt-country singer-songwriter reissue)
Stream “Alright Guy” (Windows Media)
Stream “Trouble” (Windows Media)

JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON
A Real Mother for Ya
(Shout! Factory ’70s smooth-jazzed blues-funk reissue)
Stream “Real Mother for Ya” (Windows Media)
Stream “Nothing Left to be Desired” (Windows Media)

DENIECE WILLIAMS
This is Niecy
(Columbia/Legacy ’70s smooth-jazzed disco-flirting r&b reissue)
Stream “Cause You Love Me Baby”
Stream “If You Don’t Believe” (Windows Media Player)

CHITLIN BLUES
(Empire Southern soul compilation)
Stream “(Various Songs)” (Windows Media Player)

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY
(Columbia/Legacy Hollywood working-woman-pop TV-soundtrack compilation)
Stream “Indigo Girls—Mrs. Robinson”
Stream “Anna Nalick—Band of Gold” (Windows Media Player)

GOOD FOR WHAT AILS YOU: MUSIC OF THE MEDICINE SHOWS 1926—1937
(Old Hat stomping-and-swerving post-black face-minstrel traveling-tent-banjo novelty-song-miscegenation reissue compilation)
Stream “(Various Songs)” (Windows Media Player)