Big B- How It Sounds

Silence.
Beaten.

I prefer Budweiser to Heineken. A ticket to a Rob Zombie concert would make me happier than being guest-listed for a Cat Power show. And I know that Puddle of Mudd is a much better live act the Arctic Monkeys. While I dig folk singers from Cape Verde and noise out of New York's downtown jazz scene, I also embrace music enjoyed by my neighbors and co-workers. And it doesn't get more honest than the artist roster of Suburban Noize Records.

Big B's "How It Sounds," from 2006's Random Stuff, is a near-perfect pop gem about appreciating lyrics. If the deck wasn't stacked against self-proclaimed white trash like Big B, it probably would have been a hit. The video for "Hooligan" is an ideal summation of Big B's ethos. "One hundred percent natural born loser," Big B confesses. "But I've never sold out- not even once." I believe him. And so do the thousands of fans who are showing up to see Big B and the Kottonmouth Kings on their current tour.

The venues won't be packed with trendy kids or elitist music bloggers. The audience cultivated by Big B and the Kottonmouth Kings doesn't need anyone's permission to appreciate material like "Hit That," an unrepentant ode to getting wasted. It's on Hidden Stash III.

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Talk about random... The Donna Lee Saxophone Quartet consists of four post-bop jazz cats based in Croatia. And they're excellent.

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Kansas City Click: Vader, Abigail Williams, Malevolent Creation and Cattle Decapitation are just a few of the acts on Death By Decibels, the black metal tour of the year. If the surburban police department doesn't panic, the show will start at 6 p.m. tonight at the Mission Theater.