Sweet Water- Stereo

No stereo. No mono. Just silence.

"Don't stay away for too long," Sweet Water warns on "Rock Steady". The band achieved more than a few moments in the international spotlight in the '90s with songs like "Superstar". Their first album in ten years, Clear the Tarmac, streets January 20. The wry pop smarts Sweet Water shares with Pavement, Weezer and the Lemonheads remains intact. I wish more bands would stay away longer if I knew that they, like Sweet Water, would come back with a vengeance.

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I received a Facebook friend request from a person with a name I didn't recognize. It's facile of me, I know, but I immediately scrolled to his notes in the "Favorite Music" category. "80's music," the stranger wrote. "Cars, Asia, Def Leppard, INXS, A Flock of Seagulls, The Cure, REM... Anything but Country except Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and Garth Brooks." It's unintentional on the part of my potential "friend," but that's an incredibly damning summation of the state of contemporary country music.

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Kansas City Click: Cedric Burnside and Lightnin Malcolm team up tonight at Knuckleheads.

I intend to catch the new ringleaders of the Saturday afternoon jam session at Jardine's.

Jessica Simpson opens for Rascal Flatts at the Sprint Center on Sunday.