Friday, July 6, 2007

NY Times previews this week...

ART BRUT (Monday) Rock ’n’ roll needs to celebrate as well as ridicule its own mythology, and Art Brut, sarcastically but exuberantly singing about the thrill of plugging in and making a ruckus — “Formed a band, we formed a band/Look at us, we formed a band!” — is one of the rare groups that can do both.

★ MARK RONSON (Wednesday) The producer of the cleverest songs of Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse, Mr. Ronson pushes vintage R&B sounds through a filter of comic hip-hop, and on his new album, “Version” (RCA), performs loving graffiti on songs by Coldplay and the Smiths.