Come On Get Happy!: The Very Best of the Partridge Family
by El Bicho, May 27

The Partridge Family, much better than they were given credit for - with a solid producer Wes Farrell (not will Farrell) finding the songwriting talent. Also El Bicho gives a little back history to the Partridge tale on the eve of their 35th anniversary.

Artist Overview: Smashing Pumpkins
by uao

This guy writes amazing essays and retrospectives on bands. His music knowledge runs deep and wide. Though I never cared much for the SPs (Adore was the single best cure for insomnia that I naively bought), he made me want to read on. Knows his shit but doesn't push it in your face with mind-numbing details. He just tells it. Just enough detail. Like that.

REVIEW Hatesphere - The Killing EP
by Chris Akin

Honorable mention goes to Chris Akin for his Hatesphere "The Killing EP" review where he laments about bands as good as or better than the name bands, without recognition. These days that's pretty much 90 percent of HM. Atkin has a passion for this area - from death metal to only-slightly-injured metal - (and Def Leppard and Rush) and he proved it this week with a string of nine posts in the genre.

Two Popular Software Synths Get Facelifts
by Ed Driscoll

There was a time when I hated synth-pop. It still grinds my teeth on occasion but I've giving up caring because I discovered if I continued I would have no teeth. This is an insight into the instrument that drives most music today. The author plays and knows from whence he speaks on the quality of "Propellerhead's Reason, and its upstart competitor, Cakewalk's Project5."

I Was A Punk Before You Were A Punk: Pt. Two
by HW Saxton

I picked Part 1 last week; just as many reasons to pick part 2 this week. A narration through one man's views of the last 60 years of music and attitude. (Part 1 here)

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POLITICS: Lisa Iannucci did not pick this week, finding nothing that stirred her.