I doubt if too many people noticed MxPx when they first started. They were a quirky, high energy, Christian punk-pop trio called Magnified Plaid who soon abbreviated their name to their signature four-letter title. After many years of developing their solid fanbase, and recording with Tooth&Nail records, they now offer up to us their most recent effort: The Ever Passing Moment.

The album itself moves quickly past; the majority of its fifteen songs are less than two-and-a-half minutes long. The subject matter seems to primarily revolve around girlfriends and vague unoffensive references to the band members’ Christian faith. Polished, tight, and happy, even the sad songs come out sounding upbeat. Fans of Blink-182 and Green Day will find MxPx to be in a comfortably similar vein, albeit far more wholesome and profanity free. Unfortunately, the chief weakness of this CD is that it sounds a lot like every other record put out by MxPx. Obviously the band is quite satisfied with the music they make, and sees no reason to try anything particularly new or challenging. If you don’t yet own any MxPx recordings, this album is as good a representation of them as any, but unless you’re a huge fan I wouldn’t consider it to be required listening. (A&M)

Why don’t more musicians voice their opinions in a fashionable way? In most songs we find that musicians are screaming the lyrics, rapping to the beat, or strumming us a lullaby, but it’s not always fashionable, or catchy to say the least. In an ongoing search for an album that you can actually listen to in completion, the buck stops here. A former singer and songwriter from Veruca Salt has established a name for herself — Nina Gordon has plunged into the music world alone, and she’s in all her glory.

Tonight and the Rest of My Life is just that, an explanation of Gordon’s heart, her emotions, and her life. In the lyrically intriguing sense, Gordon could go head to head with Alanis Morissette, only peace of mind will be found in place of lashed out anger.

What grabs you instantly upon hearing the 13-track album — 12 originals and one cover — is the consummate craftsmanship between the lyrics and the instruments — drums, bass, guitar, piano, organ, chamberlin, wurlitzer, mellotron — and it just may be that sense of thorough completion that makes this disc such a good one … or maybe it’s the combination of Gordon and producer Bob Rock that made it sound so good. Whatever the reason, it’s enjoyable at its worst and timeless at its best. Take Track Five, "Horses in the City" where Gordon really seems to shine: "help me cause I’m falling out of grace, I hang my head and hide my face, I don’t know what it is I just feel out of place, like horses in the city…"

This album is influential and passionate, and definitely worth the purchase. (Warner Bros. Records)

Alice Cooper has been around for a long time, and given his musical and theatrical history, he has a lot to live up to. From his dusty, old prop closet and perhaps the darkest corners of his mind, he’s presented us with a vast array of characters over the years, from 1975’s classic Welcome To My Nightmare, to 1989’s wickedly erotic Trash, to 1994’s concept album and comic book epic, The Last Temptation. His records are stories in themselves, full of twisted souls who find a personality and a pulse in Cooper, in his delicate ballads of dimentia and driving rock anthems. He is, perhaps, shock rock’s most prized commodity — not so much for his ability to consciously reinvent himself really, but for the seemingly casual way in which he discovers yet another side of himself with which to entertain us.

Brutal Planet is made up of the thick, chunky rock chords that characterize much of today’s music, something, say, a la Rob Zombie. Add into this a spoonful of racial hatred ("Wicked Young Man", track 2), a dash of politically-correct satire for seasoning ("Blow Me a Kiss", track 4), and a generous helping of pessimistic lyrics about life and society (nearly every track) — and you’ve got yourself a hearty Alice Cooper stew. Go ahead, then — "Eat Some More" (track 5).

Alice delivers a strong, tight punch in 2000 — building on the sound of his last studio album, at times even bearing some similiarity to his work in 1986/87. Brutal Planet lacks the genre-bending musical variety of years ago and the effect is less melodic, more rythmic. But as Cooper albums go, it’s a pretty good one. (Spitfire Records)

In late 1997, the music industry lost an incredibly talented musician and performer, INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, at the age of 37. After sitting out of the limelight following two commercially unsuccessful album releases (Welcome to Wherever You Are and Full Moon, Dirty Hearts), and coming back with aptly titled Elegantly Wasted, Hutchence met a terrible self-induced fate the night before the ’80s Australian-bred pop band was to launch their 20th anniversary tour in their homeland. Well-known for the headman’s sultry looks and swaggering style, the band made a mark in music all their own.

Hutchence’s loss destroyed the band — both structurally and emotionally — and in their fidelity to their fallen front man, the remaining members vowed never to perform as INXS again. Yet Hutchence’s music remains. More than two years after the singer’s death, a posthumous self-titled album was released in December 1999. Brilliantly produced by Gang of Four’s Andy Gill, Michael Hutchence emits all of the appropriate emotions that the vocalist must have been suffering prior to his untimely departure.

Warning: this album is not for the faint-at-heart-yuppie-INXS-groupie of the ’80s who knew every word on Shabooh Shoobah. Michael Hutchence is an amazing collection of creative untouchables never released by Hutchence and the band as INXS. Each track has an unpredictable, original sound, from "Get on the Inside" to "Breathe," exhibiting the pure chameleon talent that Hutchence was. Don’t listen because you liked INXS, listen because you love music. (BMG/V2)