Pick Of The Week

A creative musical genius, Rundgren never reached icon status, primarily because he went out of his way to avoid it. Early ’70s hits like “I Saw the Light” and “Hello, It’s Me” displayed undeniably huge gifts for crafting infectious pop in the manner of Carole King, Laura Nyro and The Beatles. Yet many of his nearly three dozen albums incorporate a smorgasbord of influences, styles and avant-garde indulgences, more often than not finding him light years ahead of his peers, especially in his prog-rock experimentations with his erstwhile band Utopia. He has also stopped along the way in the past 35 years to serve as an engineer and producer, and to pioneer industry developments in video and computer technology. (Rundgren was way ahead of the game in exploring methods for putting sound files on the Internet. Typically, the bigwigs ignored him.) Now, at 55, Rundgren—always at risk for erratic but interesting live performances (including some brazen anti-Bush banter)—is in the middle of his national “Have Gun Will Travel” tour, which continues in Nashville after a two-month hiatus in his adopted state of Hawaii. As recent TV appearances with David Letterman and on PBS’ Mountain Stage series exhibited, he can’t hit the high notes quite like he used to. Still, a genius is a genius, and maybe his devoted cult following was better served by his not going the pop-idol route after all—’cause it’s 2003 and he’s still around. Indigenous and Daniel Tashian open the Uptown Mix show.

—M.B.

Picks by Todd Anderson, Martin Brady, Chris Davis, Jonathan Flax, Paul Griffith, MiChelle Jones, Bill Levine, Jonathan Marx, Michael McCall, Steve Morley, Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, Margaret Renkl, Jim Ridley, Joshua H. Rothkopf, Jon Weisberger, Angela Wibking and Ron Wynn.

Music

Thursday, 10th

Junior Brown Brown’s deadpan comedic persona and crowd-pleasing pyrotechnics on his hybrid invention, the guit-steel, make it easy to underestimate the depth of his musicality. He can write and croon a ballad like “Read ’Em and Weep” with conviction, and he can play it straight on the pedal steel guitar too, as he did on bluegrasser and onetime bandmate Lynn Morris’ latest album. Brown’s appearance will serve as a benefit for Morris, who suffered a stroke earlier this spring, and that ought to add an extra layer of emotion to the occasion. The Station Inn

—J.W.

Sons & Daughters of King Kong—Athens Art & Music Marvels The insurgent musical acts and visual artists in this collective share more than a home base in the college town of Athens, Ga. Each also skews toward a spooky and provocative gothic bent—albeit from different angles. The music portion of the evening will include polyrhythmic punk band Urbosleeks, the warbling Americana of Phosphorescent and the synth-enhanced, techie country-blues of Geoff Reacher. The work of two artists will add a visual dimension: Brian Buchanan’s work includes felt-tip drawings on ripped-out encyclopedia pages as well as traditional oils on canvas, and Jeff Owens is a heavy metal/Hee Haw-inspired painter who most recently designed the cover art for Drive-by Truckers’ Southern Rock Opera. Slow Bar

—J.F.

Altered Statesman Patience is Steve Poulton’s most striking feature. Recently relocated to Nashville, Poulton (a.k.a. the Altered Statesman) and his accompanists take Brian Wilson’s California pop sensibilities, slow them down and troll them through a haunted Midwest, creating spare, somnolent tunes that sound epic even at three minutes or less. With his wide, distinctive voice, he croons through expansive arrangements that suggest he would have been right at home in the jazz lounges of myth. Springwater

—S.R-K.

Impractical Cockpit So murky is the musical terrain navigated by New Orleans-based band Impractical Cockpit, that their detuned blues caterwaul finds its way using Jandek, Twin Infinitives-era Royal Trux and Beefheart’s Magic Band as sonic “feel-sticks”—much like Wisconsin cheese farmers finding their way to the barn in a blizzard by using the clothesline. They play with Marty Lynville’s hot and sweet Szechuan Chocolate and The Mattoid, who are releasing a CD later this summer on local imprint Cleft Records. Guido’s

—C.D.

Aireline Yet another inventive band from Murfreesboro, Aireline incorporate such touches as cello and pipe organ into their airy, slightly prog rock. Ocean Songs From the Year of the Horse, their debut CD, is angsty, vague and lyrically young, but nonetheless demonstrates a compelling knack for imagistic songcraft. The Boro Bar & Grill

—P.G.

Friday, 11th

Robbie Fulks/Matt King Like anyone who can turn pathos into humor, Fulks gets stereotyped by his funny songs—and of all the alt-country jokers, his wit is the sharpest. But his talent is too broad to pin down easily. His hard-country songs portray how pain and shame can transform a person into a desperate kind of wild, and when he plays town this week, he’ll likely show his sure touch with everything from power pop to bluegrass. Opener Matt King has the goods to be the next savior of mainstream country music, only he’s no longer willing to compromise to fit Music Row’s idea of what that means. Fortunately, he’s too determined and too talented not to surface someway, somehow. Grand Ole Opry Plaza