RIYL: Candy Butchers, Fountains of Wayne, Bryan Adams

Before he became as ubiquitous in the pop/rock music world as Kara DioGuardi and Diane Warren, Butch Walker was so totally cool. He fronted an indie modern rock band called Marvelous 3, a group that put out a few blistering albums of awesome power pop. Then Walker went out on his own and delivered one of the best rock albums of all time in Left of Self-Centered. Naturally, he started to get phone calls from other artists and labels and managers, wanting him to write with, produce and guide artists such as Pink, Bowling For Soup and Avril Lavigne. He also released a few more solo albums along the way. And while nothing measured up to Left of Self-Centered or the Marvelous 3 stuff, Walker has clearly taken two steps backward with his latest, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart. Maybe it’s because this one comes a little over a year after his latest, Sycamore Meadows, because being that prolific has a tendency to water down the material. In addition, part of the problem here is that while some of the songs seem catchy while you’re listening, you won’t be singing any of them afterward, because they’re not memorable, at least not based on the very high bar Butch has set for himself. There are a few exceptions, like “Stripped Down Version,” which has some slick guitar work and pretty harmonies, or “She Likes Hair Bands,” featuring lyrical snark reminiscent of the Marvelous 3 days. But on the likes of “Trash Day” and “House of Cards,” some of you die-hard Butch fans will be hitting “skip.” And while the closer, “Be Good Til Then,” carries a beautiful sentiment and was written for his very young son, the repetitive melody is more tired than anything Walker has ever delivered. I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart, will, sadly, have Butch fans saying that they liked it better when his songs had heart. (One Haven 2010)

Butch Walker website

Apparently, Avril Lavigne recently had a bit of a dust-up with the paparazzi. I say “apparently” because I didn’t know anything about it until I received this E-mail from her label:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Avril Apologizes to Fans

In response to reports that Avril Lavigne recently had a run in with paparazzi while spending private time with her husband, Deryck Whibley, she has this to say:

“I’d like to sincerely apologize for my behavior with the Paparazzi. It’s trying at best dealing with their insistent intrusions. I meant no offense to my fans, whose relationship i truly value. I have and will always go out of my way for my fans. My behavior was a reaction to the persistent attack from the paparazzi.”

Well, hell, you’ve got my attention now!

A quick search on Yahoo! News came up with an article about the incident to which Avril refers. Apparently, while out celebrating her 22nd birthday, Ms. Lavigne approached a photographer from the website TMZ.com with the charming opening line, “Hey fuckhead, come here,” then allegedly spat into his lens. When she returned the following night, she spewed abusive dialogue once again, reportedly – but not definitely – signing photos for autograph seekers, “Fuck you” (and, man, what are THOSE going for on eBay?), then, as her car drove off, spit on another photographer and screamed”Bitch!”

Niiiiiiiice.