Sound Bites

Diana Krall, Artist's Choice. Chances are you've picked up those Artist's Choice CDs near the register at Starbucks while ordering your chai latte. They're essentially mix discs by reputable artists, and Ms. Elvis Costello gets her shot with this jazz- and blues-infused compilation of her personal faves. Like her own output, it's largely subdued and unsexy. But it has a deep, sometimes beautiful sophistication as well, from Joni Mitchell's "Amelia" to Stan Getz's "I'll Never Be the Same" (sung by Jimmy Rowles).--MP

Call Me Lightning, The Trouble We're In. Mike Watt would need four pudgy hands to count the number of post-rock mopheads parroting that monkey-barrel Minutemen sound. Well, add another digit with Call Me Lightning. This Revelation debut sparks with zip and quirk, and the hooks are not to be denied. But there's that certain something missing on The Trouble We're In, that something that binds it together and fwaps you upside the head like the fateful hunk of egg salad that started the food fight. Trouble's worth the trouble, but only passably so.--AK