Half Japanese: Bone Head

Half Japanese songs seem simple: Most of them consist of a single guitar-led riff embellished with odd lyrics. But a more thorough listen reveals that the music isn't so simple after all, and that Jad Fair's almost-naive lyrics are unique, inimitable and downright brilliant. Bone Head is a 21-song collection of new Half Japanese material, much of which seems to be about Frankenstein; on "A Night Like This," the night in question is one spent by Mary Shelley, and in "Sometimes," Jad Fair sings about Dr. Frankenstein: "The good doctor made a bad mistake/and now it's gotten out of hand." The songs are about being a loner, all right, but they laugh at self-pity instead of celebrating it—and that's a rare and valuable sensibility these days. If you like your music unconventional, smart, fun and inscrutable, and yet you don't own any Half Japanese albums… Well, what do you listen to Get every Half Japanese album you can find, and play them until they wear out.