MUSIC | Ratings for selected releases

'AT WAR WITH THE MYSTICS'
Flaming Lips (Warner Brothers)
Grade: A
The Flaming Lips may finally achieve mainstream success with "At War With the Mystics," their most accessible and radio-friendly release yet.
While it's full of funky sounds and quirky production, the CD also includes some of the band's strongest songs.
The opening track, "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" is a terrific romp that begs for sing-a-long accompaniment. "Free Radicals" is fantastic -- it's a funky, edgy, '70s throwback with a political edge and frontman Wayne Coyne singing falsetto. The chorus is beyond catchy: "You think you're radical. You're not so radical. In fact, you're fanatical."
"Vein of Stars" manages to sound sweet and far-out at the same time. And "Mr. Ambulance Driver" may be familiar to anyone who saw "The Wedding Crashers."
The band calls itself "psychedelic alternative rock" and that's not far off. The Flaming Lips are poppy, trippy, fun and unfailingly original.
-- Kim Curtis, Associated Press
'I'M NOT DEAD YET'
Pink (LaFace/Zomba)
Grade: A
Given Pink's well-earned reputation as pop's irreverent wild-child, it is sometimes easy to overlook how much she's grown as an artist since her slick R & amp;B debut in 2000.
Yes, she still knows how to get the party started, as evidenced by the slickly produced, radio-friendly dance grooves that pepper her latest, "I'm Not Dead Yet." And her powerhouse vocals are still the main attraction. But what stands out on this disc are not the party jams or her voice, but the poignant ballads, smart rock tunes and searing commentary that now define her music.
The album's first single, "Stupid Girls," is a great dig at the silly behavior of the tabloid-crazed starlets in Hollywood; though on the surface it seems like a great dis song, at its core it's really an ode to female empowerment and smashing stereotypes.
The most touching and poignant song on the album is "Dear Mr. President," a bare-bones ballad Pink performs with the Indigo Girls. With only a simple acoustic guitar backing her up, Pink rails against President Bush, attacking him on everything from No Child Left Behind to gay rights as she asks, "How do you sleep when the rest of us cry? How do you dream while a mother has no chance to say goodbye?" Though she may turn off some for wearing her politics on her sleeve, there's no denying her artistry on this song.
-- Pauline Millard, Associated Press
'NOTE BLEU'
Medeski Martin & amp; Wood (Blue Note)
Grade: A
The trio of keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood represents one of the most influential jazz bands out there. Steeped in an avant-garde ghetto in the 1980s, the trio has morphed into a tremendous live band, combining jazz, funk and high-end electronics that all get washed down with groove.
This collection, which comes as single CD or combined double-disc CD/DVD Deluxe Edition, includes parts of five Blue Note recordings, from the heavily remixed debut "Combustication" to the wild "End of the World Party [Just in Case]" with producer John King, half of the sampling duo who make up the Dust Brothers.
Reliving past hits goes against the band's relentless quest to seize the moment. But rehashing "Partido Alto" certainly gets the psychic steamroller moving. A lot of electrical doodads are worked in, making the band sound like a cross between the computer Hal in 2001 and the mighty funksters of Parliament.
But this is often invigorating stuff. Check out the weird Cuban vibe that pervades "Mami Gato" or the freewheeling exchange among band members that raises that cut. You can analyze it, make out or dance to it. A solid trifecta.
-- Karl Stark, Philadelphia Inquirer
'ELECTRIC RODEO'
Shooter Jennings (Universal South)
Grade: C
Shooter Jennings should have listened to the advice his father gave when he chastised other country singers for leaning too hard on a renegade stance in the 1978 hit, "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand?"
Instead, the son of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter overplays self-mythologizing tales about drinking, drugging, working the road and carrying on his father's legacy on his second album, "Electric Rodeo," the follow-up to last year's "Put the 'O' Back in Country."
The young singer and his outstanding quartet, the .357s, continue to crank out metal-tinged country rock that nicely crosses Guns N' Roses with Lynyrd Skynyrd. But Jennings' debut balanced autobiographical tunes with sharply detailed songs that put new muscle into country music's storytelling tradition.
"Electric Rodeo" tilts the balance too far toward lyrics that draw on Jennings' wild lifestyle ("Little White Lines," "Hair of the Dog") and on his father's outlaw reputation ("It Ain't Easy," "Electric Rodeo").
Musically, he's staking out interesting ground. Lyrically, though, he'd do better if he stopped reminding everyone who he is and how hard he parties. He needs to find other ways to emphasize the struggle to stay independent in a world that rewards conformity more than individuality.
-- Michael McCall, Associated Press
'KING'
T.I. (Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
Grade: B
Is T.I. ready for his throne? Atlanta's urban legend has always called himself "King of the South." His banging anthems got bigger and better with each album; his signatures -- singed synths, a sharply drawn drawl -- more pronounced. He's even got a movie out.
Yet rather than stick strictly to formula slamming, King slows to let T.I.'s melodies and lyrics shine. Lush house sounds ("Why You Want to Go and Do That") and grandly grim orchestration ("What You Know") allow T.I. to take his gruff old time. The slippery ballad "Live in the Sky" not only gives cohort Jamie Foxx a tasty soulful hook to chew on, it shows off a brand of raw-knuckle rumination ("only thing I ain't done yet is die") that carries through even the most romantic of T.I. tunes. Find this guy a crown, already.
-- A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer