MUSIC

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new ALBUMS

2Gether

2Gether (MTV)

"2Gether," which airs repeatedly on MTV all this week, is supposed to be an inspired spoof of bubblegum boy band pop--a rags to riches tale of five boys picked from the cowfields to become bonafide pop superstars. Whether the show itself portends the end of the Backstreet Boys, 'NSync, Boyzone etc. remains to be seen, but the soundtrack certainly lives up to all the hype. "2Gether," the opening track, sounds just like every opening track on a boy band album--the whole "We've Got it Going On" thing. Another day, another boy band, you might think--until you hear the hilarious lyrics. The second song, "U + Me = Us (Calculus)" is their not-so-subtle "I Want It That Way" and "Rub One Out," well, is their token masturbation piece ("Rub one out and I grab my crotch/Rub one out/Do you wanna watch?"). Also included are "Say It (Don't Spray It)" ("I want the news/Not the weather") and techno and karaoke versions of "U+Me" and "Rub One Out."

In the era of post-post-modernism, the people who are responsible for creating money-making trends are also the same people who create money-making spoofs of those same trends. You gotta hand it to the folks at MTV--they show no remorse in building them up and then tearing them down. B+ --Soman S. Chainani

M2M

Shades of Purple (Atlantic)

Beware another teenybopper pop hopeful. M2M, a Norwegian duo comprising 15- and 16-year-old Marion Raven and Marit Larsen, were featured on the Pokmon soundtrack alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and 98 Degrees. With the Spice Girls producer behind them in their debut English album, these two girls will feel right at home in the current youth craze. The songs are very girly and cutesy, with lyrics that would fit right into the poetry section of Teen magazine ("Pretty pretty boy I love you"). Out of the 13 songs in the album, approximately 13 sound like the same song, give or take a few notes and tempo markings. Though nowhere as skanky as their teen contemporaries, M2M's voices are far weaker or perhaps just mellow and undeveloped in that Hanson way. The thin instrumental backup does nothing to cover up their desperate lack of vocal and stylistic range. The one redeeming factor that might set them apart from the rest is that they play their own instruments. Perhaps they just need time to mature. Meanwhile, have a glass of water handy to wash down the saccharine. D+ --Susan Yeh

Pat Metheny

Trio 99-00 (Warner Bros)

Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny is in a unique position among musicians. This Boston native is one of the most virtuosic jazz performers alive today, and yet it seems as though he'd do much better at almost any other profession. He has a greater narrative sense than nearly every other musician on the market and his compositions can reach heights of lyricism unparalleled in contemporary jazz.