NEW MUSIC: Rufus & Rivers

Rufus Wainwright
Album: Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall (Geffen)
In stores: Now
Why we care: Despite the crap I'm gonna catch from my buddies, I'm a total sucker for Wainwright, the showbiz kid with the murky past and yowza voice. On this live album, the 34-year-old re-creates Judy Garland's famed ’61 show at the same NYC venue. Depending on your tolerance level, this is either a lush seance that swings -- or the equivalent of being trapped in a closet with Rip Taylor.
Why we like it: With his full-throated lazy-river phrasing — a muddled way of annunciating that turns some listeners off — Wainwright tackles the Great American Songbook with high volume and modern gravitas. Me? I think it's amazing performance. No matter how many times it’s been done, the climactic Over the Rainbow is pretty damn good.
Reminds us of: Rufus' other 2007 album, Release the Stars, is even better.
Download these: The Man That Got Away and Over the Rainbow
Grade: A-

Rivers Cuomo
Album: Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (Geffen)
In stores: Now
Why we care: Bespectacled misfit leader of power-pop band Weezer, Cuomo is as melodically gifted as he is socially messed-in-the-head. When he’s not obsessing over the perfect hook, he’s hiding in a closet for days on end. These shoddy, crackly demos play like diary entries: creepy, self-indulgent but peppered with catchy genius. For Weezer completists only.
Why we like it: The liner notes (dark, brooding, naive) are more interesting than the music. But there are some interesting tunes, including a bizarro rock opera that's kinda fun before it gets tired. As for legit hits, Crazy One, a tribute to Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound style, is the rare keeper. The jangly rumbler was inspired by an ex with an “extraordinarily unsavory” life. But he falls in love anyway. "You can actually hear my whimpering," Rivers writes about the recording.
Reminds us of: Cuomo reveals that the original lyric for Buddy Holly was "Oo-wee-oo, you look just like Ginger Rogers. Oh-oh, I move just like Fred Astaire."
Album grade: C-