I love Depeche Mode. So you can imagine my utter glee when, after five years of absolutely nothing but a new song on their greatest hits album and a few instrumental B-sides, lo and behold a new album, Exciter, arrives just in time for a summer of love. Unfortunately, like my love life, this album sucks. I can honestly say that of the measly ten tracks (C’mon, guys, it’s been five years) only two caught my attention.

This month I review another one of my favorite directors: Kevin Smith. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is Smith's 5th installment of the Jay & Silent Bob saga, and it seems like this is the end of the road. This is a good thing. The movie is funny and it is great to see all the characters from the last five movies in one film, but you can tell he's taken the Jersey saga as far as he can. In the new movie, Jay and Silent Bob have to get to Hollywood to stop Miramax from making a Bluntman & Chronic movie.

If you're a fan of movies that have a definite beginning, middle and end, chances are you won't like Flipping the Whale. This isn't to say that is a bad thing. Quite the opposite actually. Sean Guinan's 90-minute debut feature, shot in digital black-and-white video, is a tale of five time-traveling whalers who go from the 1920s to present day in search of utopia. But this isn't straight-forward storytelling here. The scenes jump back and forth, actors burst into musical numbers and there is no set time or setting. This is the subconcious at work.

If Live+One sounds a lot like a Descendents' live disc, that might be because three out of four members of All are also in the Descendents. This also explains the second, bonus disc. Not only do you get 22 sweaty punk rock All tracks, recorded over two nights at the Starlight in Ft. Collins, Colorado, but you also get a live Descendents disc. Still not convinced? Then listen: I used to loathe live discs. For years, I shunned them, considered them to be what a band did when they wanted the hell out of a contract but had an album obligation to fulfill.

I love jazz. I wouldn’t consider myself to be a connoisseur by any means, but I am somewhat knowledgeable about the world of jazz. So I was very excited when I heard about The Telegraph Company’s debut publishing attempt: Phil Freeman’s New York is Now! The New Wave of Free Jazz. Overall, this was a good read. I could really only find one flaw with the book: the author. Like The Telegraph Company, New York is Now! is Phil Freeman’s first book. Freeman is currently a jazz journalist, but prior to that he was a death metal fan. Quite a change in styles.

The box says Dr. Wieder's Original Tung-Brush (DWOTB) promotes better hygiene while giving you fresher breath. With its short bristles, special round head and unique Tung-Gel, it is supposed to keep your mouth minty-fresh. Now, everyone knows my mouth smells like an industrial toilet, so I gave it a whirl with mixed results. Have you ever seen a retarded person brush their teeth? I sure did when I used the Tung-Brush. I felt like a moron because I couldn't hold my tongue straight, and I kept drooling. By the time I was finished I had to wipe my elbows.

Three things have always completely consumed my life: Faygo cherry soda, boobies and, of course, Star Wars. Earlier this month, the original Smithsonian exhibit that wooed people in Washington, DC five years ago landed in Toledo, Ohio at the esteemed Toledo Museum of Art. Let all the people of middle America rejoice! And boy, what a show it is. Not only did I get to see such memorable characters as Chewbacca, Yoda and Darth Vader, but I also got to touch certified Lucas Plexiglass that surrounded each artifact!

You know, musicals aren't all bad. There have been many musicals to give pop culture the trots, such as Myra Breckinridge (Raquel Welch's sexual reassignment musical) and The First Nudie Musical, which speaks for itself. However, no musical ever created could hold a candle to Cannibal! The Musical, Trey Parker's Oklahoma!-esque sing-a-long about Alfred Packer, Colorado's favorite flesh-eater. Back in 1847, Packer and a team of miners with dollar signs in their eyes headed west to cash in on the Gold Rush.

Like Da Whole Thing’s Tooth, the new disc from the David S. Ware Quartet, Corridors & Parallels (Aum Fidelity), would also make a perfect soundtrack to a David Lynch movie. This isn’t to say that the entire album is eerie and dark, although it possesses those qualities as well. Rather, it is a perfect tapestry of many thoughts, moods and visions. The quartet, made up of David S. Ware on tenor saxophone, Matthew Shipp on synthesizer, William Parker on bass and Guillermo E. Brown on drums, has made a dozen albums before this one.

Did you ever see that episode of The Muppet Show where Gonzo does speed with Crazy Harry, then sits in with the Electric Mayhem as they play Specials’ songs with Charles Mingus, Johnny Cash and John Zorn? Well, that’s exactly what listening to Da Whole Thing’s debut album, Tooth, is like. Tooth has all the fun, innocence and careless abandon of Jim Henson’s weirdest creations, combined with a whole salad bar of musical styles. There are sweet Jamaican rhythms, shuffling rockabilly numbers and full-on free jazz thrash moments.