Per usual, Raditude’s strong points come when Weezer sticks to the winning formula that dates back to their debut album 15 (!)  years ago — anthemic, catchy choruses and simple surf-rock song structure (see: “Put Me Back Together,” “Let It All Hang Out”). The record starts and ends on strong points, with bouncy leadoff track and first single, “(If You’re Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To” and heartfelt album closer “I Don’t Want to Let You Go.” On the eight tracks in between, it’s clear that Weezer is trying to broaden its musical horizons, with mixed results.

On the positive side of the spectrum is the Cuomo-Jermaine Dupri-Lil’ Wayne collaboration “Can’t Stop Partying,” whose lyrics take on an ironic twist with nerd-rock pioneer Cuomo singing lines like, “Monday to Sunday I hit all the clubs / And everybody knows me when I pull up / I’ve got the real big posse with me, yeah I’m deep.” The song, which first appeared as a melancholy acoustic track on Cuomo’s solo demo record that was released a year ago, has been transformed into a synth-heavy earworm, with Dupri’s fingerprints all over it.

Less successful is the sitar-infused “Love is the Answer,” which sounds like it would fit in better over the PA of my Vietnamese-owned laundromat than on a Weezer record.

Even at 39, Cuomo isn’t afraid to let his inner awkward teenager emerge. He falls for a formerly dowdy classmate on the frankly-titled “The Girl Got Hot,” while hard-hitting “I’m Your Daddy” finds him trying to woo a girl on the dance floor. Apparently, even after hanging out with the cool kids, he’s still a nerd at heart.

Lights dropped her newest full length CD “The Listening” in early October and chatted to Blast from her hometown of Toronto shortly after the release to tell us how the CD came about, how she became her own super hero and why it’s cool to be a sci-fi geek.

“A couple days before the record came out in the states we hit the road to tour on the record so its been going, going, going, but it’s awesome. For the first time I get to tour on my own record. People are coming to the shows and singing along,”said Lights about life since “The Listening” came out.

The title of the album came from Lights’s own self-reflection when writing the songs and learning a lot about herself.

“The title generated from track four called “The Listening” but it went a little deeper than that. The whole record spawned from me kind of having to analyze emotional situations where I was just feeling really low and had to pull myself out with music,” said Lights. “Through that process I learned a lot about myself. All these songs, through all this music, I’ve learned so much more about myself. I thought this is a direct result of that, listening to music. That’s why I took the mouth off of me on the album cover, to help drive that home. It feels appropriate.”

Lights will spend most of the rest of the year on the road promoting the album like musicians do, but she’s also got a little something special up her sleeve. A long time fan of fantasy and comic books Lights teamed up with Marvel writer Tim Coker to create The Captain Lights Adventure.

“The Captain Lights Adventure which [is like] a glorified comic book with my music in the background. It’s going to be playing on MTV in the morning in America and you can see it on the website as well,” explained Lights.

Comics aren’t the only way Lights lets her inner-nerd out. She’s also a WoW (World of Warcraft) veteran. She says no matter how busy she is, she always makes time for WoW the fantasy role-playing video game that has become an ever growing cult sensation among computer gamers – even Brand New’s Jesse Lacey has admitted to being a fan. Lights said she too is a huge fan of the game.

“It was totally something I just wanted to get into. And actually when I started playing, one or two years ago, I didn’t know anyone that played and I was such a lover of fantasy stuff, comic books and all of that I thought I’d have a good time with it and I love it. Every day I always make a little time for it.” Lights said.

Fantasy has always appealed to Lights, simply for what it represents to her. It’s a place to escape, which she explains on in her bio became essential to her during her childhood when her family was constantly moving around. Now fantasy worlds and comic book agendas help Lights channel her out of this world energy.

“Music for starters is something I totally love, it’s my passion, but the same with sci-fi and comics. These are all things that I love so why not implement all these things into it? It’s an absolute reflection of my personality and what I’m into. Its the idea that the reason I love fantasy and all that stuff is the notion of unlimited creativity and aliens and far off worlds and crazy powers and make it all real. It’s all stuff you can invent and the same goes for my music. If I hear a sound in my head then I’ll find a way to make it into the recording. There’s no limits or bounds for what I want. In that sense it all goes together,” explained Lights.

Lights, who changed her legal name to Lights from Valerie Poxleitner, uses her intergalactic notions to help her reach the artistic goal she set for herself when she started playing music, and holding on to that has kept her steady in an industry that’s isn’t known for playing nice.

“People will try to get to you and they are going to hate. In order to keep track of who I really am I set this one goal to always hold on to and that’s to reach as many people as I can in a positive way,” said Lights. “So anything that I do to make you happy or entertain you for a few minutes or just make you think about things – just something positive, that’s my goal.”

“The Listening” is available in all major music retailers now.

“Crossing the Rubicon,” the latest offering from Swedish synth-pop quintet The Sounds, borrows its name from a phrase meaning “to pass a point of no return.” Historically, it refers to the act of war Julius Caesar committed by crossing the Rubicon River in Northern Italy in 49 B.C.

So it would be perfectly understandable to wonder if the band is exploring new sonic territory on their latest offering, which hits shelves June 2. What’s ironic, though, given this context, is that the strongest moments on “Crossing the Rubicon” — and there are many — emerge when the band sticks to the winning formula it honed on 2006’s “Dying to Say This to You” — danceable guitar riffs and synthesizers on top of upbeat rhythms.

“Crossing the Rubicon” starts on a high note, with the infectious, guitar-heavy first single “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake,” and continues with a handful of equally catchy tunes, including the New Wave-y “4 Songs and a Fight” and delightfully bizarre Blondie homage “Beatbox.”

Unfortunately though, the 12-song offering loses some of its steam in its final third, with the later songs failing to reach the extremely high bar set by the first ones. The title track, which sounds like gothic monks singing over an excerpt from a dramatic movie score, marks the middle point, and its placement is jarring to say the least — especially since it’s book-ended by the accessible “Midnight Sun” and “Underground.”

The Sounds will spend much of the summer on the road, having landed the opening slot on several dates of No Doubt’s reunion tour. Like the headliner, they are anchored by a powerful frontwoman — sassy singer Maja Ivarsson, whose vocals range from pained to empowered — backed by male supporting musicians who tend to stay in the background.

Their position on the No Doubt tour, combined with the band’s decision to stream “Crossing the Rubicon” in its entirety nearly a week before its official release date, indicate the band is trying to expand its American fanbase. Their radio-friendly pop is likely to win over some early-arriving audience members.

In her first stage appearance since announcing her divorce to husband Guy Ritchie, Madonna kept it light making only one fleeting reference to “emotionally retarded” people before singing “Miles Away” off of her 11th and latest album. She addressed the audience asking “Maybe you know some of those people. I know I do.”

She is the ultimate survivor and evolutionary pop icon, as proven by her complete commitment to putting on an energetic performance for her sold-out show. After such emotional and personally turmoil she still put on one hell of a show boasting colorful costumes, some of the best dancers in the business and digitally-recorded video duets with Kanye West, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake along with Miss Controversy herself, Britney Spears.

Her “duet” with Spears to “Human Nature” was a fresh take on a song that caused a stir during the 90s when the S & M themed-video first appeared. “La Isla Bonita” and “Get Into the Groove” were crowd-pleasers, for those who actually remembered her earlier songs and didn’t mouth incorrect lyrics. As for “Borderline” her very first single, the audience loved it.

Choice tracks from the new album that translated well to dance-filled stage numbers include “Heartbeat” and “Give it to Me.” A hands down personal favorite had to be “She’s Not Me,” an ode to Madonna’s undying fame and an overall pick-me-up for any woman. Because anyone can relate to the feeling of a significant other being “stolen” by another, and the imminent instinct that no one will ever provide the same things as you can in a relationship.

Oh well.

As for agenda-pushing, the Material Girl made it abundantly clear that she wanted everyone to vote … for Obama. Her political commentary and video imagery were liberally filled with material for the Left. And while audible sounds of “Just get back to the music” could be heard uttered by disgruntled republicans, the majority of the audience was in a united uproar to unite for her, and Obama’s campaign. Madonna relayed to the audience that she was told to “not mention Sarah Palin, speaking of ridiculous things,” and that was all she said on the matter.

50-year-old Madonna bumped and grinded all over that stage, even showcasing a soft-core number on the floor as she had her feet tied with rope as she gyrated and pulsated on all fours. If anything can be said for her, it is that her dancing is still flawless and effortless and her body is in amazing condition. More muscular than Michael Phelps, Madonna seemed to feed off of the energy of knowing that she represents decades of reinvention and that she herself will never be replaced in the public eye, no matter what Ms. Spears does.

The overall favorites had to have been “Hung Up” from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album along with “Like a Prayer.” The latter was performed to a background of Hebrew, Arabic and other foreign language texts and religious quotes from texts ranging like the Torah, the Bible, the Koran and Buddhist teachings. What would a Madonna concert be without a lesson in theology?

I’ll just have to say it again, she’s still got it. She never faltered and she never showed less than complete enthusiasm and dedication to her career and her fans. And despite her personal issues and sticky situation, she remembered the one thing that has kept her career afloat.

The show must go on.

Michael Dunlap is no stranger to the life of a starving artist.

Four years ago, the 24-year-old one man band who goes by the stage name Totally Michael was driving himself to shows in a 1984 Honda Accord — a “hybrid” in the literal sense, which his stepfather had welded together from two separate vehicles, one blue and one brown. (“When you were inside the car, you could look down and see the ground,” he said. “It was pretty awesome.”)

To make rent, he donated plasma twice a week and participated in clinical trials.

“Once I just had to drink this crappy, chalky liquid, that made me puke,” Dunlap said. “But I got like $1,200. I think it was worth it.”

“I’ve kind of been a bum,” he readily admitted. “I’ve only had one real job in my life, and it was telemarketing, which was pretty horrible.”

Luckily for Dunlap, his musical career appears to be taking hold. His synth-heavy debut album of infectious pop-punk, “Totally Michael,” will be released on October 14. He’s upgraded to a Nissan Sentra (the Accord was totaled in an accident in Phoenix, where he was performing) and is touring across North America this fall, opening for MC Chris.

Growing up in the small town of Cabot, Arkansas (pop. 21,000) as the youngest of eight children, Dunlap spent his youth skateboarding and going to see local bands with friends (“They were pretty crappy bands, but it was awesome to us,” he recalls), before picking up a guitar himself and playing in local punk groups.

A quasi-quarterlife crisis prompted Dunlap, at the age of 20, to pick up and move to Bloomington, Indiana after he attended a three-day music festival there.

“I had lived with my mom for 20 years and I was just like, ‘I gotta get the fuck outta here. … I should probably stop mooching,’” he said. “(Bloomington) was pretty much the only place I had ever seen besides Arkansas, so I was like, yeah, I’ll move here.”

He began making music on his own with computer recording software and reveled in his newfound musical autonomy.

“(In previous bands) there were always creative differences, and not everybody would agree on certain parts in songs,” he says. “What I liked about doing it by myself is that all of the creativity is on my part. … I never have anybody telling me they didn’t like what I was coming up with, or telling me to change something. That’s probably the best part of it so far.”

For now, Dunlap’s stage shows involve just him, a guitar and an iPod (“I used to bring up my laptop, and then realized people throw beer a lot, and it wasn’t the best decision,” he explained). Crowd participation also plays a role, with Dunlap often fostering a pep rally vibe by dividing his audience into two sides for the competitive ode “Cheerleader vs. Drillteam.”

“I’ve thought about getting other musicians … to make me seem less like a dumbass,” he said. “But at this point I’d probably go broke real quick.”

He cites fellow laptop guru Girl Talk as an influence, as well as Dan Deacon, Japanther and Matt & Kim, and said he tries to model the at times irreverent tone of his songs after Blink-182.

“I think they were fuckin’ amazing,” Dunlap said. “They could write pop songs that were slightly humorous and they did it really well.”

With a nasally delivery reminiscent of Offspring’s Dexter Holland and melodies similar to the likes of Bowling for Soup, Dunlap manages to get away with singing about high school gossip fodder, despite being in his mid-20s, on songs like “Prom Night” and “Cheerleaders vs. Drillteam.” His channeling of a nervous, disaster-prone date on the former is nothing short of endearing. “I’ve got my baby blue tuxedo but my tie has vanished from the scene / I guarantee this won’t be the last headache I face tonight,” he laments.

“I never did any writing at all, and I definitely think that kind of shows,” Dunlap says. “I don’t want to take myself too seriously. … Lyrics are always the last part of my songs. I hate them. I just want to write melodies.”

It’s true that the strength of Dunlap’s songs lies in their hooks. But while the songwriter may downplay his poetic abilities, his lyrics are, at their least impressive, typical of similar pop-punk bands (“I’m the number one topic in her diary / When you look away she’ll be all over me”), and at their most, laugh-out-loud zingers. Take this gem of a refrain from the gleeful ‘80s throwback “Winona,” his love letter to the actress 12 years his senior: “I’m not a high-class retail outlet / But I’d love for you to steal my heart.”

Lyrically speaking, the only excessively sophomoric track is the still-catchy “Casual Satisfaction,” which describes the physical effects of attraction with lyrics too graphic for me to feel comfortable typing out.

Taken at face value, “Totally Michael” is a fun collection of accessible singalongs. It’s made all the more impressive by the fact that Dunlap’s is the sole guiding hand behind every facet of each track.

“When it first started, it was all for fun,” he said. “I had no idea I would even make any money at all doing it. Even now, if I wasn’t making any money at all, I wouldn’t stop. I love touring and making music.”

But as it turns out, things may be looking up. Dunlap has been counting small victories over the past few months — starting with his transportation.

“I can tour in my car and get, like, 30 miles per gallon,” he said brightly. “And it has A/C. It’s the only car I’ve ever had that has A/C.”

Totally Michael tour dates:

Oct 3      Bloomington, Indiana            Uncle Fester’s
Oct 8      Belleville, Illinois                   TBA
Oct 9      Lawrence, Kansas                   TBA
Oct 10    Denver, Colorado                   TBA
Oct 11    Salt Lake City, Utah                TBA
Oct 12    Missoula, Montana                 TBA
Oct 13    Spokane, Washington             Women’s Club
Oct 14    Seattle, Washington                Chop Suey*
Oct 15    Eugene, Oregon                      WOW Hall*
Oct 16    Arcata, California                    Humboldt Brews*
Oct 18    Santa Cruz, California             The Catalyst Atrium*
Oct 19    San Luis Obispo, California     Downtown Brew*
Oct 20    Los Angeles, California           Roxy Theatre*
Oct 21    Anaheim, California                Chain Reaction*
Oct 22    Tempe, Arizona                       The Clubhouse*
Oct 23    New York, New York                NYU CMJ Showcase
Oct 25    Brooklyn, New York                 Music Hall of Williamsburg
Oct 26    Fort Worth, Texas                    The Aardvark*
Oct 27    Austin, Texas                          Red 7*
Oct 28    Baton Rouge, Louisiana           Spanish Moon*
Oct 29    New Orleans, Louisiana          The Parish @ House of Blues*
Oct 30    Birmingham, Alabama             Zydeco*
Nov 3     Atlanta, Georgia                      The Masquerade*
Nov 4     Tampa, Florida                        Orpheum*
Nov 5     Orlando, Florida                      The Social*
Nov 7     Jacksonville, Florida                Jack Rabbits*
Nov 8     Charleston, South Carolina      The Music Farm*
Nov 10   Wilmington, North Carolina     The Soapbox Laundrolounge*
Nov 12   Nashville, Tennessee               Exit/In*
Nov 13   Louisville, Kentucky                 Headliner’s Music Hall*
Nov 14   Bloomington, Indiana               Rhino’s*
Nov 15   Cleveland, Ohio                        Peabody’s DownUnder*
Nov 16   Chicago, Illinois                       The Abbey*
Nov 18   Ann Arbor, Michigan                Blind Pig*
Nov 19   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania          Club Cafe*
Nov 20   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania       First Unitarian Church*
Nov 21   Baltimore, Maryland                 The Ottobar*
Nov 22   Northampton, Massachusetts  Pearl Street (downstairs)*
Nov 23   Allston, Massachusetts            Harper’s Ferry
Nov 26   New York, New York                 The Knitting Factory*

*opening for MC Chris

Sara Quin wouldn’t want to date herself. Or any other musician, for that matter.

The 27-year-old songstress — one twin sister half of indie pop darlings Tegan and Sara — drew inspiration from a struggling relationship for songs she contributed to the group’s latest release, The Con. Over quirky pop melodies, Sara’s lyrics candidly detail her self-described inadequate relationship skills in songs like “Relief Next to Me” (”I’m not proud that nothing will seem easy about me”) and first single “Back in Your Head” (”I’m not unfaithful, but I’ll stray”).

The latter half of the duo discussed her relationship insecurities during an interview on a break from a recent tour stop in Chicago. She touched on the band’s rabid international fan base, her love/hate relationship with their early albums and the link between their live shows and dental hygiene.

“You have to be a very patient, gentle kind person to date me,” Sara admits. “I could never date me. I could never date a musician. I just don’t feel like I could, ever. It seems so contradictory (but) I actually do feel really private and so it scares me to think that someone would have so much power to be able to create music and art from our relationship.”

“And yet, I do it all the time,” she acknowledges with a laugh. “I find that I’m not writing songs as the bad thing is happening or as the disconnect is happening, so a lot of times it’s really sort of like a retrospect thing. So I don’t feel like it’s as difficult on people as you would think just because it’s like, you’ve already gone through the rough period and then you’re writing the song. But I try to be very responsible and respectful of the things that I’m writing about. I don’t want the person that I’m writing about to feel like I’ve like exposed them.”

Even at just 27, Tegan and Sara are industry veterans. The Con is their fifth full-length album.

Since they were teenagers, the Quin twins have adopted a do-it-yourself approach that’s involved relentless touring, grassroots self-promotion and documenting their recording and touring processes for their fans through DVDs and online videos. Their persistence paid off when they were signed as teens to Neil Young’s label, Vapor Records.

Since the release of 2004’s So Jealous, which is widely viewed as the band’s breakthrough album, Tegan and Sara’s popularity has been on a steady incline. They landed a major label deal with Warner Brothers Records for The Con, which was released in July.

“Personally, I love making music, and I love the industry part of making music,” Sara says. “For me, the industry is not record labels and TV and money and MTV and whatever. It’s just the day to day of what we do and how we make this world work and how we have been able to build a career independently.”

That career started with demo tapes that evolved into 1999’s Under Feet Like Ours, the siblings’ first full-length album. That record, and the next year’s follow-up This Business of Art, are marked by gritty vocals (”We screamed a lot; we were angsty,” Sara explains) and folky guitar strumming, with influences like Bruce Springsteen and Ani DiFranco clearly discernible. Eight years later, The Con is laden with keyboards, synthesizers and polished vocal layering courtesy of producer and Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla.

Unschooled listeners probably wouldn’t realize that it’s the same girls performing.

“I definitely think there’s been a huge evolution … in terms of musical sound or style,” Sara says. “Now we’re more just a traditional rock band, pop band.”

Part of that evolution is thanks to a new recording process Tegan and Sara adopted for The Con, creating demos at their respective homes in Vancouver and Montreal and e-mailing them back and forth to each other. The approach allowed them to become stronger songwriters and better self-editors through experimentation with different instrumental and vocal techniques, Sara said.

“When we were putting out our first albums … I would just write a song and then I would go into the studio and by the time you had time to listen to it, it was done,” she explained. “When I think of the band changing into what I sort of see us being now, I think that the big difference was we started recording ourselves.”

Patience seems to have paid off.

“And to be able to finally record what I was writing, and go have dinner, and then come back and put my headphones on and listen, I was really able to sort of put myself in the shoes of the people who were going to be listening to the music. And I would really start to critique myself. I think it made me a stronger songwriter.”

The latest album, which was recorded in Walla’s Portland, Ore. studio, doesn’t stray too far from those original demos that Tegan and Sara put together, both have said. To round out their lineup for recording purposes, they recruited session musicians including AFI’s Hunter Bergan, The Rentals’ Matt Sharp on bass, and Walla’s Death Cab for Cutie bandmate Jason McGerr on drums. Longtime collaborator Ted Gowans also plays guitar on the record.