Album

When Jasiel Robinson was growing up in Atlanta, he learned much about running a business from his father, who owned a hair-care products company. Years later when Robinson became platinum-selling rapper Yung Joc, he applied the same progressive business acumen to his career in hip-hop. It's not just about making music. "You have a recognizable name and face and a credible reputation. You can relate all that to building financial wealth," says Joc, who plays 1st Mariner Arena tomorrow night as part of Screamfest '07, which also stars fellow Atlanta rapper T.I and R&B-pop princess Ciara.

Don't let the impeccably bright melodies or clever, accessible arrangements fool you. On Paul McCartney's 21st solo album, Memory Almost Full, this master craftsman of the artful pop song focuses on somber topics - divorce, growing old, dying - as the uncluttered music maintains a lively mood. McCartney lyrically eschews (for the most part) the twee approach that has marked his solo recordings and his work with Wings. He has long written poignantly reflective songs over quirky, unerringly melodic arrangements.

Six years ago when I started working as a music critic in New York City, one of my first assignments was to cover the album release party for Mahogany Soul, Angie Stone's sophomore album. The venue was right off Times Square. The street in front of the place was littered with handbills featuring a pretty face shot of a gloriously Afro'd Stone. As gusty winds blew them about, a long, long line snaked into the building. Inside, I was surrounded by cliquish industry folks and publicists wearing fixed smiles.

What"s the point? -- The more than 3,000 bands and artists registered on sellaband.com have one mission: garner enough "Believers" who invest enough $10 "Parts" to raise $50,000. These artists get a studio recording, and "Believers" score a copy for free. Once the album is released to the public, the artists and their "Believers" split the profits. What to look for --Whatever genre you may desire, this site can probably deliver. In this week's charts, Latin, lounge, folk, funk and progressive rock are all represented in its Top 10, ranked by number of parts sold to "Believers.

Regina Spektor can't help that her music is quirky. That's just how it is. The important factor is that her songs never feel calculated, says the alt-pop singer-songwriter. While recording Begin to Hope, her latest album and first set of original material for Sire/Warner Music, she was careful to let the music breathe and not indulge herself. "It wasn't anything planned, just natural circumstances," says Spektor, who headlines Rams Head Live on Wednesday, the first date on her national tour.

Just because we haven't heard from Suzanne Vega in a while doesn't mean she hasn't been busy. Six years, a lifetime in pop, have passed since the pop-folk singer-songwriter released her last album, 2001's overlooked Songs in Red and Gray. She's back with a new album - Beauty & Crime, her debut for Blue Note Records released last week - and it is well worth the wait. Surely you remember Vega, the wispy woman who karate-kicked the door open for the crop of folky pop female singer-songwriters who rose to fame in the late '80s and early '90s.

You thought you knew Marilyn Manson, the self-proclaimed "Antichrist Superstar" and one of the most controversial performers of the 1990s. He's the one with the strange makeup, bizarre contact lenses and hit albums extolling sex, drugs and Satanism. But time has softened the artist. Kind of. His look is still spooky, but his music these days is more revealing and romantic - in a dark, gothic way, of course. On Eat Me, Drink Me, Manson's latest album and sixth release overall, the artist is uncharacteristically vulnerable.

They may not be as big in America as they are in their native England, but the guys in Editors aren't really preoccupied with dominating the pop charts on both sides of the pond -- at least for now. So far, though, the neo-punk quartet -- whose members include lead singer-guitarist Tom Smith, guitarist Chris Urbanowicz, bassist Russell Leetch and drummer Ed Lay -- has generated a fair amount of international buzz with its two albums: last year's acclaimed...

It's a complete dream come true. It's like flying first class on the Concorde." That's smooth-jazz saxophonist Dave Koz, talking about his latest album, At the Movies. A lush, star-studded affair, the CD "combines music and the movies, two things I love the most," he says. His enthusiasm for the indelible lyrics and melodies of iconic tunes such as "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz and "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca shines through every note Koz blows. It's a grand, stylish album the artist has wanted to record for years.

Not many musicians can claim to have shared the stage with their idols. But at the age of 27, blues guitarist Sean Costello has done exactly that. Costello, who began playing guitar at age 9 and touring at 14, has opened for and performed with the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Bo Diddley. He has enjoyed a wealth of critical acclaim for his 2005 self-titled album. Although Costello enjoys a constant tour schedule, he will enter the studio again in the winter to record a new album. You can catch one of his performances Sunday at the annual Alonzo's Memorial Picnic in Rosedale.

R&B singer Mario wants a mulligan. The Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling Baltimore native wants people to forget about the sloppy way his last album, "Go," was handled. His record label kept pushing back "Go" until, when it was finally released in late 2007, it had disappointing sales. When Mario started working on his new album, "D.N.A.," he did everything he could to make sure that wouldn't happen again. He took more creative control over how the songs were presented and how the album was handled.

A couple of years ago, Moby was at the MTV Music Awards when he had a career-changing epiphany. "I was sitting between Christina Aguilera and Ludacris, and I had this moment where I just started thinking to myself, 'What the hell am I doing here?' " he said. "Nothing against Ludacris and Christina Aguilera, but it's not a world I want to have anything to do with." At the time, Moby was very much a part of that world. A longtime staple on the dance music scene, Moby, who performs at Rams Head Live tonight, became an international pop star seemingly overnight with his 1999 effort "Play."

Baltimore's music scene has always had a soft spot for hard rock. But few Baltimore bands rock quite as hard as J-Roddy Walston and the Business. On stage, the captivatingly unkempt foursome churns out a mix of rollicking '50s boogie and fist-pumping '70s rock. Tonight, they'll perform at the Ottobar. Two and a half years ago, when J-Roddy Walston and the Business released the album "Hail Mega Boys," the guys in the group set some goals for themselves. They wanted to sell 2,000 copies of "Hail Mega Boys," and they wanted it to get fans and industry folks buzzing about the band.

It's hard to know where OutKast ends and Big Boi begins. For more than 15 years, Big Boi has been one half of the renowned Georgia-based hip-hop duo. OutKast grew so big over the years - winning several Grammy awards and selling millions of albums - it's become almost impossible for Big Boi to step out of OutKast's shadow. He's done movies. He's released singles that have absolutely nothing to do with the flamboyant Andre 3000, OutKast's other member. And Sunday, when Big Boi will be at Merriweather Post Pavilion as part of the Rock the Bells festival tour, Andre 3000 will be nowhere in sight.

With songs like "A Party Song (The Walk of Shame)" and "Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)," you'd think life for pop rockers All Time Low is all booze and groupies. Though the four guys from Baltimore County have sold hundreds of thousands of albums and done their share of partying, they still had to make some tough choices for their new album. They wanted to work with an A-list producer at a high-end studio, but there just wasn't enough money to make that happen. So they did the next best thing: Hire five teams of well-known producers, and record a track or two with each one. They bounced back and forth from studio to studio, spending time in New York City, Malibu, Calif.

Bob Dylan [Columbia Records] ** 1/2 (2 1/2 stars) cds Bob Dylan's got the blues. On Together Through Life, his new album in stores Tuesday, the pop legend goes for a blues-suffused, Tex-Mex sound that evokes bygone barroom nights of dancing and drinking. A guitar weeps, an accordion whines and wheezes as the drums shuffle. Dylan's tattered, croaking voice looms over the dusty grooves like a dark storm cloud. The peppery musical blend of folk, Tin Pan Alley-style pop, Americana and Southern blues is sometimes flavorful.

Not long after Ben Folds heard that his songs were popular among college a cappella groups, he got an idea for a new album. "We just put the word out," he says. "I put it on my Web page: If you're an a cappella group and you're doing my songs, send your submission to YouTube and I'll check 'em out. We'll make a record." In a matter of weeks, 250 videos were sent to YouTube. Folds combed through the submissions and ultimately chose 15 ensembles to perform on Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!

Pat Green had done well for years all on his own. The country artist sold more than 250,000 copies of his first three albums between 1995 and 2000, all without a major-label contract. He made a nice living, too, as he toured regularly. But although he was well-known on the Southern club circuit, especially in his native Texas, Green felt limited. "I felt like there was a wall in front of me," says the singer-songwriter, who headlines Rams Head Live on Friday night. "Without somebody with some clout, it's really difficult to get your songs played on the air. Without your songs playing in the Top 40, it's really difficult to tour nationwide."

By the time Dan Deacon released Spiderman of the Rings, his 2007 national critical breakthrough, he had already established himself as a manic performer. His reputation stretched well beyond his base in Baltimore. The success of the album, which garnered kudos from Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, brought on more opportunities to tour. Soon, thousands of artsy hipster types across the country filled Deacon's shows, where he often shunned the stage, turning his performances into goofy participatory events.

Diana Krall [Verve Records] *** (3 STARS) On Quiet Nights, the new album by Diana Krall, the jazz singer-pianist sways with the gentle rhythms of bossa nova. It's a sound that's familiar to Krall, and she handles it well. But this is the first time the Grammy winner has devoted an entire album to the style. The CD, out Tuesday, is her first release since giving birth to twin boys two years ago. In a way, Quiet Nights extends the elegant feel of Krall's last album, the excellent From This Moment On. Her hushed, Shirley Horn-like vocals are warmly embraced by tastefully understated orchestration overseen by the legendary Claus Ogerman.