Got STEVE EARLE's new CD, THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW the other day. As Vernon God Little would say, It fucken rocks. I thought his last, JERUSALEM, suffered from a lack of great tunes, compared to the rest of his post-prison output. Sure, it had a lot of important stuff to say, but the controversy just seemed to take precedence over the songcraft. Here, however, he's back to the sort of powerpop form exhibited on I FEEL ALRIGHT (the RUBBER SOUL of alt-country) or TRANSCENDENTAL BLUES. In another, more potty-mouthed, dimension F THE CC would be a huge radio hit. And, I THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW is one of those achingly forlorn love songs that makes perfect sense when you're hungover on a Sunday morning. Bravo, maestro.