Once again, new songs in the pop spotlight this week!

We're encroaching upon summertime now, when we should see the big music labels promote acts that they think will appeal to their traditional key audiences: high school and college students who get their summer jobs and have a little extra time to listen and cash to spend. Sadly, this is the group most likely to use file sharing to acquire music, leaving the music industry promoting a product their most coveted customers won't buy. So far, the acts that have started the summer season are Mariah Carey, Usher, and Madonna, but I'm sure we'll see more major acts over the next month or two. This week doesn't have any of those big acts breaking:

• Disturbed has the top debut this week with "Inside The Fire", a compact metal track with the usual features of that genre: pummeling drums, roaring singer, booming guitars... It's not bad, but has some of that clumsy metal approach to the arrangement. It seems like a rare thing for a metal act to manage to be at all graceful in that musical sense. For what it is, this track isn't bad.
  
• The Script: "We Cry". It's a hip-pop number with a sing-songy, layered arrangement. It's the sort of tune that R Kelly or Usher might be able to make something of, but it's just weak in the hands of this Irish act.
  
• We haven't heard from Plies in a while and he's back with "Bust It Baby (Part 2)". He's unleashed a syrupy concoction of sweet keyboards and breathy backing vocals and it's pretty weak (and it uses a hug chunk of an old Janet Jackson song). He's barely even rapping on this junker!
  
• "Maybe" debuts this week from Jay Sean. Is it just me, or are we seeing a lot of performers with similar names lately? This isn't bad. It's a wistful item over a lively beat and a rarity on R&B tracks: a guitar solo!
  
• The UK charts are buzzing with the debut of Australian Gabriella Cilmi. The Brits are big fans of these dry-voiced singers à la Amy Winehouse and Adele. "Sweet About Me" is hardly as enjoyable as Ms. Winehouse's work, but it's OK.
  

CDs listened to today:

• The Earlies: These Were The Earlies
• Alfred Schnittke: Symphony No. 8
• Various Artists: Bare Essentials, Volume 1
• Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet In A, "The Trout'
• Nikos Skalkottas: Concerto For Violin And Orchestra
• Emma Lou Diemer: Concerto in One Movement for Piano