The video offers melting pot and I know he's tight with Ben & Jerry's, but Dave Matthews' refusal to accentuate what American means to him makes the South African expatriate's "American Baby" even more disgusting a purple-state sop than Paul McCartney's "Freedom." And yes, he's still doing that dance.

Mindblowing lyric of the week: Empty spaces fill me up with holes

Does anybody else enjoy when Rob Thomas gets all fervored in "Lonely No More" on the line "just to get you back again"? And what is that stray syllable on the chorus? "I don't wanna be lonely, nuuuu"? These allegedly bland mainstreamies are pretty quirky if you pay attention. Nobody seems to point out how minimalist Lenny Kravitz's hits have been in recent years. "Where Are We Runnin?" was just a distorted guitar line and SINGLE drum beat, a vocal and a solo. Plus the video is some seriously tripped out Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls jive. "Lady" and "Dig In" were rather spartan as well. I don't know how someone could find him boring and not the White Stripes.

I said boring, mind you. Not bad.