Various Artists: Woodstock 99 Vol 2 (Hybrid/Epic)

The original Woodstock festival provided a rain-soaked barometer of American music circa 1969, and it was seen to be in sunny good health, if a little hairy. In contrast, last year's pale imitation shows up the sad state of US rock, with its rag-bag collection of plodding, post-grunge, dull-as-mud but still hairy bands. When one of the country's biggest acts has a boring name like Dave Matthews Band, and boring songs like Tripping Billies, then you know something's rotten in upstate New York. And it gets worse: the Brian Setzer Orchestra trying to get the muddied masses to do the Lindy Hop, Everclear expecting anybody to tell them apart from 50 other faceless and tuneless guitar bands, and Alanis Morissette babbling in tongues about some very bad things which you (yes, you) did to her. No wonder the whole sorry slimefest ended in riots.

- Kevin Courtney

The Big Bang -Best of The MC5 (Elektra)

The band who coined the immortal slogan, "kick out the jams, motherf--kers!", MC5 were a horn in the side of America's hippie generation, playing down-anddirty punk rock while the West Coast kids were zoning out to the sounds of Grateful Dead and CSNY. Led by guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith (husband of Patti Smith), and singer Rob Tyner, the Motor City Five cut a sonic swathe through the American Midwest, offering a loud, riff-heavy alternative to Detroit's other indigenous sound, Motown. Songs like Teenage Lust, Rocket Reducer No. 62 and Looking At You were to influence young punks of the late 1970s, and this compilation takes in some cracking moments from the band's short and explosive career. Smith and Tyner are no longer with us, but this short anthology makes a nice, noisy testimony to America's original snotty punks.

- Kevin Courtney