As the recent reissue of This Year's Model proved, no one can turn vitriol into art better than Elvis Costello. This fact is reconfirmed by Momofuku — a name the singer's latest album shares with a Manhattan restaurant and that, fittingly, resembles an excellent English-language expletive. "In the not very distant future/Wheneverything will be free/There won't be any cute secrets/Let alone anynovelty," Costello spit-croons on the opener, "No Hiding Place," as low-burn rocker that indicts Internet culture amid "na-na-nas" and "woo-oos."

Among his sharpest sets in years, Momofuku was first released on double-disc vinyl (it's now available on CD and MP3), one of many signs of Costello's old-school allegiance; see also "Flutter & Wow," abruised ballad that likens the singer's lovesickness to the irregular motion of a turntable motor. But dude's not living strictly in the past. In addition to veteran Costello bandmates Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas, young singer-songwriters Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) and Johnathan Rice add sparks to Momofuku. Lewis' knowing, slightly jaded character studies owe plenty to Costello, whose collaborative imaginativeness proves he's no average curmudgeon. Long may he sneer.

“Everyday People”

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.