Melvins: Nude With Boots

THE BAND that Melvins most resemble is, of course, Sparks. Admittedly Buzz Osbourne and Dale Crover aren't brothers and haven't scored a clutch of epochally strange top 40 hits here and there over the past three decades, but consider this: Like Sparks, Melvins are a duo with a shifting crew of additional bandmates and a boatload of famous fans who both worshipped at their feet and saw them as a source of inspiration. But above all else is the shared bloody-minded persistence in pursuing their own muse wherever it led, and the belief in being where and want to be right now instead of staying comfortable in the past. Like Ron and Russell Mael, Osbourne and Crover have created a series of albums that are immediately recognizable and still different from each other each time.