Former Soft Machine drummer and socialist rock and roll icon Robert Wyatt has been getting a whole bunch of press thanks to the release of his latest record, Shleep. As is the case with other old- school art rock weirdos Mayo Thompson (of the Red Krayola) and John Fahey, the kids are finally catching on to the fact that every era has its set of underappreciated talents. Now, it's all fine and well to say that, but what's this old codger really all about? Is he punk? Is he prog? Is he psychedelic? And most importantly, is he really cool?

We'll begin with Wyatt's first solo record, Rock Bottom, his first after he fell out of a hotel window and became paralysed from the waist down. For those who've never heard Wyatt or the prog-jazz flailings of the Soft Machine, keep in mind that this is some pretty strange stuff.

Eerily melodic, yet forsaking virutally every convention for conventional songcraft, Wyatt uses some cheesy keyboard drones, free jazz squawks, minimalist piano playing, and random guitar noodling to create something Syd Barrett would take drugs to. That is to say, if you're Syd Barrett (i.e. if you're totally insane), songs like the endless prog jam of "Little Red Robing Hood Hit the Road" or the ambient wankery of "Alife" may send you off into some sort of other dimension. However, if you're not, you'll use this sort of record as ammunition against all of us wimpy chin- rubbing types. "But wait!" we'll say. "You didn't hear the other Robert Wyatt stuff... It's really great!"

The debate continues.

-Samir Khan