adult album alternative or some crap. its new rock for fogies

Ah, I get it. So he's going toward the John Mayer / Jason Mraz side of the business. I don't disagree with this assessment at all.

Yeah, but light years preferable to any and all AC formats.

true, but what i meant by my comment is that's its tame, safe, non-offensive, sorta lame etc.

It is very much that. So safe, it's risky. Someone respected like Rhett Miller is should stick with what he's good at. Maybe "Help Me Suzanne" will turn him into a one-hit-wonder for the mainstream but it could scare off the fans that have been around for the past decade in the process. Or I may know nothing about it and am just talking out of my butt.

AAA stations vary in quality. Some have tight playlists and run through the latest Robert Plant or Jayhawks singles as quickly as any pop playlist would run through Madonna and Black Eyed Peas. But some are more expansive, programming artists like Slaid Cleaves or DBT. From what I've seen, few are adventurous, but there are still very good tunes there. For instance, Richard Thompson and Ray Davies are not ignored by Triple A.

So, while they may be safe, the songs tend to be much sturdier than those on pop radio.

RM has announced a sorta kinda kickstarter thing to create albums "he wanted to make". Pretty much got funded 100% overnight.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/rhettmiller