How clichéd--make that calcified--has the concept of "irony" become in alternative music? When North Carolina's Squirrel Nut Zippers scored an unlikely late '90s hit with "Hell" (from their Hot album), many cynics (and a few critics) thought the band was merely mocking the hot jazz stylings of the '20s and '30s. But having put a couple more albums and some trying times (the defection of singer-guitarist Tom Maxwell and passing of horn player Stacy Guess) under their belts, it's clear that musical affection was no mere passing affectation.
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