16
Nov
2004
• A terrific new charity CD is due next week, benefiting refugee assistance in Sudan's humanitarian crisis. Entitled Genocide in Sudan, the Waxploitation Records release features contributions from an amazing array of socially conscious artists, including Tom Morello's Nightwatchmen, Tweaker with Will Oldham, Danger Mouse with Murs, and DJ Spooky with Lee "Scratch" Perry. A handful of cool re-mixes graces the album, with Novel & Jones' spin on The Pretenders' "Complex Person" and a Jez Colin re-working of Angelique Kidjo's "Conga Habanera."
• Featuring former members of The Housemartins, England's The Beautiful South is best known for its jazzy, sophisticated pop sound. This Tuesday Sony Records UK releases a radical departure from what you might expect from the band, with an import-only, all-covers collection entitled Golddiggas, Headnodders, & Pholk Songs. Highlights include the group's take on ELO's "Living Thing," Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop," The Stylistics' "I'm Stone in Love with You," The Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year," and, from the musical Grease, "You're the One That I Want."
• The weirdest and most delicious cover of the week? Definitely the power-pop version of "Love Power" from Mel Brooks' musical The Producers, found on Martin Gordon's new CD, The Joy of More Hogwash. The new album is a clever lyrical romp featuring songs about alien romance, Nigerian banking scandals, and dinner-party nitwits, along with a nifty homage to Cheap Trick. Highly entertaining with theatrical bravado and 1980s pop-star panache, the Radiant Future Records release from the former Sparks bassist also includes another cool cover - the Beatles' "Every Little Thing" from 1965.
• This Tuesday, VH1 Classic and Immortal Records are giving the acid-washed-jeans and teased-hair generation its own CD of love ballads and heartbreakers, sure to soothe the most savage beast. Collecting tracks from import-only releases, out-of-print albums, live performances, and new recordings, Metal Mania Stripped! is an all-acoustic panty-dropper featuring hits such as Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," Whitesnake's "Is This Love," Tesla's "The Way It Is," Winger's "Miles Away," and other monster ballads from Warrant, Scorpions, and Cinderella.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Fantasia Barrino this evening and Ben Harper & The Blind Boys of Alabama on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien welcomes Flaming Lips on Thursday overnight and William Shatner on Friday overnight; The Late Late Show features Nellie McKay on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live boasts Green Day on Monday overnight and Chingy on Tuesday overnight; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is U2.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, November 23:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
Fantasia Barrino - Free Yourself (J Records) straight from the American Idol 2004 stage
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Arista)
Breaking Benjamin - So Cold, So Cold (Hollywood) five-song CD EP
Ian Broudie - Tales Told (Deltasonic) new import-only album from the Lightning Seeds founder
By the Grace of God - Three Steps to a Better Democracy (Initial) compilation of early material
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rattlesnakes: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) import-only expanded re-issue
Shawn Colvin - Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Collection (Columbia) featuring a cover of The Beatles' "I'll Be Back" and a bonus DVD
Creed - Greatest Hits (Wind-Up) with a bonus DVD
Days of the New - Purple (Outpost/Geffen)
Dido - Live at Brixton Academy (Arista) two CDs or DVD
The Diplomats - Diplomatic Immunity 2 (Koch) with Cam'ron, Freeky Zeeky, and Hell Rell
DJ Irene - Rockstar (Moist Music) new hard-mix CD featuring Deep Dish, Roni Size, Tiesto with BT, and new, original productions
Evanescence - Anywhere but Home (Wind-Up) CD/DVD filmed at The Zenith in Paris, featuring a cover of Korn's "Thoughtless" and backstage footage
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (Domino/Epic) expanded CD re-issue featuring B sides and a new song
Goo Goo Dolls - Live in Buffalo: July 4, 2004 (Warner Bros) CD and DVD featuring a cover of Supertramp's gem "Give a Little Bit"
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - original video game soundtrack (Interscope) featuring a cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like a Hole" by AFI
Hoobastank - Let It Out (Island) DVD
Incubus - Live at Red Rocks (Epic) CD and DVD
Jet - Family Style (Elektra) DVD filmed earlier this year in London
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways (Rounder) with guests Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on "Wouldn't Be So Bad"
Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow Live (Arista) CD and DVD set
Blind Willie McTell - The Devil Can't Hide from Me (Fuel 2000) first time on CD for these hotel-room sessions from 1940
MxPx - B-Movie (Side One Dummy) DVD and CD EP of five acoustic songs
New Found Glory - This Disaster: Live (Geffen) DVD release featuring the band's acoustic set after a power failure at a London club
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral: Deluxe Edition (Nothing/Interscope) featuring a bonus dual-disc DVD and lots of goodies
Nirvana - With the Lights Out (Geffen) box set of three CDs and a DVD, boasting more than 50 previously unreleased tracks and liner notes by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
Lee Perry & Gary Eck - Hollywood Motel (Artemis) comedy CD from this Australian impressions duo, featuring a celebrity "cast" of hotel guests - Tom Cruise cursing, Arnold Schwarzenegger's dreams of Riverdance, Keanu Reeves' keen mind, Russell Crowe doing the ol' 4:20 "wake & bake," and a cover of Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side."
Rennie Pilgrem - Pilgremage (Thursday Club) breakbeat rave featuring his live bass skills
Pink - Live in Europe (LaFace) DVD
Poison Arrows - Trailer Park (File 13) new electronica from Justin Sinkovish of Atombombpocketknife, with guest Martin Rev of Suicide
Quiet Riot - '89 Live in Japan (Music Video Dist) DVD with singer Paul Shortino
Christina Rosenvinge - Foreign Land (Smells Like Records) second album from this Spanish-Danish singer, with Steve Shelly and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth in her backing band
Scientific American - Strong for the Future (Mush)
Snow Patrol - Mums & Dads of the World Be Patient with Your Children (Interscope) DVD filmed live this past August at the Somerset House in London, with bonus videos
Gwen Stefani - Love, Angel, Music, Baby (Interscope) solo debut from the No Doubt bombshell, with guests Andre 3000 of OutKast and Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes, also available in a fabric-wrapped special-edition CD designed by the artist herself
Trapt - Trapt (Warner Bros) utilizing new DualDisc technology
U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Interscope) also available in a special limited-edition package with a bonus DVD, four acoustic tracks, and a nice 48-page booklet
various artists - Escape: St. Barth's (Solphonic) upbeat dance tracks and chill-out grooves kissed by the Caribbean sun, featuring Dr. Kucho!, GusGus, Junior Jack, and Roger Sanchez
Pete Yorn - Live From New Jersey (Columbia)
• Featuring former members of The Housemartins, England's The Beautiful South is best known for its jazzy, sophisticated pop sound. This Tuesday Sony Records UK releases a radical departure from what you might expect from the band, with an import-only, all-covers collection entitled Golddiggas, Headnodders, & Pholk Songs. Highlights include the group's take on ELO's "Living Thing," Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop," The Stylistics' "I'm Stone in Love with You," The Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year," and, from the musical Grease, "You're the One That I Want."
• The weirdest and most delicious cover of the week? Definitely the power-pop version of "Love Power" from Mel Brooks' musical The Producers, found on Martin Gordon's new CD, The Joy of More Hogwash. The new album is a clever lyrical romp featuring songs about alien romance, Nigerian banking scandals, and dinner-party nitwits, along with a nifty homage to Cheap Trick. Highly entertaining with theatrical bravado and 1980s pop-star panache, the Radiant Future Records release from the former Sparks bassist also includes another cool cover - the Beatles' "Every Little Thing" from 1965.
• This Tuesday, VH1 Classic and Immortal Records are giving the acid-washed-jeans and teased-hair generation its own CD of love ballads and heartbreakers, sure to soothe the most savage beast. Collecting tracks from import-only releases, out-of-print albums, live performances, and new recordings, Metal Mania Stripped! is an all-acoustic panty-dropper featuring hits such as Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," Whitesnake's "Is This Love," Tesla's "The Way It Is," Winger's "Miles Away," and other monster ballads from Warrant, Scorpions, and Cinderella.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Fantasia Barrino this evening and Ben Harper & The Blind Boys of Alabama on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien welcomes Flaming Lips on Thursday overnight and William Shatner on Friday overnight; The Late Late Show features Nellie McKay on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live boasts Green Day on Monday overnight and Chingy on Tuesday overnight; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is U2.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, November 23:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
Fantasia Barrino - Free Yourself (J Records) straight from the American Idol 2004 stage
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Arista)
Breaking Benjamin - So Cold, So Cold (Hollywood) five-song CD EP
Ian Broudie - Tales Told (Deltasonic) new import-only album from the Lightning Seeds founder
By the Grace of God - Three Steps to a Better Democracy (Initial) compilation of early material
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rattlesnakes: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) import-only expanded re-issue
Shawn Colvin - Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Collection (Columbia) featuring a cover of The Beatles' "I'll Be Back" and a bonus DVD
Creed - Greatest Hits (Wind-Up) with a bonus DVD
Days of the New - Purple (Outpost/Geffen)
Dido - Live at Brixton Academy (Arista) two CDs or DVD
The Diplomats - Diplomatic Immunity 2 (Koch) with Cam'ron, Freeky Zeeky, and Hell Rell
DJ Irene - Rockstar (Moist Music) new hard-mix CD featuring Deep Dish, Roni Size, Tiesto with BT, and new, original productions
Evanescence - Anywhere but Home (Wind-Up) CD/DVD filmed at The Zenith in Paris, featuring a cover of Korn's "Thoughtless" and backstage footage
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (Domino/Epic) expanded CD re-issue featuring B sides and a new song
Goo Goo Dolls - Live in Buffalo: July 4, 2004 (Warner Bros) CD and DVD featuring a cover of Supertramp's gem "Give a Little Bit"
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - original video game soundtrack (Interscope) featuring a cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like a Hole" by AFI
Hoobastank - Let It Out (Island) DVD
Incubus - Live at Red Rocks (Epic) CD and DVD
Jet - Family Style (Elektra) DVD filmed earlier this year in London
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways (Rounder) with guests Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on "Wouldn't Be So Bad"
Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow Live (Arista) CD and DVD set
Blind Willie McTell - The Devil Can't Hide from Me (Fuel 2000) first time on CD for these hotel-room sessions from 1940
MxPx - B-Movie (Side One Dummy) DVD and CD EP of five acoustic songs
New Found Glory - This Disaster: Live (Geffen) DVD release featuring the band's acoustic set after a power failure at a London club
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral: Deluxe Edition (Nothing/Interscope) featuring a bonus dual-disc DVD and lots of goodies
Nirvana - With the Lights Out (Geffen) box set of three CDs and a DVD, boasting more than 50 previously unreleased tracks and liner notes by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
Lee Perry & Gary Eck - Hollywood Motel (Artemis) comedy CD from this Australian impressions duo, featuring a celebrity "cast" of hotel guests - Tom Cruise cursing, Arnold Schwarzenegger's dreams of Riverdance, Keanu Reeves' keen mind, Russell Crowe doing the ol' 4:20 "wake & bake," and a cover of Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side."
Rennie Pilgrem - Pilgremage (Thursday Club) breakbeat rave featuring his live bass skills
Pink - Live in Europe (LaFace) DVD
Poison Arrows - Trailer Park (File 13) new electronica from Justin Sinkovish of Atombombpocketknife, with guest Martin Rev of Suicide
Quiet Riot - '89 Live in Japan (Music Video Dist) DVD with singer Paul Shortino
Christina Rosenvinge - Foreign Land (Smells Like Records) second album from this Spanish-Danish singer, with Steve Shelly and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth in her backing band
Scientific American - Strong for the Future (Mush)
Snow Patrol - Mums & Dads of the World Be Patient with Your Children (Interscope) DVD filmed live this past August at the Somerset House in London, with bonus videos
Gwen Stefani - Love, Angel, Music, Baby (Interscope) solo debut from the No Doubt bombshell, with guests Andre 3000 of OutKast and Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes, also available in a fabric-wrapped special-edition CD designed by the artist herself
Trapt - Trapt (Warner Bros) utilizing new DualDisc technology
U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Interscope) also available in a special limited-edition package with a bonus DVD, four acoustic tracks, and a nice 48-page booklet
various artists - Escape: St. Barth's (Solphonic) upbeat dance tracks and chill-out grooves kissed by the Caribbean sun, featuring Dr. Kucho!, GusGus, Junior Jack, and Roger Sanchez
Pete Yorn - Live From New Jersey (Columbia)
