It's too bad that the summer driving season is over, as Shout Factory Records has compiled a third collection of stories from Chicago Public Radio's This American Life, perfect for unwinding on a long night's journey. Due next week, the two-CD Stories of Hope & Fear presents 11 thought-provoking and often very funny interviews and monologues from "normal" everyday citizens and audience favorites David Sedaris and Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman. Peppered with background music by Blonde Redhead, Evan Lurie, Morcheeba, Portastatic, and Calexico, producer Ira Glass's taste is perfectly subtle and mentally seductive.
Next Tuesday also brings Dirty Harry, the second of four digital-only EPs in the Gorillaz's prolific plan for (virtual) world domination. Available only through iTunes, each EP comes packed with bonus wallpaper, buddy icons, and more. A new Gorillaz DVD, Slowboat to Hades, was released last week, featuring 40 video clips and a CD-ROM with 16 games, screen savers, and hidden "Easter eggs." A new set of soft vinyl figures has also just been released by hip toy makers Kidrobot, as well as a band "biography" in Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre, a 256-page Penguin book with plenty of inventive back story on each character.
Frogs, locusts, and boils, oh boy! Last year's re-creation of the book of Exodus in Margate, England, has produced Plague Songs, a CD of exclusive, original songs built around each of the 10 torments on humanity. Artists participating in this dark project include Imogen Heap, the Tiger Lillies, Scott Walker, Rufus Wainwright, and Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt. A few iconic audio experimenters highlight the 4AD Records' disc, with Laurie Anderson turning in "The Death of Livestock" and Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt swatting endless "Flies."
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Regina Spektor tonight and Weird Al Yankovic on Thursday; The Late Show with David Letterman kisses the ring of Lady Sovereign on Thursday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien digs Mastodon this evening overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson boasts the return of Heart on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live hosts The Wreckers this evening overnight and Bowling for Soup on Friday overnight; Austin City Limits presents Sufjan Stevens and Calexico this weekend; and look for the debut of Class of 3000 this Friday on the Cartoon Network, featuring new music by co-creator Andre 3000 of OutKast.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, November 7:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
Bowling For Soup - The Great Burrito Extortion Case (Jive) featuring the single "High School Never Ends" and an online digital yearbook where you can upload and rate high school photos
Isobel Campbell - Milkwhite Sheets (V2) recorded shortly before her critically acclaimed CD with Mark Lanegan, this acoustic album features the a Capella "Loving Hannah"
Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale - The Road to Escondido (Reprise) featuring a cover of John Mayer's "Hard To Thrill"
Holger Czukay - Canaxis (Inside Out) reissue of ambient sounds from 1969 from the Can co-founder
Danava - Danava (Kemodo) queasy, quazy, psychedelic prog-rock fronted by a man brave enough to call himself Dusty Sparkles
Bobby Darin - Seeing Is Believing (Hyena) DVD of rare performances from his variety show and Ed Sullivan's stage
El Presidente - El Presidente (One/Sony) fun, over-the-top Scottish rocket-ride boogie fronted by the glam fabulous Dante Gizzi, heating up the dance floor and leaving the Scissor Sisters in their sequin dust
Piers Faccini - Tearing Sky (Everloving) stateside issue of this critically acclaimed debut from France, with guests Ben Harper and Chris Darrow
Foo Fighters - Skin & Bones (Roswell/RCA) live CD documenting last year's acoustic tour
The Ford Blues Band - The Butterfield/Bloomfield Concert (Blue Rock'it) blistering triple-guitar live tribute to the blues legacy of Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield, featuring Robben Ford and Chris Cain
Josef K - Entomology (Domino) new 22-track anthology CD, the third release in the label's "Sound of Young Scotland" series
Ladybug Transistor - Here Comes the Rain (Seville) covers CD EP featuring new twists on songs by John Cale, Kevin Ayers, and Grin
Leaves' Eyes - Vinland Saga: Limited Edition (Napalm/SPV) heavy metal history lesson in this rock opera of Lief Erikson's voyage to Greenland
The Librarians - Alright Easy Candy Stranger (Postfact) nervous, funky art rock with a disco soul straight outta Morgantown, West Virginia
My Latest Novel - Wolves (Worker's Institute) majestic, sleepy-time debut from Greenock, Scotland
Nobody - Revisions Revisions (Plug Research) remix collection of tweaked tracks by Mia Doi Todd, Busdriver, The Postal Service and more, featuring guest Ikey Owens of Mars Volta on The Free Design's "Girl's Alone"
OK Go - Oh No (Capitol) CD and DVD set featuring television PSAs, the result of the band's "Million Ways" dance contest, and an acoustic take on "What to Do"
Ol' Dirty Bastard - A Son Unique (Damon Dash Music) posthumous release on the second anniversary of his death, with Missy Elliott, Macy Gray, Method Man, Raekwon, Boola, and more
Jon Oliva's Pain - Maniacal Renderings (Locomotive) all new from the Savatage founder
Pepper - No Shame (Atlantic) laid back Hawaiian reggae grooves produced by 311's Nick Hexum, No Doubt's Tony Kanul and the Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary, giving Marvin "Candylicker" Sease a run for his money with "Point and Shoot"
Peter & the Wolf - Lightness (Worker's Institute) quirky, folksy troubadour meanderings from Austin, Texas native Red Hunter, beautifully holding hands in the Velvet Underground-esque duet of "The Apple Tree"
The Idan Raichel Project - The Idan Raichel Project (Cumbancha) hypnotic, uplifting enhanced CD from this talented Israeli composer in collaboration with musicians from Yemen, Ethiopia and the Caribbean
Rush - Rush in Rio (Rounder) DVD filmed in 2002 with 22 cameras
Justin Sconza - Paint by Numbers (Brilliante) solo CD EP from the Walter Meego frontman
Stranger Than Fiction - original motion picture soundtrack (Columbia) featuring a demo version of "That's Entertainment" by The Jam, and four songs by Spoon
Volker Strifler Band - The Dance Goes on (Blue Rock'it) featuring righteous covers of Willie Dixon's "Evil" and "Spoonful"
Sunny Sweeney - Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame (Sunny Sweeney) with sultry vocal chops reminiscent of Rachel Sweet, this is East Texas honky-tonk heaven, featuring a cover of Iris Dement's Mama's Opry"
Vampire Mooose - Serenade the Samurai (Rotten) brutal hardcore featuring lyrics taken from the band's former manager's "stick-up" note used in a failed bank robbery attempt
Peter Walker - A Raga for Peter Walker (Tompkins Square) four new tracks by the celebrated guitarist, and new songs written in his honor by Greg Davis, Thurston Moore, Jack Rose and others
Lucinda Williams - The Knowing (Lost Highway) with guest Bill Frisell
Lil J Xavier - Young Prince of Tha South (Noo Day) 14-year old rapper from Houston, with guests George Clinton, Mike Jones and Hawk
Yes - Fragile (Mobile Fidelity) gold-CD reissue with audiophile GAIN 2 remastering
Frank Zappa - MOFO (Zappa Records) two-CD audio documentary on the making of Freak Out!
various artists - OM: Winter Sessions (Om) two-CD set mixed by Justin Martin and Johnny Fiasco, with exclusive house tracks from King Kooba and Derrick Carter
various artists - One World, Many Cultures (Putumayo) featuring Toots and the Maytals with guest Willie Nelson on "Still Is Still Moving To Me"
