• In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the War Child: Help CD that raised funds for the children of the Bosnian war, a new project brings together a who's-who of modern rockers to continue the goal of helping children caught up in warfare worldwide.
• After blowing minds with the DVD series it started in 2003, Palm Pictures is releasing four more volumes in its Director's Series imprint. Due this coming Tuesday, this time the focus is on the visual ambition of directors Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast), Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo), Anton Corbijn, and Stephane Sednaoui.
• Taking the adage that it's the driver, not the car, David Grisman's Acoustic Disc label has compiled 42 master musicians laying hands on a beloved 1933 Martin OM-45 guitar and a 1922 Gibson F-5 mandolin. Next Tuesday the label releases the fruit of this unique four-year effort in Tone Poets, a two-CD set that shows the range of sounds drawn from these same vintage instruments by different fingers, slides, and flatpicks.
More questions than answers are blowing in the wind, my friend, with superstar artists cutting deals that exclude traditional mom-and-pop record stores from carrying their upcoming CDs. Walmart's 800-pound gorilla already dictates to the major record labels what it's going to take to get their product into their stores - approving cover art and a take-it-or-leave-it cost margin.
• The holiday gift-giving season is a still a few months away, but you should start begging now for the new Johnny Cash box set, Cash: The Legend. The four-CD offering is a beautiful testament t.o the beloved icon, saluting the 50th anniversary of his first single, "Cry, Cry, Cry," and the upcoming biopic Walk the Line, arriving in theatres in November.
Next week Louisville, Kentucky's Center for Women & Families gets a boost from the Coalition of Independent Record Stores, as it will receive the proceeds from a limited-edition EP only available at the coalition's exclusive list of 27 retailers nationwide.
• My pick of the week is the infectious, funky, laid-back perfection of the Animal Liberation Orchestra, waxing a soulful, pensive philosophy of "traversing and rehearsing and perversing along the doubt-laden extension-cord thread of life" in "Welcome to Your Barbeque," one of 10 wickedly tasty jams on the group's new CD, Fly Between Falls.
Hidden away in record-company vaults for almost a decade, Willie Nelson's lost reggae-infused recordings are seeing the light of day. Originally recorded with producer Don Was in Jamaica with legendary guest Toots Hibbert, the resulting CD, Countryman, found a champion in Lost Highway Records, which polished the rescued sessions and presents this gentle little gem this coming Tuesday.
Seattle's KEXP-FM is prepping its first CD, a selection of rare tracks recorded in the radio station's studios that's simply titled Live at KEXP Vol. 1. Available online and in stores next month, the 19-track set is a who's-who of modern-rock stardom with Joseph Arthur, Interpol, The Flaming Lips, Belle & Sebastian, The Shins, Ben Lee, Sonic Youth, Air, Michael Franti & Spearhead, and My Morning Jacket offering up exclusive tracks.
One of indie rock's most valuable players, Solid Public Relations, has just released a nifty benefit album packed with clients from its roster. Simply entitled Solid PR Presents: Volume 1, the two-CD set raises funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the firm is already looking toward a second volume to be released in January.

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