With election frenzy in the air, the Standard Recording Company of Indianapolis has compiled a three-CD set with a new song about each of the 43 presidents. Due next week, 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies was written and nourished by members of Above the Orange Trees and Nice Monster recording as Of Great & Mortal Men, aided by stars including Rosie Thomas, the Radar Bros., Califone, Alan Sparhawk of Low, Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters, Bill Callahan of Smog, Vince DiFiore of Cake, and James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand. Song titles include "Lyndon B. Johnson: Ladybird Take Me Home," "William J. Clinton: The Mighty Lion Will Not Roar Again," and "Herbert Hoover: Woe Is a Spoon-Shaped Heart."
Merge Records is celebrating 20 years with a yearlong series of CD compilations selected by an interesting group of curators. Fourteen CDs will eventually fill the SCORE! box set, which is only available as a subscription from the label. Pre-orders begin this week at MergeRecords.com, with the first two discs' contents picked from the Merge vaults by video director Phil Morrison and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. Looking forward, other curators will include Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler, chef David Chang, and the Talking Heads' David Byrne. Each disc will have a portion of its proceeds benefit a charity.
Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Brian Wilson tonight, The Game on Thursday, and Leona Lewis on Tuesday; The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Tricky tonight, Duffy on Thursday, Steve Earle on Friday, and Michael Bublé on Tuesday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien presents Delta Spirit this evening and Gym Class Heroes on Tuesday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live features Young Jeezy tonight and Black Kids on Friday overnight; The Ellen DeGeneres Show gets cozy with the Jonas Brothers on Monday.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, September 9
Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez - Why Is Bear Billowing? (Carpark) solo debut; on tour with Jana Hunter this month and with Dan Deacon's Baltimore Round Robin tour in October
Avenged Sevenfold - Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough (Warner Bros.) on tour next week with Buckcherry, this live CD and DVD set boasts B sides and covers
Calhoun - Falter, Waiver, Cultivate (Artist Garage) featuring fascinating cover and booklet artwork by Diane Sikes, this is the third album from the Ft. Worth band helmed by Tim Loche
Grayson Capps - Rott 'n' Roll (Hyena) backed by The Stumpknockers, the reflective, relaxed songs travel dim-lit alleys and the Tennessee mountains, highlighted by the terrific "Arrowhead"
Civet - Hell Hath No Fury (Hellcat) featuring "All I Want," co-written with Tim Armstrong of Rancid
Colourmusic - f, monday, orange, february, venus, lunatic, 1 or 13 (Great Society) touring earlier this year with British Sea Power, this is a heavy, playful, swirling gem
Cornelius - Sensurround + B-Sides (Everloving) CD and DVD set featuring a 5.1-channel mix, 12 videos, a collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto, and an a cappella version of "Music" by Petra Haden
Albert Cummings - Feel So Good (Blind Pig) live CD from the Stratocaster slinger, capped off with a blistering run through Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll"
Catie Curtis - Sweet Life (Compass) featuring the folk-rock star's take on Death Cab for Cutie's "Soul Meets Body"
Aram Danesh & the Super Human Crew - The Grind (Mammoth Entertainment) on the guitarist's artist-owned label, this is "paying attention" conscious hip-hop with guests Gift of Gab and Lebaron Pettis
Dead Can Dance - Dead Can Dance (Vinyl 180/Virtual Label) audiophile vinyl edition, featuring a "deluxe" gatefold version with a bonus clear-vinyl pressing of the Garden of the Arcane Delights EP
The Dead Science - Villainaire (Constellation) with guest Craig Wredren of Shudder to Think; an audiophile 180-gram vinyl edition comes in a hand-screened jacket on heavy art-stock paper
Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life (Bloodshot) limited-edition vinyl LP, featuring the bonus CD EP Yuma tucked inside each of the first 500 pressings
Missy Elliott - Block Party (Atlantic) with producers Pointguard, Pharrell, Souldiggaz, Timbaland, and Danjahandz
Michael Franti & Spearhead - All Rebel Rockers (Anti/Epitaph) dub meets soul with Sly & Robbie and Zap Mama's Marie Daulne
Lafayette Gilchrist & the New Volcanoes - Soul Progression (Hyena) avant-garde hip and street-smart funk from the Baltimore pianist and his slamming ensemble
Gym Class Heroes - The Quilt (Decaydance) with guests Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Busta Rhymes, and Daryl Hall
Hallam Foe - original motion picture soundtrack (Domino) eclectic, creepy, cool selection of 16 artists from the label's stable, with Junior Boys, Orange Juice, Sons & Daughters, and Future Pilot AKA, and a new Franz Ferdinand song written specifically for the UK indie film
Claire Hamill - Touchpaper (Esoteric) reissue from 1983, this adventurous electronic/ambient album features four bonus tracks, including a 12-inch club mix of "Jump"
Head - Save Me from Myself (Driven Music) new from Brian Head, formerly of Korn, with guests Josh Freese and Tony Levin
Horse Feathers - Horse with No Name (Kill Rock Stars) dreamy, fragile, and strengthening hymns from the rural expanse of Lewiston, Idaho
Hot Panda - "Cold Hands/Chapped Lips" (Mint) seven-inch single
I'm Not Jim - You Are All My People (Bloodshot) nifty, quickly produced collaboration/artistic smash-up from The Silos' Walter Salas-Humara and acclaimed novelist Jonathan Lethem, aided by the production team of The Elegant Too, made of up Brave Combo's Phil Hernandez and Skeleton Key's Chris Maxwell
Kellarissa - Flamingo (Mint) solo project from vocalist Larissa Loyva and her Yamaha synthesizer
Celeste Krenz - My Mother & Me (High Horse) bluesy, kitchen-table country and loving family affair, with more than half the songs co-written with her mother, Jean Krenz
Magic Slim & the Teardrops - Midnight Blues (Blind Pig) all new, featuring "guest Teardrops" Otis Clay, James Cotton, Lonnie Brooks, and Elvin Bishop
Mogwai - Batcat (Matador/PIAS) CD EP featuring guest vocalist Roky Erickson of the 13th Floor Elevators on "Devil Rides"
Novillero - A Little Tradition (Mint) shake-it-loose mod-pop soul from Canada, channeling the pep and passion of The Jam, Ben Folds, and the seminal Stiff Records era
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar) featuring "Lost Coastlines," a duet between Will Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg
Palms - It's Midnight in Honolulu (Rare Book Room Records) cross-continent duo of Ryan Schaefer and Nadja Korinth
Pontiak - Sun on Sun (Thrill Jockey) recorded in less than 100 hours in a Virginia log cabin
Portastatic - Some Small History (Merge) 43-track, two-CD rarities collection featuring covers of Ryan Adams' "Oh My Sweet Carolina," The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks," Prefab Sprout's "Love Breaks Down," Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," and an acoustic demo of "I Wanna Know Girls"
Rafter - Sweaty Magic (Asthmatic Kitty) this CD EP is a fresh, thrilling hot-wheels joyride through hyper electronic tunnels and feverish robot-pop ballads
The Sound of Animals Fighting - The Ocean & the Sun (Epitaph) third album from the quartet known as the Lynx, the Nightingale, the Walrus, and the Skunk
A Static Lullaby - Rattlesnake (Fearless) offering an MP3 bonus cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic" if you pre-order the album from the band's Web site
Touchers - Blithe (Mental Records) swan-song release from Montana, recorded months before the death of founder "Bipolar" Ben Brisini
Young Widows - Old Wounds (Temporary Residence) new from Steve Sindoni, former guitarist of Louisville's Breather Resist; produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge
Steve Wynn - Crossing Dragon Bridge (Rock Ridge) with Chris Eckman of the Walkabouts, this new solo album from the Dream Syndicate co-founder was recorded in Slovenia last year
