Bringing back memories of the warm scent from an Easy Bake Oven, Cake is prepping a new CD that features "scratch and sniff" fun in the disc's limited edition. Releasing B-Sides & Rarities on their own at (http://www.cakemusic.com) and bypassing a record-label deal, the CD features two crazy covers: Kenny Rogers' and the First Edition's "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" and Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up." One more cover is featured on the limited edition's bonus disc: a live stab at Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" with guest Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips. Budding video directors are encouraged to submit an original visual accompaniment to the "War Pigs" cover, with the band ponying up a $1,000 prize.

With all due respect to The Departed, the actual best picture of 2006 was one that didn't come to a theatre near you ... or, for that matter, to a theatre near anyone else.

Director Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke, a four-hour "requiem" focusing on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has a scope, grandeur, and emotionalism that put the rest of 2006's output to shame - the documentary, available on DVD, made its debut on HBO last August - and much of its power can be traced to the extraordinary contributions of jazz musician Terence Blanchard, the acclaimed trumpet player here as the latest Quad City Arts Visiting Artist. (Blanchard will give a public performance at the Capitol Theatre on March 10.)

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters is making a rare soundtrack appearance later month, contributing a new, original song - "Hello (I Love You)" - to the New Line soundtrack to The Last Mimzy. The sci-fi tale of siblings finding a strange box of toys opens later this month, with a score by Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore.

It's all kilts, libraries, and rock 'n' roll in a new disc that pairs hip Scottish musicians and hip Scottish writers. Next week Chemikal Underground Records releases Ballads of the Book, a CD conceived by Roddy Woomble of Idlewild after working with author Edwin Morgan on the band's Remote Part album. While I must admit I'm not familiar with the literary pedigrees of each of these 18 collaborations, the music side of the page includes Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap, Norman Blake, King Creosote, The Trashcan Sinatras, and Vashti Bunyan.