Do you remember the book-and-seven-inch-single sets for children, with each page turned to the ring of a bell? The publishers at The Secret Mountain are continuing that nifty idea. Next week a new book-and-CD set, Down at the Sea Hotel, is released, developed from a single song by Greg Brown, illustrated into a full book by Mireile Levert, and then fleshed out into an accompanying 14-track audio CD. Featuring a wonderful collection of lullabies written by Tom Waits, Don Henley, Bruce Cockburn, Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle, Marc Cohn, and more, the album's mood is sewn together by the cast of Americana artists that cover the selections, including roots luminaries John Gorka, Eliza Gilkyson, and Guy Davis. Two highlights shine bright: The Wailin' Jennys' grace through Neil Young's "Barefoot Floors" and Lucy Kaplansky's beautiful sway in Billy Joel's "Goodnight, My Angel." Benefiting the Breast Cancer Fund, the project is available two ways: in a traditional hardcover book with the CD tucked inside, or as a cardboard digipak CD with bonus files of all the music charts, illustrations, and lyrics.

Sean Kelly is the founder, lead singer, and guitarist for the Samples, the Colorado-based bluegrass- and reggae-inspired rockers who make their Rock Island Brewing Company debut on October 13. And if you visit Kelly's MySpace page, you'll find a link labeled "My Musical Family Tree," which includes a list of the musicians who've been members of the band in the years since its inception.

All 19 of them.

In November, bluesman Michael "Hawkeye" Herman will spend a week at a festival. At night, he'll perform in concert halls and clubs. During the day, he'll play in schools, jails, halfway houses, and other social-service institutions.

That probably sounds similar to the Blues in the Schools residencies that the Mississippi Valley Blues Society has been hosting for the past seven years. But Herman's November gig is in Paris, France.

Robert Pollard, the former captain of the starship Guided by Voices, is just as busy as a solo artist with two new albums next week, and hitting the halfway point in his monthly seven-inch-single series. Merge Records is behind all the wax love, as both the "pop" CD, Coast to Coast Carpet of Love, and the "rock" CD, Standard Gargoyle Decisions, will be available in a limited edition of 1,500 180-gram vinyl LPs. Pollard has been showing off a few cards from both decks for the past few months in his Happy Jack Rock Records Singles Series, issuing a 45-RPM single roughly every 30 days, featuring an A side from one of the two albums and a exclusive B-side bonus. This coming Tuesday, look around your local vinyl-proud record shop for this month's single, "Shadow Port," or last month's single, "Pill Gone Girl."