• An odd pick for breaking new ground in the ever-shifting digital-delivery paradigm, The Barenaked Ladies have led with their James Bond chins and asked Q to reach outside the CD, DVD, MP3 phone, and Oakley's Thump eyewear.
Damian Kulash is confused. The guitarist, lead singer, and chief songwriter of OK Go wants clarification. Is it true that the publication I write for is called the "Readery"? Like an "eatery?" he asks.
On Sunday, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra showed its ability to inspire its audience in collaboration with a guest artist and with its members’ own talent. The orchestra performed three enjoyable pieces, but for me only the finale made a lasting impression.
• Everything is sunny, warm, and bright when Mister Rogers comes strolling down your shady side of the street. This coming Tuesday, a star-studded tribute shows the love in song to the late PBS-TV icon with Songs from the Neighborhood.
• Call it librarian rock or simply smarter than the rest of the class, but two new releases this week get heady in the language-arts department. Goblin Market continues the side project of the Green Pajamas' Jeff Kelly and Laura Weller with the release of Haunted, on the Camera Obscura Records label, featuring songs based on the works of American author Joyce Carol Oates.
• A handful of benefit CDs are raising funds for worthwhile causes, including aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, all looking to find hope in your hearts and a few loose bucks in your wallet. This week Saddle Creek Records releases its own Red Cross/Katrina rescue CD, entitled Lagniappe, named for the little bonus surprise that is often given by old-school shopkeepers on the Gulf Coast.
• With masked monsters soon to mash around your block in search of sugary treats, a few new Halloween CDs aim to put you in a pumpkin-carving frenzy. Packed with 25 golden oldies, Ace Record's These Ghoulish Things: Horror Hits for Halloween compilation is an import-only title worth the hunt, as only about half of the songs within have ever found their way onto CD before.
Filled with pleasing melodies and heartwarming themes, the concert opening the Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s 91st season was an understated balm for the soul. Concert pianist Alon Goldstein joined the symphony in Augustana’s Centennial Hall to deliver a performance that was simply enjoyable from beginning to end.
• Everything's covers crazy this month as a two-handed stack of CDs shows off both wild and subdued interpretations of pop and punk classics. This Tuesday Vagrant Records and Activision are teaming up with Tony Hawk for his new American Wasteland video game and the accompanying CD soundtrack, with 14 punk favorites newly recorded by today's hottest new stars.

By Georges!

For some musicians, the idea of performing in a tribute band full-time, and in full costume, no less, would be a depressing proposition. Why devote time, talent, and energy to the presentation of someone else's hits? Michael Fulop and Marty Scott, though, wouldn't have it any other way, and if you had the chance to portray George Harrison for adoring Beatles fans on a nightly basis, you might feel the same way.

Pages