On Tuesday,
William Shatner further embraces, rather than denies, his 1968 psychedelic stinker,
The Transformed Man, with a new album in collaboration with
Ben Folds. The new Pop affair,
Has Been, was produced, written and arranged by Folds, and boasts a cool guest list from Country boy Brad Paisley and the serious Henry Rollins to Aimee Mann and electronic artists Lemon Jelly. One cover did make the Shout Factory Records set list -- Pulp's 1995 hit, "Common People," with special guest Joe Jackson. ... A handful of thoughtful benefit CD projects deserve the heads-up and wallets-out. The fourth volume of the
Take Action! series is due this Tuesday, raising funds for the National Hopeline Network, a Virginia-based suicide prevention organization. Highlights from the two-CD set include a public service announcement from
Andrew W.K., a cover of
Split Enz' "Six Months In a Leaky Boat" by
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and the "wrong version" of
NOFX's "Concern of a GOP Neo-Phyte."
Pedro the Lion,
Lot Six,
Detachment Kit and
Against Me donate other rare cuts. Also filling out two CDs is Vagrant Records' just released
In Honor: A Compilation To Beat Cancer. Proceeds from the set will be split equally between the Syrentha Savio Endowment and The Sean McGrath Fund, named for the
Saves the Day bassist who died of cancer this past June. Rare, live and acoustic tracks are peppered about from
Taking Back Sunday,
Jawbreaker,
The Bouncing Souls,
Melee and
Paint It Black. The Americana pallet is nicely served with Red House Records' benefit project
13 Ways To Live: From Texas With Compassion, funding the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. With songs written specifically for this project, the CD collects Austin, Texas based artists
Abra Moore,
Alejandro Escovedo,
Patty Griffin,
Richard Buckner,
Butch Hancock and more.
Television Alert
The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Pearl Jam on Thursday and Franz Ferdinand on Monday. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Interpol on Friday. Jimmy Kimmel Live gives it up for the Scissor Sisters on Wednesday. Late Night with Conan O'Brien features Wilco on Wednesday, Supergrass on Friday, Switchfoot on Monday and Good Charlotte on Tuesday. The Late Late Show boasts Joss Stone on Wednesday, Crosby, Stills & Nash on Thursday, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on Friday, Snow Patrol on Monday and Cake on Tuesday. Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Nelly.
New Releases Coming Tuesday
and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change ...
Roy Ayers - Mahogany Vibe (Rapster) featuring Erykah Badu and Betty Wright; Jay Bennett - The Beloved Enemy (Undertow) second solo album from the former Wilco member; Cake - Pressure Chief (Columbia) on tour with Northern State; Kimya Dawson - Hidden Vagenda (K Records) new solo album from the Moldy Peaches antagonist; De La Soul - The Grind Date (AOI/Sanctuary); DEVO - Live in the Land of the Rising Sun (Music Video Distributors) DVD with 12 live tracks, commentary and backstage footage; Disengage - Application for an Afterlife (Fractured Transmitter) with cover art by Derek Hess; Minnie Driver - Everything I've Got In My Pocket (Rounder) with members of Pete Yorn's band and The Wallflowers, these new original recordings -- and a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart: -- take her back to her roots as a London singer, before she hit it big on the big screen in 1995 with A Circle of Friends; Fatboy Slim - Palookaville (Astralwerks) featuring a remake of Steve Miller's "The Joker" and guests Bootsy Collins, Johnny Quality, Lateef of Blackalicious and Damon Albarn of Blur; Good Charlotte - Chronicles of Life and Death (Epic); Helmet - Size Matters (Interscope) the return of Page Hamilton, with former members of Anthrax and White Zombie; Robyn Hitchcock - Spooked (Yep Roc); Kaki King - Legs To Make Us Longer (Red Ink/Epic) on the cover of October's Acoustic Guitar magazine; Korn - Greatest Hits: Volume 1 (Epic) featuring a cover of Cameo's "Word Up"; Laibach - Anthems (Mute) with a second disc of rare remixes; Mono - Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (Temporary Residence) Japanese visual landscape Rock produced by Steve Albini, in special origami packaging; Napoleon Dynamite - original motion picture soundtrack (Lakeshore) featuring 1980s classics from Yaz, Bow Wow Wow, Alphaville and more; Q and Not U - Power (Dischord) totally-now super sweaty Art Rock that funks hard; R.E.M. - Around the Sun (Warner Bros) look for a special limited-edition package featuring 14 color posters; Spectrum - Refractions: Thru the Rhythms of Time 1989-1997 (Space Age) collection of tracks by Pete Kember of Spaceman 3 and Experimental Audio Research; Trekkies 2 - original motion picture soundtrack (Reboot Music) featuring "Beam Me Up" by Fred Schneider of the B-52's; Utada - Exodus (Island) with guest Jon Theodore of Mars Volta; Tom Waits - Real Gone (Anti/Epitaph) recorded in a Mississippi schoolhouse with Les Claypool of Primus, guitarist Marc Ribot and Harry Cody of Shotgun Messiah.
