In a world where the size of album cover art continues to slide smaller with each new format, I salute
Beck in his effort to have a little fun with what visual space is left. Tuesday's release of his new Interscope CD,
The Information, comes as a do-it-yourself project with a set of stickers and a blank cover as your workspace. Four different artists designed unique sticker sets, making each self-personalized cover a special little snowflake of love. Other goodies include homemade videos for every song, plus the commercial video for the first single, "Cell Phone's Dead," directed in black and white by the amazing Michel Gondry. ... Talk about dance fever! Oil up your shimmy, don a fez, and get ready to swing, shag and sweat with the
lucha libre-hooded kings of Surf, as
Los Straitjackets have teamed with the
World Famous Pontani Sisters (and
Kaiser George) to whip this obese nation into shape one hip gyration at a time. No cynics are allowed in
Twist Party (out Tuesday), a deliciously fun romp of 13 original new "twist" classics and three covers that could easily be the imaginary soundtrack for
Kill Bill 3, where a digital Audrey Hepburn in titanium switchblade stiletto pumps and The Rock (as a buff Chubby Checker) slice and dice
American Bandstand as twistin' assassins. From the infectious "Twistin' Gorilla" -- which could have been slipped into any corny Elvis movie -- to the Halloween groove of "All Back to Drac's," the Yep Roc Records release is like admission to a secret dance party roadhouse, just down the bend from the B-52's "Love Shack" where Otis Day and the Knights open for Booker T. & the MG's every Saturday night. The Pontani Sisters are serious about the health benefits of being a twister hipster, as the accompanying DVD features their aerobic "Go-Go Robics" in action.
Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Diana Krall Wednesday, Amos Lee Thursday, Snow Patrol Friday, John Mayer Monday and Jet Tuesday. Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts The Wreckers Wednesday, Evanescence Monday, and The Decemberists Tuesday. And The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson hosts M. Ward Thursday and Starsailor Friday.
New Releases Coming Tuesday
Thavius Beck Thru (Mush) with guests Mia Doi Todd and Saul Williams; Brazil - The Philosophy of Velocity (Immortal) six-piece collective from Muncie, Ind., produced by Dave Fridman; The Break-Up - original motion picture soundtrack (Lakeshore) featuring Social Distortion, Johnny Nash, and -- dig this -- Telly Savalas asking "Who Loves You Baby?"; Lindsey Buckingham - Under the Skin (Reprise) long-anticipated return of the Fleetwood Mac guitarist; Cities - Variations (Yep Roc) CD EP of eight songs re-tweaked and knob-twisted by Ladytron, Free the Robots, Fog, CasheFlowe and their open remix contest winner, Mike Westbrook; Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Club Date: Live In Memphis (Eagle Vision) Blu-ray DVD; The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (Capitol); Delerium - Nuages du Monde (Nettwerk); The DFA - Remixes: Chapter Two (Astralwerks) putting their spin on tracks by Junior Senior, Nine Inch Nails, Hot Chip, Tiga, Goldfrapp and more, with exclusive tracks split between the eight-song CD and five-song 12-inch vinyl LP; Evanescence - The Open Door (Wind-Up) with former Cold guitarist, Terry Balsamo; The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience DGBX (Acoustic Disc) smokin' hot Bluegrass featuring the freight-train boogie of the Monroe brothers' "I'm Rollin' On" and the band's own theme song for radio's Car Talk program, "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown"; David Grisman Quintet - Dawg's Groove (Acoustic Disc) celebrating 30 years, and including the homage to the late Vassar Clements, "Blues for Vassar"; Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3 Olé! Tarantula (Yep Roc) surrounded by members of R.E.M. and the Minus 5, with guests Kimberly Rew, Ian McLagan of The Faces and Chris Ballew of the Presidents of the United States; Jet - Shine On (Atlantic) featuring the single "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is"; The Killers - Sam's Town (Island/Def Jam); The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out (Astralwerks) domestic issue of this big U.K. hit, featuring an exclusive song and the video for "Eddie's Gun"; Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire (Capitol) with guests Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto, Jon Brion and Bijou Phillips; Pillar - The Reckoning (Flicker) also available in a deluxe edition with a bonus DVD; Pixies - Live At the Paradise In Boston (Eagle Vision) DVD with bonus footage from 1986; Planes Mistaken For Stars Mercy (Abacus) closed-fist, whiplash assault from Colorado, featuring beautiful CD cover art by Chris Taylor; The Protector - original motion picture soundtrack (Bulletproof) score by RZA; The Slats - Boom Patrol (Latest Flame) bratty, herky-jerky trio emulsified with DEVO convulsions and New Wave sauciness; Spady - The Long Way Around and Other Short Stories (Post Script) long-time-coming debut from Spady Brannan, a seasoned Nashville session player and producer who's written songs for Roy Orbison, Kenny Rogers and Trisha Yearwood; Spitalfield - Better Than Knowing Where You Are (Victory); Subtle - For Hero: For Fool (Lex) new from Adam Drucker of cLOUDEAD and the Anticon collective; Various Artists We'll Inherit the Earth ... A Tribute To the Replacements (1234 Go Records) with cover contributions from The Urchin, Against Me!, The Queers, Blotto, Hi Ho Six Shooter and 18 others.
