Idolator

Come November, the UK charity War Child will release a new all-covers album, Heroes, as a way to raise funds for its efforts to protect children in conflict-ravaged areas around the globe. So far, the tracklisting is as such: Duffy covering "Live & Let Die"; Hot Chip re-recording Joy Division's "Transmission"; Beck taking on Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"; the Kooks doing whatever it is they do to the Kinks' "Victoria"; and Rufus Wainwright constructing a medley from two songs off Brian Wilson's Smile. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Wainwright track is the one that piques my interest most; while Paul McCartney said that Duffy's version of the Wings track was "great—I was really impressed," I'm a bit, shall we say, skeptical. I get that she's cute and can rock a romper onstage, but how much longer must we all suffer through this "next Dusty" charade? (And who picked her to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this week, anyway? Is this season's musical theme "artists who don't sound that great live, but it's OK because our crummy sound tech prevents even the best bands from sounding any good at all, ever?") [Billboard]

So, you're at a company whose core business hasn't been doing so well these days. Layoffs are high, morale is low, and people getting your product for free are cutting into your profit model. How can you save your hide, or at least stave off your problems for one more day? Both EMI and the newsmongers Gannett have had these sorts of problems, and together, they've apparently decided that the answer is to hook up with one another and remember what the glory days of the monoculture were like—you know, back when the word "exclusive premiere" meant something? EMI and Gannett both remember those days, which is why they've entered into a deal to "premiere" the new album by Brian Wilson, That Lucky Old Sun, on Gannett's newspaper and TV sites before its Sept. 2 release. More »

WMFU has unearthed Brian Wilson's mothballed rap debut "Smart Girls," recorded during the golden age of 1989, and even if my head wasn't already swimming from too much gin last night, I don't think I'd be able to wrap it around this bizarre attempt at...what? Hip-hop crossover? Contract-breaking? Self-help? (WFMU notes the song was written "during one of Wilson's supposedly troubled periods when he was under the influence of psychologist Eugene Landy.") More »