5-4-Fri: Muzak

Herz the drill: I have been listening to some new music. Perhaps you will likie, perhaps not. Please to be enjoying the recommendations.

1. Lonely Avenue by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby. This 11 song collaboration is awesome. Ben is claimed by Chapel Hill as a favorite son for his eponymous + Five band and Nick wrote 2003's excellent set of music criticism essays, Songbook, among many other things. Any album with a song written from the perspective of Alaska's Billy Carter, Levi Johnston, is okay by me.

2. Collapse Into Now by the remnants of R.E.M. The beauty of the Interwebs is that you can hear the new R.E.M. album almost in its entirety well before its Spring release date. This successor to the return-to-form Accelerate seems like a bit of a retread -- one song with classic backing vocals and use of the the word "Honey," one song with the sing-song cadence memorialized by "hey...kids...rock and roll," one song written like a Dadaist poem, etc., etc. Still, dude, R.E.M. Gotta get it.

3. National Ransom by Elvis Costello. Not everyone knows that Elvis has a huge country streak in him, but the man has some serious Nashville-type cred. Produced by none less than T Bone Burnett, the newest album by Spike is woefully long and, somehow, not as compelling as you'd expect the formula Elvis + Leon Russell + country/folk x bluegrass to be.

4. Twilight Saga, Eclipse Soundtrack. I am ashamed to have purchased this album -- but NPR recommended it so highly and, while it is not entirely the bomb, I will say that I am loving--as I always do--Metric's contribution ("Eclipse") and really enjoy The Bravery's "Ours" and Florence and the Machine's "Heavy in Your Arms." Judge if you must, but it is a solid soundtrack.

5. Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons. So good they could be Irish. The hit single from this London folk band debut album is the infectious and radio-edited "Little Lion Man." Here's a recap for all the studio execs out there: serious talent self-finances to avoid your deadening grasp, earns a reputation from live gigs, gets screaming endorsements from influential DJs, and then hits gold from a distribution deal. Fear the future, people.

PS - I anticipate new R.E.M. albums with mixed emotions these days. Accelerate was so good. Collapse Into Now promises to be little more than listenable. Oh, and "Mine Smell Like Honey" by Buck, Mills and Stipe is looking to be the US single; now playing on iTunes.