New Music Releases

Listen up, Gleeks! This week everyone’s favorite musical sitcom offers up yet another soundtrack, Glee: The Music — The Power of Madonna, which includes the Glee cast’s take on seven Madge tracks: classics like “Like A Virgin,” “Express Yourself,” “Vogue,” “Like A Prayer,” a mash-up-of-sorts of “Borderline” and “Open Your Heart”, and later tracks like 2008’s Justin Timberlake duet, “4 Minutes,” and 2000’s “What It Feels Like For A Girl.”

Perfect timing after we fell in love with Jane Lynch’s rendition of “Vogue” last week, and are all revved up for this week’s special “Power of Madonna” episode. Apparently Ms. Ciccone is a huge Gleek-head herself and gave the show free reign over her back catalogue for the Madonna-themed episode. Both prior Glee soundtracks — Glee: The Music, Volume 1 and Glee: The Music, Volume 2 — have been certified gold in the U.S., and more than 4.5 million songs have been downloaded. So this should be another pretty plume in the Glee cast’s hat….

The debut album by Foo Fighters spin-off band Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders is entitled Red Light Fever. Along with the Foos drummer, the band also includes Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney on bass and features a guest appearance by Dave Grohl….Los Angeles-based rap trio Cypress Hill release their eighth studio album, Rise Up, on their new label, Priority Records, thanks to the label’s creative director, Snoop Dogg. The album features cameos from Tom Morello, Marc Anthony, Everlast, Cheech & Chong and more…

Canadian crooner Rufus Wainwright is back with his sixth studio album, All Days Are  Nights: Songs for Lulu. And so who exactly is Lulu, you ask? "She’s a dark, brooding, dangerous woman that lives within all of us,” says Rufus….

Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis plays drums in a new band called Sweet Apple and their debut album is entitled Love & Desperation, and it also features a few of Mascis’s signature guitar solos….Country outlaw Merele Haggard returns with I Am What I Am …..

London five-piece Cornershop—best known for their 1997 hit single “Brimful of Asha”—releases their first album in eight years, Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast….Colorado lo-fi rockers Apples in Stereo’s seventh studio album is called Travellers in Space and Time….

The latest offering from Aqualung—a.k.a Matt Hales—is Magnetic North and features appearances by Sara Bareilles and A Fine Frenzy….

Kate Nash’s second album, My Best Friend Is You, was produced by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler….

English soul singer Vanessa Brown, better known as V.V. Brown, is back with a new album, Travelling Like the Light….Willie Nelson’s latest offering is simply, and appropriately, called Country Music….

Shelby Lynne co-produced her latest effort, Tears, Lies and Alibis….

Twelve years since they formed, the Northern English lads in Doves release The Places Between: The Best of Doves, a 2-CD/DVD combo featuring 34 tracks by the band and all their videos….

Atlanta-based quintet Sevendust return with a CD/DVD combo called Cold Day Memory…..

Sam Phillips releases a 5-song EP entitled Magic for Everybody….Rap-metal outfit Kottonmouth Kings’ latest album is Long Live the Kings….