MALLINation

This will probably be neither the first nor last time that the words “Britney Spears” and “blackout” have appeared in a sentence. But how often has it happened in connection with a new album? Sadly Blackout (the album) is not a concept album in which Britney tries to reconstruct the events leading up to her waking up on the red tile floor of a 7-11 face-down in a pool of her own vomit. It has however been moved up a few weeks to thwart downloaders who want to deny Britney a big opening week.

Also back from the brink are the Backstreet Boys, this time minus original member Kevin Richardson who…ah hell, who really cares? Especially when The Eagles can top that story!

Yes 70s L.A. sleazy listening rockers The Eagles are back with Long Road Out of Eden their first all-new album since The Long Run lit up the charts while Jimmy Carter was President. Oh yeah, and it’s only available from Wal-Mart on their own custom label. Self-righteous Walden Woods- saving Eagle Don Henley was unavailable for comment on this turn of events but Miami Vice multi-episode guest starrer Glenn Frey sets the record straight in this week’s Billboard:

“I am in the business of selling records and I want to be in a place where we have the opportunity to sell the most records. It’s also nice that Wal-Mart pays us a very lucrative royalty; a royalty that no record company could come close to matching. But that’s because we are not a loss leader at Wal-Mart. If the Eagles put out a record at Warner or any other major record label, part of the reason they can’t pay up is we’ve got to pay for all of the bad acts they sign and release.”

Way to stick it to the next generation of Husker Dus Glenn!

Easily the coolest release of the week is the soundtrack to Todd Haynes Dylan fantasy biopic I’m Not There which features Sonic Youth, Cat Power, Steve Malkmus, Willie Nelson and many more.

Sometime Television guitar duellist Richard Lloyd re-appears with The Radiant Monkey.

Ex-Band-mate Levon Helm releases Dirt Farmer.