Music of the Week

Bob Dylan Together Through Life

And for his next trick, the 67-year-old Mr. Zimmerman will release his 33rd album, using a French filmmakers work for inspiration, and producing it under one of his many aliases, Jack Frost. Americas best-loved rocker bards latest album is the third of a piece; along with 2006s Modern Times and 2001s Love and Theft, Together forms a trifecta with Dylans other work of this century, though this time the album has a cinematic vibe, with the lyrics front and center for the purpose of story-telling. As if he didnt have enough of his own stories, Dylan is using the work of Olivier Dahan (Ma Vie En Rose), illustrating a dusty road trip steeped in the Americana Dylans music is so well-versed in. Get it on: Ben Folds Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella Regardless of what anyone tells you, there are truly only two types of people in the world: Those who like a capella music, and those who do not. Include precious singer-songwriter Ben Folds in the former category. Due to some cosmic alignment, it seems that a capella groups are equally smitten with Folds, making his songs oft-covered tunes in their repertoire. Folds caught wind of this phenomenon, and decided to solicit submissions from university a capella groups from around the country for an opportunity to appear on his latest album. Folds whittled down a dizzying number of candidates to record just 15 of his most a capella-tastic tunes, recording groups like the University of Chicagos Voices In Your Head and Washington University in St. Louis's Mosaic Whispers live. Note: a capella group names are worth the price of the album alone. Get it on: Ben Lee The Rebirth of Venus For reasons that the pint-sized indie rocker arent abundantly clear on the album, Lees latest is an exploration of all things feminine, from its title down to one critically ravaged song Im A Woman Too. Unfortunately, those sentiments distract from what has made Lee a stalwart force in the indie-pop world for more than half his life: an unswerving commitment to melody. No word on what prompted Lee to embark on his mission to further cultivate his more feminine side, but it could be said that its an exploration best not set to music. Lee does win points for the ladies in his life, however: Actress (and Lees brand new wife) Ione Skye makes an appearance on the album cover, and Lees new stepdaughter is featured on the pots and pans for album opener Whats So Bad (About Feeling Good). Get it on: