Repercussions, Lauryn Hill, unreleased
Is this recently leaked track a memento of the brilliant Lauryn Hill of old, or (even better) the sign of an impending return by the reclusive ex-Fugee? The tone and production style make me think it's an out-take from her 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, but who's complaining? It's all in the groove, baby.
Heathen Child, Grinderman, from Grinderman 2 (forthcoming on Mute Records, streaming at myspace.com/grinderman)
Nick Cave's latest is a dark rumbling piece of voodoo rock that I can't hear without smiling at its creaky, Rider Haggard-style evocation of She who must be obeyed, or at least feared. "She's a heathen child, got a little gun, sitting in the bathtub, sucking her thumb." Kind of quaint, really.
Country Strong, Gwyneth Paltrow (streaming at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-pFsBVyMew)
You've got to hear this, if only to appreciate Paltrow's mastery of an MOR country accent, more of which we'll be hearing when her Nashville screen adventure comes to theatres in December. In keeping with current country practice, her radio-ready single about grit and determination has been AutoTuned to death. Yee-haw!