New Music : January 19, 2010 - January 24, 2010

"2010 Grammy Nominees"
The 16th installment of this long-running series includes highlights from a year that brought us hits from the Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Sugarland, Coldplay, and a dozen others. A portion of proceeds from sales of the disc will go to MusiCares, which helps musicians in need of health care, and the Grammy Foundation.

Mark Oliver Everett "End Times"
The Eels front man, better known as E, endured hard times and just seven months after his 2009 release, "Hombre Lobo," he returns with a 14 song album. Recorded mostly on an old four-track in his basement, inspired by his divorce and the overall sorry state of the world. Yet the genius of E, as demonstrated on previous Eels albums like 1998's "Electro-Shock Blues," is his gift for rendering heart-wrenching sentiments into stick-in-your-craw songs, and he does it again here. Melancholy numbers like the piano ballad "A Line in the Dirt" and "Apple Trees" are juxtaposed by livelier fare such as "Gone Man" and the fuzzed-out "Paradise Blues." "End Times" makes feeling unhappy surprisingly palatable.

Soundtrack "Crazy Heart"
Nominated for an Academy Award four times before, Jeff Bridges originally rejected the role of grizzled country singer Bad Blake, and only changed his mind after T Bone Burnett ("Walk the Line," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") was tapped as music director. Featuring classic-sounding originals composed specifically for the film, and performed by Bridges and co-star Colin Farrell, the soundtrack also includes new songs by Sam Phillips and Ryan Bingham (who has a role in the film, too), alongside vintage cuts from Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, Lightnin' Hopkins, Townes Van Zandt, and the Louvin Brothers.

Spoon "Transference"
It was mid-2007 when the Austin, Texas, indie rockers dropped their sixth full-length, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," and scored their first top-10 album and a slot on "Saturday Night Live." Britt Daniel and crew began priming fans for the release of this follow-up late last year, with the release of the singles "Got Nuffin" and "Written in Reverse," the latter propelled by a chunky piano riff that rivals Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move." The quartet's first self-produced full-length proves just as quirky and cool, from the smudged and blurry "Who Makes Your Money" to the minimalist funk of "Nobody Gets Me But You."

Other New Releases Worth Checking Out:
(Have not listened to, but please feel free to post a review)

* Gretchen Wilson: "Greatest Hits"
* Rjd2: "The Colossus"
* The Len Price 3: "Pictures" (listen)
* Surfer Blood: "Astrocoast" (listen)
* Dawn Landes: "Sweet Heart Rodeo" (listen)