New Music Monday! Three Matt’s and a Little k.d.

Matt Morris

There’s a new album claiming the top spot on the Billboard Hot 200, and I couldn’t be happier to tell you it’s Hope For Haiti Now. The album is packed with some of the music industry’s biggest stars and it’s easy to forget that its proceeds go directly to Haiti relief organizations including The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, The Red Cross, UNICEF and Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation.

Highlights from the album include Jennifer Hudson’s cover of “Let it Be” and Justin Timberlake’s collaboration with out singer/songwriter Matt Morris on “Hallelujah.” At $7.99 it’s a total steal and you’ll be doing a whole lotta good, so if you have the means, I highly recommend picking it up.

In fluffier news, I have good tidings for all you Matt Alber fans! You may remember Matt’s hit single “End of the World” from its Mad Men-esque music video, but our favorite barbershop crooner just released a new EP of the song performed in a decidedly more modern fashion. That’s right, “End of the World” just got remixed.

I’m usually a bit of a skeptic when it comes to remixes but the “Morgan Page Pop Mix Radio Edit” is actually really good. Not sure if the name had to be that long, but seriously, give it a listen.

And for those of you who just can’t get enough of Matt, he’s touring the East Coast now with fellow out singer/songwriter Tom Goss. If you’re not familiar with Tom’s work, do yourself a favor and check out some of his songs for free right on his site! If I were you I’d start with his cover of “My Lovin” by En Vogue. Just a suggestion.

Meanwhile, Glee’s Matthew Morrison (not to be confused with Matt Morris) is now signed with Mercury Records and will be releasing his debut album in the fall, no doubt to be timed with the return of Glee. Can you blame him?

It’s still a ways away, but Morrison may need that time to find a way to fuse his eclectic tastes. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly he described his album as “a classier Justin Timberlake album. It’s going to be me and a big orchestra, but also with beats.”

Matthew Morrison

And finally, February 2nd marks the release of k.d. lang’s first greatest hits album, Recollection. The album comes 25 years after her debut album, and as you can imagine, she’s produced a lot of work in that time. k.d. calls it "a culmination of everything I've done - there's a little bit of jazz, a little country, a little of the Ingénue sound, a little Brazilian touch."

The album comes as a two-disc retrospective, but those superfans out there may want to indulge in the 4-disc CD/DVD deluxe edition with even more rarities and goodies. And just in case you were wondering, the name of that debut album from 25 years ago is it’s A Truly Western Experience.

So that does it for this edition of New Music Monday! We’ll be back with a new batch of new music for you in two weeks!