Pitchfork

-- On February 17, Rapster Records, the company that brought us the stuff-Daft-punk-sampled compilation Discovered, will release Protected, a compilation of stuff that Massive Attack has sampled. Somehow it's not all old Horace Andy reggae songs; rather, it features tracks from Al Green, James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Rufus & Chaka Khan, and more. The folks at Rapster will probably spend the next year looking for another venerable electronic-music group with an album title that can be turned into a past-tense verb. Dug Your Own Hole maybe?

-- Perhaps in an effort to no longer be known as the guy who once provided a theme song for a headbanging sock puppet, French house producer Mr. Oizo will release his new record on the uber-cool Ed Banger label. Lamb's Anger, his first album as a Justice labelmate, will see American release on January 26.

-- Septuagenarian stoner Willie Nelson has teamed up with the band Asleep at the Wheel to release an album called (of course) Willie and the Wheel. This will be Willie's tribute to the fondly-remembered pre-country genre of Western swing, since even Willie will tell you Bob Wills is still the king. (References to Waylon Jennings lyrics in Pitchfork News! Groundbreaking!) According to a press release, the idea for a Willie Nelson/Asleep at the Wheel collaboration has been in the works since the 1970s, when the late producer Jerry Wexler first suggested it. Bismeaux Records will release Willie and the Wheel on February 3. Other people, meanwhile, are (justifiably) paying tribute to Willie.

-- For some reason, Kanye West has a mullet now.