Pitchfork

Conspiracies aside, death hasn't stopped Tupac Shakur from releasing an alarming number of posthumous albums. So what the fuck makes him so special, huh? Why can't a defunct band like, say, Chicago-based pop-punkers The Smoking Popes do it with class? (Bruce Fucking Hornsby, Pac? Bruce??) Well, frenz, they can and they will. And here's the scoop:

The band, which consisted of brothers Josh, Eli and Matt Caterer and non-sibling Mike Felumlee-- may have hung up their guitars and drum kit after 1997's Destination Failure, but the interim has seen Double Zero Records release both a best-of and a live best-of disc. Leave it to that very same label, then, to unearth the final Popes disc-- a covers album entitled The Party's Over. Well, finally. Leaning heavily on country singers and singer/songwriter types, The Party's Over is set for release on March 25th. Tracklist:

01 Seven Lonely Days [Patsy Cline]
02 Valentine [Willie Nelson]
03 Bewitched [Rodgers & Hart]
04 The Party's Over [Judy Garland]
05 Farther Along [The Byrds]
06 Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart [Judy Garland]
07 Stormy Weather [Harold Arlen]
08 Wake Up Crying [Burt Bacharach/Ray Charles]
09 You'll Never Walk Alone [Elvis Presley]
10 Why Me [Kris Kristofferson]

Also set for a March 25th release on Double Zero is a Smoking Popes tribute album, with a roster full of the label's acts. And while few and far between are the instances where a tribute album brings up an ethical musical issue, let us say: this one does. Namely, should Josh and Eli Caterer's new band, Duvall, be offered the opportunity to cover one of their old Popes tracks? Dude, I know!! How about ditto for Mike Felumlee and Tom Daily, who played guitar for the Popes briefly in the 90s? Crass, you guys! Pitchfork's attempts to reach New York Times' Magazine's Modern Ethicist Randy Cohen were met with laughs and general derision, to which we could only retort, "Well, la-di-fucking-da." Then they hung up on us. You're gonna have to judge this one yourselves:

01 Megan - Bad Astronaut
02 Need You Around - Retro Morning
03 Let Them Die - Death on Wednesday
04 Mrs. You and Me - Blue Shade Witness
05 Off My Mind - Notaword
06 Do Something - Duvall
07 Waiting Around - Tom Daily
08 Days Just Wave Goodbye - Grade
09 I Love You Paul - Saturday Supercade
10 Rubella - The Red Hot Valentines
11 End of Your Time - Junction 18
12 Don't Be Afraid - Mike Felumlee
13 Pretty Pathetic - The Ataris