There's just over a week to go to submit entries in the contest to remix "Beyond Reason" off Philip Selway's solo debut Familial. Rolling Stone, in its album review, writes, "News flash: Radiohead officially have another songwriter." The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Selway's dual roles as Radiohead drummer and singer-songwriter and says: "The thoughtful 43-year-old has a way of making the unexpected decision seem just right ...  Selway's compositions echo elements of Radiohead, but their themes tell us they are his own."

San Francisco's Golden Gate Park hosts the 10th annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival this weekend, and several Nonesuch artists will be there performing: T Bone Burnett and Punch Brothers kick things off on Friday; Carolina Chocolate Drops are up next with a Saturday afternoon set on the Banjo Stage; and Randy Newman and Emmylou Harris close things out on Sunday. The San Francisco Chronicle calls Harris, who has performed every year, "the silver-haired poster girl for San Francisco's favorite annual live music event."

Composer Peter Lieberson wrote Neruda Songs, based on Pablo Neruda’s poems, for his wife, the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, before her untimely passing in 2006. "They fell in love almost before meeting and throughout their nine years together her voice inspired some of Lieberson’s finest music," says the Financial Times. Neruda Songs receives its UK premiere with Sarah Connolly and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in London on Friday.

Yesterday marked the release of Ben Folds and Nick Hornby's Lonely Avenue, about which the Huffington Post opines: "If only all music was so smart and hummable." Music OMH gives the album four stars and says the Folds/Hornby partnership "works like a marriage made in heaven." The Atlantic calls it "an adventure in genre-crossing and a testament to an artistic friendship. It's also a collection of 11 rich and unusual songs." Today, the video for the song "From Above" premieres on AOL, which calls it "priceless ... all you could ask for from a music video."

The Kennedy Center has announced the creation of The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards, to be presented annually on the composer's birthday to select teachers in appreciation for their contributions to their field. Sondheim was recently featured in the Daily Telegraph, which finds that the man "who revolutionised the musical with hits such as Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music, has lost none of his edge."

Congratulations to David Simon, the creator of The Wire (to which Nonesuch released the soundtrack) and Treme, who was named a MacArthur Fellow for 2010. The Fellows, selected for their creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions in the future, receive $500,000 each in “no strings attached” support over the next five years. MacArthur Fellowships, often referred to as "Genius" grants, offer Fellows unprecedented freedom and opportunity to reflect, create, and explore. Dawn Upshaw was named a Fellow in 2007.

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby will co-headline "Liner Notes," an event at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in New York City on Tuesday, October 12 to explore the cross-pollination of music and literature while raising funds for Housing Works, a New York-based HIV/AIDS service organization. Presented by SPIN and moderated by the magazine’s deputy editor, Steve Kandell, the event will be broadcast SIRIUS XM radio in November.

The Ben Folds / Nick Hornby album Lonely Avenue is out tomorrow. "The collaboration clicks," say the Associated Press/ABC News. "There's a depth to the lyrics rare in pop songs, and they inspire top-notch work from the ever-inventive Folds." Reuters suggests one reason the partnership makes sense: "Hornby and Folds have long steered away from their usual comfort zones and explored different forms of pop culture expression." Canada's National Post calls it "an inventive success."

Tune in to The Strand on the BBC World Service tonight to hear Ben Folds and Nick Hornby discuss their forthcoming album, Lonely Avenue. The Independent gives Lonely Avenue four stars, saying it "proves to be an intelligent, sometimes amusing, sometimes moving, but always engaging collection of songs, pitched somewhere between Randy Newman and an Anglo-American Divine Comedy." The Daily Express calls it "heavenly."

Fenway Bergamot, Laurie Anderson's male alter ego, is featured both in Delusion, her new theater piece, now at BAM, and on her latest Nonesuch release, Homeland.  Now Fenway is looking to branch out still further: to your home answering machine or voicemail. For your chance to win, let us know why you think your voicemail would make the perfect next stop for Fenway.

Philip Selway and Cheikh Lô are among the many musicians from around the world who have lent their talents to a new video from Sudan365, a global campaign calling for a peaceful future for Sudan. The video, part of its Beat for Peace effort, comes as world leaders meet at the UN to discuss the future of Sudan. The video also features the drummers of Coldplay, the Police, and Pink Floyd, as well as Angelique Kidjo, Hugh Masakaela, and others.

There are just days to go before the release of Ben Folds and Nick Hornby's album collaboration, Lonely Avenue, this Tuesday, September 28. But wait no further to hear the album the BBC described as "affecting and intelligent" and Monacle has called "this year's singer-songwriter classic": Lonely Avenue is now streaming in its entirety in a MySpace exclusive premiere. Head to myspace.com/benfolds to listen now.