I mentioned last week how summer was winding down and soon the new release schedule would be picking up, right? Right. Well, this week is the week it would be picking up, apparently, because there is a LOT of stuff coming out — I'm not even covering it all (I have to have some priorities, you know,) but there's plenty more where this comes from.

Bob Dylan - Modern Times: I'm not fooling anyone - this hardly qualifies as overlooked, but I wanted to mention it to make note of the various bonuses that are to be had this week. Most importantly, the album is being offered in two CD versions — a single disc in very minimal packaging and a more lavish package with a DVD including "Cold Irons Bound" (shot live on the film soundstage during the making of the film Masked and Anonymous) "Blood In My Eyes," "Things Have Changed," and "Love Sick" (from the Grammy Awards). Those of you excited to see that Grammy's version of "Love Sick" might be upset to find out that the infamous Soy Bomb incident has been edited out. I'm pretty upset, too — that was a truly unique moment in television history. I understand not wanting to give Soy Bomb even more exposure, but this is history now, and editing the footage is messing with history.

As for the various bonuses, they're not earth-shattering, but some of you may want some of this. First off, Circuit City is offering a special CD of Dylan's XM "Theme Time Hour" disc centered around baseball-themed songs, the big draw being an a capella rendition of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" by Dylan. The catch? You have to buy Modern Times AND another Dylan CD in order to get this disc. BOO. I can hear this in my head and it puts a smile on my face. The problem here is that the people who really want this disc likely have all the Dylan they need and so they won't need to buy another Dylan disc. Real dumb promotion — not to mention that the price of their CD/DVD set is $10 higher than Best Buy. Best Buy is giving away a 100-page book of Dylan artwork with purchase of the album, and if you want that DVD, it'll set you back a measly $12.99. And guess what? Circuit City doesn't price match, if that's what you were thinking of doing.

Ty Tabor - Rock Garden: Being a King's X fan has been one of the most simultaneously rewarding and frustrating fan experiences you can have. One the one hand, the band, via side projects and official projects, turns out a lot of music. On the other hand, it's hard watching them struggle and need to have so many side projects to stay afloat. However you look at it, it seems like we get something from at least one of the three guys in the band at least once a year. This time around it's near legendary guitarist Ty Tabor with another disc of his hook-laden, heavy Beatles-influenced metal.