Ben Folds is my favorite musician, and I’m giddy as a schoolboy that his new album, Way to Normal, is coming out at the end of September.

Meanwhile, on Ben’s MySpace Page, you can listen to three new songs: “You Don’t Know Me,” “Hiroshima” and “Bitch Went Nutz.”

On “You Don’t Know Me,” the very talented Regina Spektor sings background vocals. (J-Moe, are you tingling inside?!)

A few months ago, Ben (a North Carolina native) was interviewed by North Carolina Public Radio about his new album and more. Listen here.

Update:  Check out the Rolling Stone interview with Ben about his upcoming album.  Apparently this summer Ben leaked some fake songs, as a gag.  In the interview, he compares the fake songs to the real songs (i.e., the songs that’ll actually be on the new album).  He’s such a playful smart-ass … I love it!

Yahoo! and Nissan have put together an amazingly intimate concert series, Nissan Live Sets, which you can watch online.

The concert series features big-name artists (view a list) from a variety of genres. I listened to the entire Alanis Morrissette concert and Weezer concert, and part of the Counting Crows concert. Awesome!

If you want to witness and experience something extremely unique, check out the Weezer concert. Weezer invited 250 fans to be part of the band for the entire concert — that’s right, 250 fans played instruments or sang along throughout the entire concert … it was remarkable!

What makes these concerts so intimate? For one, it’s a very small venue that was built specifically for this concert series. Yahoo!/Nissan want me to experience these concerts as if they’re taking place in my living room. Also, each concert includes one or two Q&A sessions with the artist — during the concert, audience members stand up and ask the artist questions. It’s great! Enjoy!

To give you a taste of the nutty and spectacular Weezer concert, here’s Weezer (and 250 fans!) performing “Island In the Sun.”

Here are some artists worth checking out.

+ M. Ward – My friend Hammy thinks M. Ward is a musical genius. So this week I started listening to his stuff and I really, really like it. Thanks to the fabulous NPR music site, you can listen to several full-length songs, an interview and more.

+ She & Him – M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel teamed up and cranked out some great songs and a unique sound. I’m calling it old time urban folk music (maybe it’s simply Americana). If you want to dive in deeper, don’t miss the recent Fresh Air interview with Deschanel. (Thanks, Hammy, for the tip on this one, too!)

+ Melody Gardot – Today my friend J-Moe introduced me to up-and-coming artist Melody Gardot, who wrote some of her songs from her hospital bed, when she was recovering from a horrific car accident. Her music is smokey, sultry, jazzy … and good!  Don’t miss the recent NPR interview with Gardot.

The new NPR Music site is an amazing place to discover new music! Actually, allow me to use more superlatives. This site is: whiz-whirling, hair-twirling, teeth-tingling, heart-bumpin’ spectacular!

Why? Among other things, you can listen to full concerts of great bands (live concerts and archived concerts), full-length songs from upcoming albums, outstanding interviews with artists. For example, check out recent concerts by R.E.M. and My Morning Jacket. Or, tomorrow night, check out Nada Surf’s concert live from the 9:30 Club in D.C. You see what I’m talking about here?!

I’m just scratching the surface — there are many areas of the site I haven’t even mentioned! But I’ve got to mention the Project Song section. For Project Song, NPR invites a musician to come into the studio and create a song from scratch in 48 hours. On the Project Song area of the site, you can view videos of musicians creating songs in the studio and then you can listen to the songs they created! It’s outstanding! Check out Nellie McKay creating the song “Cavendish,” or just watch her perform the song.

I could spend the rest of my life on this site (unfortunately I’ve got work to do, or rather breakfast to eat). A quick shout out to Randy for introducing me to this site. ENJOY!

Here are some ladies worth checking out. I linked to their MySpace pages so you can listen to a few of their songs.

+ Ingrid Michaelson – I saw her perform recently as part of the Hotel Cafe Tour, and she stole the show! She’s funny, smart, vulnerable, engaging and really talented! At this point she’s probably best known for her song “The Way I Am,” which is getting radio play.

+ Yael Naim – This French girl has her own sweet, delicate sound. Here in the States she’s probably best known for her song “New Soul,” which is featured on the Macbook Air commercial. On her recently released album, she sings in English and Hebrew (yep, Hebrew).

+ Laura Gibson – If you want melancholy, check out this Portland, Oregon-based crooner. Her songs are stark, simple, deep (and sometimes dark). Even though it’s now spring, don’t miss the song, “Wintering.”

+ Kate Walsh – She has a very sweet, warm sound. Her sound isn’t as distinct as the others in this list, but very enjoyable.

+ SoKo – Based in Paris, SoKo definitely has a distinct sound. I love her writing … very funny, honest and poetic. She’s a great storyteller and conjures some great images. Don’t miss “I Will Never Love You More.” (A shout out to Gena for introducing me to SoKo.)

+ MUSIC: On the website of The Hotel Cafe Tour (a tour featuring some top and up-and-coming singer-songwriters, such as Dan Wilson, Joshua Radin, Sara Bareilles and Bob Schneider), you can listen to some of the best songs from the touring musicians. The songs blew me away! Light a candle, pour a glass of wine, float around your living room, enjoy.

+ AUDIO INTERVIEW: Back in December, Krista Tippet, the host of radio program Speaking of Faith, interviewed Jean Vanier, who’s now in his 70’s. Vanier founded a community centered around people with mental disabilities, L’Arche, that has now become a global movement. L’Arche communities embody the ideal of power in smallness, strength in weakness and light in the darkness of human existence. (If you’re familiar with Henri Nouwen, you may know that Nouwen spent the last years of his life living in a L’Arche community in Toronto.)

In the interview, entitled “The Wisdom of Tenderness,” Vanier spoke about his understanding of humanity and God.

Our house church recently listened to the interview and we were on the edge of our seats. The interview energized and softened us! Afterward we had a great time sharing with each other the many things from the interview that struck us and touched us.

Each week I’m gonna try to post “What’s HOT,” a brief list of things (e.g., articles, podcasts, books, bands, etc.) that I think are worth a smooch. I hope “What’s HOT” becomes a helpful resource for you! (If your lips get chapped from smooching too much, sue me.)

Let’s get started. Here’s what’s HOT this week:

»ARTICLE: Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith (Time)
The article provides a great overview of the much-talked-about new book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday), which consists primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors over a period of 66 years. According to Teresa’s letters, for the last nearly half-century of her life she felt no presence of God whatsoever — or, as the book’s compiler and editor, the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, writes, “neither in her heart or in the eucharist.”

»ARTICLE: Homosexuality and the Bible by Dr. Walter Wink
The debate about homosexuality rages on in the Christian world, and Wink does an amazing job of looking at both sides of the issue, especially in light of what the Bible says (or doesn’t say) about homosexuality. Especially important — and funny! — in this article is the brilliant way that Wink illustrates the different ways that people interpret the Bible, especially the passages about sexuality. (Does the Bible say anything about “smooching”? I’m just asking.)

»SONG: “The Truth About Jayne” by Jeff Winkle
This new song by Wink (not the same Wink as above) is about a friend of his who has been struggling with life for a long time. To listen, visit Wink’s MySpace page.

My buddy Wink recently posted another fabulous song.  It’s called “Taciturn” and you can listen to it on Wink’s MySpace page.  Wink’s music is a window for me into my own soul.  While listening, it’s not unusual for me to shed some tears.  That’s a gift!  Thanks, Wink.

Last Sunday night I had the wonderful privilege of seeing The Cobalt Season perform in my friend Jason’s backyard. (The last time I attended a backyard concert was when Wink’s band Godric played at a friend’s birthday party and I showed up wearing underwear. I’m still not sure why everyone was disgusted. Wearing underwear is usually a good thing.)

Anyway, I was blown away by The Cobalt Season! Smart, deep, vulnerable songwriting. Gritty, strong, heart-felt vocals. Beautiful, deep music that fits squarely in the “folk-rock” category.

The Cobalt Season is fronted by husband and wife team Ryan and Holly Sharp, who live in San Francisco. Ryan and Holly have a beautiful spirit about them. They’re funny and down to earth. They don’t take themselves too seriously. And they clearly have tender hearts and are passionately wrestling with what it means to live and love like Jesus.

One of things I deeply appreciate and admire about their songwriting is that it’s honest. There’s a lot of struggling, wrestling, longing, along with some joy and hope. Their new CD is called In Search of a Unified Theory, and Ryan describes it like this: “It’s 12 tracks of hopeful longing…longing for a life of greater wholeness…longing for a world of greater wholeness, and of learning to live in a kind of calmed frustration.”

To listen to a couple songs from the new album, visit The Cobalt Season’s MySpace page. You can sample the entire CD and buy it here (at CDBaby.com).

My buddy Wink posted two more songs to his MySpace site.  “Leaving Chicago” is a brand new song about Wink’s bittersweet six years in Chicago.  On his blog, Wink tells the story behind the song.  Thanks for being so vulnerable with us, Wink!

Wink also recently made available the song “Julie’s Song,” which is a song he wrote about 10 years ago.  The song is actually about me.  Yea.  And Julie, who was my big crush back in college; she was my dream girl, my pedestal girl.  I didn’t actually know her that well — I just thought she was insanely gorgeous.  And in my mind, we hit it off huge, we were a perfect fit — it was all so perfect, in my mind.

I didn’t have the guts to ask her out until a year after we had graduated from college.  At the time, she was living in Chicago; I was in Grand Rapids, MI.  I asked her to go to a wedding with me in Wisconsin.

Long story short:  We didn’t hit it off at all, not in any kind of romantic way … and she slept in the car on the way back from the wedding.  As she slept on that car ride home, I looked over at her many times, just taking in her beauty — and grieving the loss of my Pedestal Girl.  Ouch.

I remember that as I was driving I was listening to a Bulls playoff game on the radio.  And I also remember feeling proud of myself … for asking Julie to the wedding.   Instead of forever living with the question, “I wonder what could have been?” now I knew … at least now I knew Julie and I weren’t meant to be.  In some sense it was a freeing and empowering moment … and a sad moment.

On his blog, Wink tells his version of the Julie story, which is highly entertaining (to me anyway).  To listen to “Julie’s Song,” visit Wink’s MySpace page.