Singles File

A weekly playlist for the listener with a one-track mind.

Jim James:" When You Are Who You Are" It's easy to forget that My Morning Jacket frontman James has one of rock's purest, most amazing voices -- because it's usually buried under 10 layers of reverb. But this cover of the Gil Scott-Heron classic, recorded during James's recent solo set at the Newport Folk Festival, suggests he could have had an amazing career as a '70s soft-rock singer.

Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor:" You Don't Know Me" If you've been wishing the formerly excellent Folds would finally go back to making decent records, you're not alone. This duet with the comparably idiosyncratic Spektor, with its awkward tempo and lack of a point, isn't it, though. Nor is it a cover of the Ray Charles classic of the same name, although that would have been nice, too.

Ludacris featuring T.I.:" Wish You Would" These former mortal enemies hug it out on this track from Ludacris's upcoming "Theater of the Mind." Also interesting: the slowed-down, horror movie-ish hook, the creative use of the word "imbeciles" and, possibly, rap's first-ever reference to Kay Jewelers.

Terrence Howard:" War" Previously heard on "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" in "Hustle & Flow," the "Iron Man" co-star is set to drop his debut disc next month. If this leaked track is any indication, expect a charmingly awkward mix of zoot-suit jazz, police sirens and that weird it-sounds-like-I'm-singing-over-the-phone thing Scott Weiland does.

Alpinekat:" Large Hadron Rap" Few things are funnier than rapping scientists. And by funny we mean horrifying, especially since the scientists in question are working on the Large Hadron Collider, some kind of massive proton-accelerating thingy that may destroy the entire universe when it's turned on in September. In the meantime, they've written a song about it, and it's even dorkier than you imagined.

-- Allison Stewart