At (Cult)ure we're in the business of producing written words, but that doesn't mean that we don't enjoy things like spoken words or words set to music or things that don't have words at all. So each week we'll bring you a small collection of non-written things that we enjoyed.

Best Podcast: On Being, "Roseanne Cash"

Maybe I was always predisposed to enjoy a podcast with Roseanne Cash. Hearing her talk about music and the particular angle of her father's back that she knew best were perhaps to be expected, but "mystery" and playing with an interactive table of elements? Now that's good stuff. 

TONI BRAXTON
Pulse
www.tonibraxton.com
Dist: Warner Music Canada


She has record sales in excess of 40 million, a trophy shelf groaning under the weight of six Grammys, and international smashes with the likes of 'Breathe Again', 'He Wasn't Man Enough' and of course 'Un-Break My Heart'. Now, she's back with her Atlantic Records debut album, Pulse. Pulse looks to be Toni's most powerful and personal musical statement to date. Braxton personally chose to collaborate with a veritable who's-who of red-hot producers and songwriters, including Frank E, Steve Mac, Lucas Secon, Harvey Mason & Oak, Troy Taylor, Dapo Torimiro, and David Foster.TRACKLISTING:

SLASH
Slash
www.slashonline.com
Dist: Universal Music Canada


In what will be his first true solo album, rock icon Slash announced his new CD, Slash, will feature an all-star roster of guest musicians including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmeister, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother.

A major undertaking for Slash, he enlisted services of producing partner Eric Valentine (Queens of Stone Age, The All-American Rejects) and compiled a rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) and drummer Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails). Slash handled the majority of arranging and songwriting duties and handpicked each guest artist. The album’s guests worked collaboratively with Slash to round out the song.

"The idea was really simple in the beginning," said Slash. "These are all artists I wanted to work with – that I thought it would be amazing to do something creative and collaborative. And I was so impressed with what everyone brought to the table. They were all so committed to doing a good job. And we had a lot of fun making these songs."TRACKLISTING:

A few weeks ago, I decided to turn on iTunes Genius. Sure, it sends information back to Apple and its sole purpose is to sell me more music, but, hey, I like playlists. I like it when someone else curates them for me while I write or clean or throw a one-woman dance party. My first mix was based on The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." While it was only 13 songs, it was pretty good mix. I doubt I would have thought to throw Flo Rida in with the Marvelettes.

At first it seemed like the only drawback was Genius' refusal to base mixes on certain songs. Cat Power's "Half of You" could appear in a mix, but it doesn't contain enough information to be the starting point. When this happens, I get a little pop up asking me to update Genius. Apparently someday these updates will magically produce a mix based on one of the rejected songs, but I'm not holding my breath. 

This weekend, however, I came to realize the real problem with Genius. Every single mix I have created contains at least one Ben Folds song. At first I assumed that this meant that I have a disproportionate number of Ben Folds songs available. Turns out I have only four Ben Folds songs. 4. Yet one, if not all four, song appears in each mix. They are completely middle of the road in terms of ratings and play count, so I am left to wonder what Folds has done to deserve such Genius prominence. Does he have compromising pictures of Steve Jobs with a giraffe and a jar of pickles?