This is Next and Forever Cool CD Reviews

This is Next includes tracks from 15 great indie artists!

Courtesy of ADA

It's old-school vs. new school this week, with the release of This is Next: Indie's Biggest Hits, and Forever Cool from crooner Dean Martin. Who will win the battle of the generations? Kidzworld is about to find out!

This is Next - Volume One

This is Next is a virtual "Indie Rock 101" with tunes from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, Bright Eyes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and more. This is the perfect album to check out if you're new to the indie world or - for dedicated fans - it makes a pretty good greatest hits album. The disc has more than its fair share of stand-out singles, including the mellow and luscious Lived in Bars by Catpower and melodic Phantom Limb by The Shins. This is a must-have album for hipsters in training.

Dean Martin comes back to life in this album of duets with modern musicians.

Courtesy of EMI

This is Next - Volume One Fun Facts

Though the album claims to be "indie", more than one of these bands are signed to major record labels.

This is Next is based on the model of the Now That's What I Call Music series.

This album is the first in a planned series of albums, due to come out biannually.

This is Next - Volume One Hot Tracks

Phantom Limb; Lived in Bars; The Underdog; Hold On Hold On

This is Next - Volume One Rating:

Forever Cool - Dean Martin

Though he's been dead for more than a decade, Dean Martin still sells more albums than a lot of music hopefuls. But will his music appeal to kids of today? Forever Cool shows the answer is yes - and no. While a few songs (King of the Road, for example) are so classic, they defy generation and genre, most of Dean's music is unlikely to appeal to the Hannah Montana Generation. There are a few duets of note on this album - one with Paris Bennett and another with Joss Stone - that bring Dean into the modern age. This is unlikely to become one of your favorite albums, but you probably won't mind if Mom plays it in the car.

Forever Cool - Dean Martin Fun Facts

This album was recorded after Dean Martin's death by mixing old Dean Martin vocals with the new recording from modern musicians.

A special DVD edition of Forever Cool is also available that contains 25 minutes of documentary footage and a behind-the-scenes look at how the duets were put together.

Forever Cool includes duets with Kevin Spacey, Joss Stone, Paris Bennett, Martina McBride and more.