Ben Folds Teams With Author Nick Hornby on 'Lonely Avenue'

Posted on Jun 16th 2010 11:30AM by Emily Tan
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When Ben Folds and author Nick Hornby released a demo of 'Levi Johnston Blues,' a song about Bristol Palin's ex, last year, it was clear that these two were on the brink of cooking up some interesting material. Now, this fall, the pair will release 'Lonely Avenue,' a full-length album featuring Folds' vocals and music and Hornby's lyrics, TwentyFourBit reports.

Folds and Hornby came up with the idea over dinner one night in 2009 and the 'High Fidelity' writer started e-mailing lyrics to the musician on a regular basis. The 12-track record explores various "musical short stories" from "a mother with a child in the hospital over New Years Eve to the work of Doc Pomus, lyricist of countless '50s and '60s pop hits," according to Nonesuch Records.

"At this stage in my career, I want to collaborate with all the talented people I can find, and I've always been a big fan of Ben Folds' music," Hornby told Nonesuch. "It's been a real privilege to watch and listen to Ben at work, and I've learned a lot about how proper songwriters like Ben think."

The album, which was crafted specifically to be played on vinyl, will also be available on CD and digitally. A special edition of the LP will also be released that includes four short stories written by Hornby. The cover for 'Lonely Avenue' was recently revealed by Folds via Twitter, with the singer writing, "This IS one of my own albums only with Nick Hornby's lyrics. And yes, there will be a tour."

'Lonely Avenue' will be out on Sept. 28. To get a taste of what's to come, check out 'Levi Johnston Blues' below.