If you'll indulge me in a little hometown cultural cheerleading, I want to recommend the Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago album put out by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's label.

It's an album with a pretty potent combination: the CSO combined with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble.

Yo-Yo fans will enjoy the lead-off on the album, Bloch's Schelomo, Hebraic Rhapsody for Solo Cello and Large Orchestra.

That's followed by Sharav's Legend of Herlen which features some music from Mongolia, including leather-lunged Khongorzul Ganbaatar (how's that for a name?) doing some "long singing." Interesting, but not my favorite part of the album. I kept being reminded of Patton Oswalt's bit on bad NPR music and "scream singing" (it starts at about 6:45 here, very funny) though obviously she's more melodious than Patton.

Next is the money shot of the album and the whole reason you should buy it if this sort of thing's your bag, baby. Harrison's Pipa Concerto featuring Chinese prodigy Wu Man. Harrison (a composer who specialized in fusions of Western and Eastern instruments) wrote this, his last big work, for Wu Man in 1997. She can make the pipa, an ancient Chinese lute, sound like a balalaika or a Japanese o-koto (one of those floor-standing harps) depending on what the piece requires. Awesome. It's amazing how natural the pipa sounds backed up by a full symphony, the CSO complements Man perfectly.

Oh, and in the liner notes, the picture of Wu Man is just her with the pipa. She's not in fuck-me pumps and clubwear, riding it like a sex toy. Thank you, CSO. Bond, please take note.

The album finishes up with Prokofiev's Scythian Suite, one of his (justifiably, IMO) lesser-known pieces. Though if you listen closely to "The Enemy God and the Dance of the Black Spirits" you'll hear something that sounds an awful lot like the theme to Jaws acting as a base rhythm. Naughty naughty, Mr. Williams.

TOKYO (AFP) - A stray parrot was reunited with its owner in Japan after repeating his name and address at the local veterinary clinic that took it in, police said Wednesday.

In the beginning the parrot kept greeting people or singing popular children's songs, the officer said.

"Only 10 days after it was found did it start repeating a name and a street address," he added.

Police then matched the name with its owner, who was reunited with his parrot earlier this week.

"I'm glad I had taught him my address and name," the Yomiuri daily quoted him as saying.