And Before We Forget

One of pop songwriting’s unsung heroes, Jules Shear, has formed a new band--Reckless Sleepers. (Remember his last group, the Polar Bears?) Their first album, “Big Boss Sounds,” due out July 12 from I.R.S. Records. . . . Boy George has a new single out in England called “Clause 28,” a protest against a new government bill banning local authorities from funding any event or organization which “promotes” homosexuality. . . . Who’s a happening producer? Our vote goes to Scott Litt, who did the aforementioned Shear album, the last R.E.M. album, has been working with U-2 mixing the band’s live tapes and is due to start work next month with (!) the Replacements. . . . Trevor Horn has been hired to produce the next Simple Minds album, which goes into production this summer. . . . And talk about an apt title: Our favorite oddball pop space cadets, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, have a new release due out (only on CD) called “Sonic Geology.”