Item World: Pentatonix, Steve Earle, Marlon James and more

It's hard to say which is rarer to report: That an a cappella record is the No. 1 album in the country this week, or that the No. 1 album was partly made in the Twin Cities. That's the big news out of RiverRock Studio in northeast Minneapolis, where the likes of Poliça and Soul Asylum have recorded, and where Texas vocal quintet Pentatonix spent an off day in August during its tour with Kelly Clarkson. "They tried to get the album done before the tour but couldn't, so they had to finish it on the road," recalled studio owner Eric Blomquist, who engineered "Take Me Home," one of the original songs on the group's new eponymous collection. Blomquist said recording nothing but vocals was harder than it might seem — "at least the way they do it" — but he relished the experience even before earning his small piece of the No. 1 bragging pie. "They were really nice and fun to work with, so I'm very happy for them."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Two weeks ago, novelist Marlon James won the Man Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious in literature, for "A Brief History of Seven Killings." The hefty, dreamy and lyrical novel has since rocketed up the bestseller charts. This week James, who also is adapting his novel for HBO, had another honor to celebrate. Gov. Mark Dayton proclaimed Wednesday Marlon James Day in Minnesota, citing James' "profound talent." Reached at his office in Minneapolis, James was surprised. "Really?" he said. "The past few weeks have been surreal. I've had one out-of-body experience after another, and I don't know if I have the internal machinery to process it all. I'm laughing silly every day and saying, 'Can you believe this?' " And even though he can afford a car, he still does not see one in his future. "I've achieved all this without learning to drive; why bother now? I have a wonderfully functional bus pass."

Rohan Preston

"Around the time I was making my first records, probably the independent label I was buying the most stuff from and hearing the most about was a label in — believe it or not — Minneapolis, Minnesota." So began this week's edition of "Hardcore Troubadour Radio," Steve Earle's weekly show on SiriusXM satellite radio, which he dedicated entirely to Twin/Tone Records. The Texas-bred country-rock hero covered the obvious acts on the label's 1978-94 roster, including the Replacements, Jayhawks, Babes in Toyland and Soul Asylum. He said about the "Runaway Train" hitmakers, "We can be really hard on bands that work really hard and finally have a hit, [but theirs] was one of the best singles on one of the best records." He also dug much deeper for cuts by the Suicide Commandos, Suburbs, Wallets and Fingerprints, and showed special love for Curtiss A's records and visual art: "He's one of those guys [for whom] art is art, the kind of guy who inspired me later to step outside my comfort zone." Maybe it's time Curt got his own radio show?C.R.

Photographer/perpetual roamer Alec Soth is carrying his passion for taking art on the road a step further. Soth has turned to Kickstarter to fund the Winnebago Workshop — an old RV he converted into a mobile classroom for teen artists and mentors. Given Soth's sensibilities and connections, and the success of his 2013 Summer Camp for Socially Awkward Storyellers, the project — free to students — should draw in some interesting talent. It has received $35,000 from the Knight Foundation's St. Paul Arts Challenge. With just under a month to go, his Kickstarter campaign has raised more than half its $25,000 goal, with some tempting backer rewards. For $300, for example, Soth will take over your Instagram account for a day.

KRISTIN TILLOTSON

For the first time in many years, Cities 97 (97.1 FM) listeners won't have to rush out to their neighborhood Target store at 8 a.m. to be among the first to hold the radio station's annual "Sampler" CD. The 27th installment of the station's charity album — featuring live studio or concert tracks by Echosmith, Mat Kearny, Nate Ruess, Walk the Moon, O.A.R. and a dozen more — will be available via Cities97.com at 9 a.m. Nov. 13, four days before the Nov. 17 on-sale date in Target stores. Only 5,000 of the 20,000 copies will be sold online, though. In recent years, the "Sampler" CDs have been slower to sell out, but their impact in the community remains strong. This year's edition is expected to raise $660,000 for a variety of local charities, bringing the all-time total to $12 million. That includes $1 from every CD this year going directly to Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. ZZ Ward, whose song "Love 3X" is featured this year, will head up the "Sampler" release party at Myth nightclub on Nov. 19. A Great Big World, Gavin James and the Score also will perform at the event, for which tickets will be given out on the air.

C.R.