For his upcoming album, Lonely Avenue, singer-songwriter Ben Folds teamed up with my favourite writer and personal hero, Nick Hornby.

Hornby, who I met earlier this year on a flight from Cologne, Germany to London, wrote all the lyrics for the album’s 11 songs.

He talked about the whole introduction into the songwriting process in an article on the New York Times blog back in October 2008:

I have learned more about the craft of songwriting from the e-mails I’ve been getting than from just about anything I’ve ever read. Most of the time I’ve been sending over words that he’s going to try to set to music; occasionally we’re working the other way around, and I’ll try to fit a lyric to an existing melody.

The record is now available for pre-order on Ben Folds’ site, and you have your choice of three formats: CD; 180-gram, audiophile-grade vinyl with the CD included; and a deluxe edition that includes the CD, four short stories by Hornby, and photos by Joel Meyerowitz in a hardbound, 152-page book.

And despite being a vinyl junkie, I had to order the deluxe edition since it’s the only format the contains the four Hornby short stories.

In the meantime, take a look at the charming videosong for “Things You Think” by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby, with indie-pop duo Pomplamoose.

Folds and Pomplamoose’s sugarcoated melody will have you whistling the hook for days, but the real standout here is Hornby’s self-deprecating quips.

Lonely Avenue will be out in stores on September 28th. Here’s the full track listings:

1. “Working Day” – 1:51
2. “Picture Window” – 3:42
3. “Levi Johnston’s Blues” – 5:16
4. “Doc Pomus” – 4:14
5. “Your Dogs” – 3:23
6. “Practical Amanda” – 3:52
7. “Claire’s Ninth” – 3:50
8. “Password” – 5:21
9. “From Above” – 4:04
10. “Saskia Hamilton” – 1:51
11. “Belinda” – 6:13