Rick Springfield Giving Fans Songs for the End of the World

The album will feature bonus digital content accessible through a specialized app, fan vocals included on album and in special 30-minute audio collection. We were sent these details:

Collaborating on songs like the three-chord rocker "I Hate Myself," the anthemic "Our Ship's Sinking," "Love Screws Me Up" and "Depravity" with his bass player Matt Bissonette, Springfield sets his sights on the possibilities of escaping the current, apocalyptic world situation in our closest relationships. In doing so, he employs the kind of self-effacement and ability to poke fun at himself as he demonstrated when putting his dog Lethal Ron on the cover of Working Class Dog or spoofing his image by playing a sleazy, drug-and-sex-crazed version of himself on Showtime's dark comedy Californication. John Waite and Mr. Mister's Richard Page appear as backup vocalists, along with Rick's original guitarist, Tim Pierce, who hasn't played on record with him since 1999's Karma.

"There's real feeling in it, but you can't write about that stuff too seriously," he says of his sometimes tongue-in-cheek approach to serious subjects. "In the end, it's about the world in flames, but from a personalized viewpoint. I take what's happening to me and place it in a universal context. It's what I've always tried to do with my songwriting."