On March 27, Capitol Records released the 24th edition of its various artists compilation album series, Now That's What I Call Music!

Last week, Students Organizing the Multiple Arts (SOMA) released the first edition of its various artists compilation album series.

That's where the similarities between the two compilations end. While SOMA's compilation aims to raise funds for the student organization, SOMA President Danny Greene (junior-integrative arts) said the ultimate goal is to support local music.

"It's to get the word out about bands you wouldn't normally hear about," Greene said.

Greene said 100 percent of the profits go to SOMA, which he said has four goals: to support local arts, to integrate different works, to put on new, interesting shows and to create an "alternative to things that are going on with the drinking scene."

Twenty-five songs were submitted for approval for the compilation, and after members of SOMA met to vote on what songs would make the cut, the group settled on a track listing of 18 of the songs. Greene said the selection of songs presented a diverse look at the State College music scene.

"I'm so impressed with the number of styles here, even within a song," Greene said. "All of these bands have played or will play a SOMA show.

If there's a problem with the disc, it's that it's "too diverse," Robby Corrado said, the PR chair for SOMA.

"We were trying really hard to get the most unique music and we missed some of the biggest genres," Corrado said.

Some of the artists included in the compilation are familiar faces to the State College music scene: blues-rock band Jimi Jive, singer-songwriter Charles Ramsey and indie-rocker North are all featured.

Jimi Jive's Craig Chilcott (senior-psychology) said the band participated in an effort to expand its listening audience.

"It's just to get our music out there and to get more people to listen to our stuff," Chilcott said.

Chilcott also said the compilation is a good opportunity for SOMA.

"It gives the public a chance to see what kind of music SOMA's interested in putting out," he said. "I guess it makes SOMA look a little more legitimate as a music and arts organization by putting out a CD."

But the compilation also features some more exclusive tracks. Eric Myers, a member of local band The Bullet Parade, lends an experimental guitar track in the form of his solo project, The Fort Worth Dialect.

Epileptic Peat, who recently played his final show in State College before moving to New York, features a solo track along with one from his band, This Place Is Haunted. And Greene himself showcases his music in the form of his band Danny and the Bygones.

The disc will be available for sale at City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave., Webster's Bookstore Café, 128 S. Allen St., and at the HUB-Robeson Center today and tomorrow.