John McCauley: Daydreaming

John McCauley, from Deer Tick, has a voice influenced STRONGLY by both Hank Williams, Sr., and brandy--in equal portions. This song is a perfect description of what happens when you daydream about someone, and it's perfect, as is John's voice and adept picking.

Tallest Man on Earth: King of Spain

The Tallest Man on Earth is legally known as Kristian Matsson, who is characterized by his raw charismatic voice. Because of this, he is often compared to Bob Dylan--with their similarly raw voices and folk-based styles. Matsson was formerly the front man for the Montezumas.

This song summarizes: Summers, traveling hippies, farms, coffee, latin girls and the best summer so far of my life. +Patricia C. Perez 

Lisa Hannigan: Silent Night

 

In the spirit of Christmas (I hate holidays, especially Christmas), Lisa Hannigan captures most of my feelings for the specific holiday. 

Mathemagic: Breaststroke

An Ontarian trio that exude so much calm.

B.U.I.L.T.: Summer Wine

A nice mix of baby-making music and indie-rock. Some things are better when blended. b.u.i.l.t. is a Bloomington, IN based fellow who exists as an example of what the 1990's can do to your brain--this piece of pop, electronic, and R&B is spectacularly executed; making Boyz II Men, Brandi, Prince, TLC and any other of the age's greats proud.

We Were Promised Jetpacks: Quiet Little Voices

SXSW Talent is so good.....In any which direction, call me; I will run for you. I'll come for you. I'll die for you. I'll come for you.

Metric: Satellite Mind

Canada puts out a lot of things--maple syrup, crude petroleum, beavers, Beibers--but not everything from Canada is bad. For example: Metric, a new age/indie-rock group from Toronto. This song is absolutely addictive!

"I'm sending vibrations in your direction."

Mika: Elle Me Dit

this song...oh God the french are so witty. If I had a dime for every time a woman told me I was making a mess of my life...well, let's say I'd be rich.

Optimist Park: Haunt You In Your Sleep

Jeremy Mullins is self-proclaimed as "just a kid with a mic, a guitar, and music editing software. And a very patient wife." Optimist Park is fall music...or maybe winter music. Nonetheless, it's perfect when combined with a scarf and a warm cup of coffee. 

The Middle East: Jesus Came To My Birthday Party

The Middle East were a musical collective from Townsville, Australia, originating in 2005 and lasting until 2011. Their form fused various influences from post-rock, folk, and ambient; various members had at different times played in other North Queensland based groups, such as Joseph Liddy and the Skeleton Horse, The Forest, and We Are Buildings.

This idea, man, is where it's all at. Jesus would be a heck of a party-goer, as long as someone asked him to turn the punch into wine.

Cartel: The Minstrel's Prayer

I can't believe that I've gone as long as I have and forgotten about Cartel. I think that I thought I'd already posted them. Fall music fo' sho.

Summer Camps: Always

So strange and wonderful, London-founded accident Summer Camps amalgamated one fateful night after accidentally covering The Flamingo's "I Only Have Eyes For You". Based on the accident, the band immediately claimed to be 6 Swedish teenagers, instead of the truth of solo artist Jeremy Warmsley and journalist Elizabeth Sankey.

BA$SY (remix of Bon Iver): Holocene

Oh God. Favorite song redone usually results in anger and disdain. I love this though. So hard.

Byrds of Paradise: Broadcast News

Kenny Brown, Jared Jones, Alan Yuch, and Brenden Britz are Byrds of Paradise from Brooklyn, New York. They have released a 7-inch album “Rowena” on Wild World Records, as well as “Omega Man” on Don Giovanni Records and “Barefoot Generation” on UK label Sleep All Day Records. They are releasing a full length LP, entitled “Teenage Symphonies” on Don Giovanni Records which is out now!

Hawthorne Heights: Ohio is for Lovers

Timed appropriately for the rise of MySpace and the rise of my weird generation, Hawthorne Heights was one of the first musicians to utilize social networks to promote themselves. 

of Montreal: Coquet Coquette

of Montreal is an indie-pop band which arose from the town of Athens, Georgia in 1997. The band is led by front-man Kevin Barnes, who writes, composes, and plays most of the music for his albums.

The Books: Free Translator

Enjoy this little gem of acoustic-y, folk-y weird sound.

Kendl Winter: Shades of Green

Just listen to this gorgeous little song.

Sister Crayon cover of Sufjan Stevens: Futile Devices

Sister Crayon is a Sacramento-based quartet signed to the independent label Manimal Vinyl. Led by vocalist Terra Lopez, and backed by Dani Fernandez playing the tracks, the band was a two member act for approximately a year before keys player Genarro Ulloa and (awesome) drummer Nicholas Suhr joined the following year. Previously performing under the name Silent and Clementine, Lopez decided “I didn't want to be shy anymore, and I wanted to have a name that was bolder, and a completely different alter ego.” 

Linkin Park: Krwlng

Agoura Hills, California produced something that it had no intentions of making: Linkin Park. Linkin Park, in turn, created something known as music, chiefly Hybrid Theory. Years passed, and the band did the best thing that it could possibly ever do....revisit the original. Reanimation is exactly that: reanimating Hybrid Theory and giving new life to it. 

-M-: Ne le dis à personne thème (M+A)

-M- is French-born Matteiu Chedid, which is a French rock singer-songwriter and guitar player. 

Com Truise: Cathode Girls

Com Truise is one of the many personas of producer and designer Seth Haley, born and raised in upstate New York and operating out of a 12' box in Princeton, New Jersey. An admitted synthesizer obsessive, Com Truise is the maker of an experimental and bottom heavy style he calls “mid-fi synth-wave, slow-motion funk”.

Treasureseason: Border Crossing

Treasureseason, currently comprised of duo David Powell and Jess Bartlet, began in San Francisco’s Sunset District, where Powell met and recorded the project’s debut self-titled EP with Swedish musician Ida Olsson in 2012. Structured as something sort of chillwave but built into saturated soundscapes, their music stood out with a combination of lo-fi resampling and the palpable influence of catchy 1980's film soundtracks. 

Honeybear: Bottom Over Top

Alter ego of Canadian, Aaron Meyer, Honeybear is a conglomerate consisting of his progression from traditional folk music to incorporating more ambient and pop influences into that. Bottom Over Top opens with a combination of (figuratively) fire crackling and water dripping as one combined sound, and that idea of naturalized harmony is carried throughout as he lonesomely croons about treacherous women and feelings of oppression but always finding balance between light and dark.

Jefferson Airplane: White Rabbit

Jefferson Airplanes was a psychedelic rock group formed in San Francisco, California. Jefferson Airplanes was the first of several Bay-area psychedelic rock bands to receive renown, due to the release of their album Surrealistic Pillow as the "Summer of Love" zeitgeist and psychedelic eras were blooming. 

The Lumineers: Ho Hey

This band is a mix between Irish Pub music and college alternative, and it's pretty great. They'll have your foot tapping and singing "Ho Hey" all day!

Ray Lamontagne (cover of Gnarls Barkley): Crazy

Ray Lamontagne spins his own artistic rendering of Gnarls' song, Crazy, taking it an entirely different, smoother direction than that of Gnarls.

The Who: I Can See For Miles

I can't even being to write about The Who, and can only suffice to say that they are perhaps the best live band to ever perform because of their energy and passion. 

Alkaline Trio: Radio

This song...should automatically play through the speakers of life anytime that you have a fallout with someone.

Purity Ring: Fineshrine

Not everything that comes from Canada is bad. Purity Ring more than makes up for Justin Beiber. 

Hello Saferide: Get Sick Soon

As adorable as this song is, it's really creepy. It makes me feel like I'd get locked out of the house in the cold on purpose, just for the sake of becoming sick so I could be cared for, which is COMPLETELY the opposite of what I want. That aside, Swedish Annika Norlin is spectacular, both here and in her other project, Säkert! (completely in Swedish, and slightly more pop-ier).

Dam Mantle: Rebong

Jutting from a sea of a genre growing exponentially with each passing week, Tom Marshallsay’s music stands as a beacon of technicolor sound with a rich seam of raw musicality running through it. Marshallsay’s previous exploits are rooted in post-rock and experimental folk; the echoes of these dying beasts in Marshallsay's life have given a blood transfusion to Dam Mantle, an entirely electronic project he dove into as 2009 came to an end. His pieces are infused with a love of music far broader than the just the niche he now inhabits.

Tommy Tutone: Jenny (867-5309)

Classic 1980's one hit wonder.

She & Him: Take it Back

Take it back, I don't want your lovin' anymore. Summers, hot nights, dark country, She & Him

Suzanne Vega: Tom's Diner

One of the most addictive songs of the decade.

Bella Ferraro (cover of Bon Iver, Birdy): Skinny Love

I'm usually not a fan of covers unless I hear the cover before I hear the original song but this girl has got it.

Monument Valley: Dear John Letters

Ned Younger is a London native with a passion for song writing. Monument Valley is a project that originated in Spain, when Younger was hospitalized with a collapsed lung; he came home with a determination to realize all the lyrics he'd written into something we now know as Monument Valley, a lovely assortment of lyrics on a broad range of topics, in a beautifully acoustic fashion.

"Turned out we were all each other needed to grow old"

Fleetwood Mac: Landslide

I'll just let Nick's write about her own song: "My Dad did have something to do with it, but he absolutely thinks that he was the whole complete reason it was ever written. I guess it was about September 1974, I was home at my Dad and Mom's house in Phoenix, and my father said, 'You know, you really put a lot of time into this [her singing career], maybe you should give this six more months, and if you want to go back to school, we'll pay for it. Basically you can do whatever you want and we'll pay for it - I have wonderful parents, and I went, 'cool, I can do that.' Lindsey and I went up to Aspen, and we went to somebody's incredible house, and they had a piano, and I had my guitar with me, and I went into their living room, looking out over the incredible Aspen skyway, and I wrote 'Landslide.' Three months later, Mick Fleetwood called. On New Year's Eve, 1974, called and asked us to join Fleetwood Mac. So it was three months, I still had three more months to go to beat my six month goal that my dad gave me."

Deep Blue Something: Breakfast At Tiffany's

Sometimes, it's the one thing you've got.

Ice Cube: It Was A Good Day

O'Shea Jackson, better known in American society and most likely anywhere but his mother's house as Ice Cube, was one of the forming members of N.W.A., one of the realest rap groups around. Their songs specifically were about real life in South Central LA, California, and attracted much concern from several groups. What these groups didn't realize, is that the controversy was over what the raps were about...a much larger problem existed, mostly in the state of existence. Ice Cube and his counterparts have done so much for the furtherance of what was the impoverished minority, by promoting awareness and openness. 

Radiohead: Creep

The 1990's were a fantastic musical decade, producing some of the best bands of all-time. And of course, these bands produced some of the best songs of all time. 

R.E.M.: Losing My Religion

Losing My Religion is a term that originates in the American South, which means that one is losing one's wits/what defines oneself. It's common to lose one's religion in pursuit of a person or goal, and this song is a great depiction of that concept. 

Smashing Pumpkins: Mayonaise

Billy Corgan's voice is so unmistakably 1990's.

Lisa Loeb: Stay ( I Missed You)

Arguably one of the best 90s songs, most people from the age of 20-35 can sing large portions of this song at any given moment.

Goo Goo Dolls: Slide

Goo Goo Dolls is the epitome of 1990's alternative rock.

Mister Lies: Cleam

Mister Lies is the result of dorm-room insomnia, the state of being without roots in altered states of being, in a city of strangers and the feeling of homesickness in the previously anonymous Nick Zanca. 

Jeff Buckley (cover of Leonard Cohen): Hallelujah

I don't actually know why it took me so long to post this; I love this song and I always have.

Flight (cover of Q Lazzarus): Goodbye Horses

Great cover.Flight throws a great spin on an old favourite. 

Low: Lullaby

Low is a Duluth, Minnesota based slowcore band involving slow tempos and minimalist arrangements. Also, of note, the band hates this label, so...I'm going to call them a minimalistic-dreamrock group because I can.

M83: Midnight City

I can't put into words the effects of this song. 

The Shivers: Kisses

The Shivers come from NYC, NY and managed to have the best song in existence, maybe. Well, there's "The Dead Flag Blues" in the running, but I'm not counting.

"Give me your kisses, baby
I can't afford to be afraid
I will jump for joy
Everyday"

Jose Gonzalez (cover of The Knife): Heartbeats

Great cover.

MGMT: Electric Feel

Another fairly popular band, you're missing out if you haven't heard of them before!!

Flobots: Handlebars

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm; this Denver-based hiphop/rap ensemble is delicious. Adding strings and a trumpet to a couple mc's and a rhythm section is seriously the best idea, ever. 

First Aid Kit (cover of Fleet Foxes): Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

Old hat First Aid Kit cover.

Mountain Man: Animal Tracks

Mountain Man is a magnificent trio of ladies from Bennington, Vermont who have the voices of angels, and remind me of an era spent porch-sitting and guitar picking. 

Gordon Lightfoot: The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald

Little-known American tragedy in song.

Eva Cassidy (cover of Simon & Garfunkel): Kathy's Song

What a short life....it seems all the best are picked from our midst early.

Galway: Each Of Us Loves Space Tears

Galway has such a unique sound, I wish I could tell you more about them...but I'd have to first learn to read Russian and Cyrillic letters. 

Something Corporate: Konstantine

"Did you know I miss you

God, I miss you"

Moddi: Smoke

Pål MODDI Knutsen comes out of the far north of Norway. With his mother’s borrowed accordion, a "liberated" Russian display mandolin and his own well-worn blue six-string, MODDI makes music that has a life of its own. Sometimes this feels like a huge band session, full of noise and loud passion; at other times it can be so small, quiet, and discreet that you might feel the need to sing along in order to keep it from falling silent. 

Galaxie 500: Strange

A short-lived band who's shoegaze will live longer than the Ford line of Galaxie 500's.

Jon Mckiel: Monster of the Miramichi

Not Canadian? Haven’t heard of Jon McKiel? That’s because he’s been holed up in the small coastal town of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in a dimly-lit house with boarded-up windows, armed only with a thinly-strung guitar and a half-smoked cigarette, writing some of the most beautiful indie-pop songs we’ve ever heard with a voice like an angel. Joined by his bandmates Josh Kogon (bass), Cory LeBlanc (drums), Mike D’Eon (guitar) and Colin Crowell (synth and trumpet), Jon McKiel improves upon the tradition of fellow Halifaxian bands like Sloan and Wintersleep by combining deep pop sensibilities with rich descriptive lyrics and haunting melodies. On songs like “123 My Friend” and “Get Caught,” Jon delivers the genuineness that has attracted many to fellow singer/songwriters like Andrew Bird, Ryan Adams, and Matt Pond PA. His voice sounds, to me, something similar to my favorite artist, Jason Molina's.

The story behind the song is horrific. It references the nickname given to Allan Legere, one of  Canada's serial killers and arsonists who killed 5+ people in his span from 1986-1989. 

Bush: Glycerine

Achieving superstar status only in the states, critics of Bush's stream-of-consciousness lyrical styling compared them to an inferior copy of The Pixies and of course Nirvana, which plagued their entire career. Bush never got any sort of following from it's native isle, but what it lacked in Britain, it made up for across this drink. 

All American Rejects: Dance Inside

The All-American Rejects is a band with beginnings in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and managed to fill my friend's middle-high school years during apropos times of emotional distress and the like. I never really got into them until Move Along, years after the fad had been running around. The album featured the band's first single, "Dirty Little Secret".

Derek and the Dominos: Layla

Layla, I'm beggin' darlin' please; this song was inspired by Clapton's then-unrequited love for fellow musician George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd and is arguably one of the most emotional guitar solos of all time.

Switchfoot: Dare You To Move

Middle school, notebooks, erasable pens, heartbreak, combination locks and Chucks.

The Streets: Don't Mug Yourself

A strange project completed by Mike Skinner that's catchy as anything. 

Led Zeppelin: The Rain Song

The Rain Song is a love ballad of some length. The song is a play on the melody discovered by Jimmy Page, who was at the time, screwing around with his new studio console recently installed at his home in Plumpton, England. Recognizably, Page tributed the Beatles "Something" with the opening chords; Page completed the melody and upon presentation to Robert Plant, Plant composed lyrics for it; Plant often considers "The Rain Song" to be his best work ever completed. The song features a mellotron specifically for this song to add an orchestral effect, while Page plays a Danelectro guitar for a unique and irreplicable sound.

Motopony: Wait For Me

Motopony has an awesome sound centered around Daniel Blue's original voice, and his matching E-string guitar. 

Band of Horses: Monsters

Band of Horses is a fluid being, evolving and incorporating new members often. Currently, it is based in Charleston, South Carolina. The band originated in Seattle, Washington and through copious line-up changes, has conglomerated into a being that has an electic sound, blending banjo with rock.

Yuck: Get Away

My Ex is coming into town for one of my friend's wedding. I wish Yuck-Get Away made her go away. Update: I managed to get out of town for the weekend; I didn't see her at all.

Bayside: They Looked Like Strong Hands

"I'm a sucker for anything acoustic."

Teen Daze: Saviour

Another one of those indie-rock band who's songs all sounds like summer.

Temple of the Dog: Hunger Strike

Temple of the Dog was everything that was American rock. In tribute to Andrew Wood (deceased) of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden sung lead and backing (having contributed the idea), backed by Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, Jeff Ament on bass, Mike Mcready on lead guitar, Matt Cameron on drums and Eddie Vedder providing lead and backing vocals, nothing existed as close to perfection. Nothing. 
The band released its only album, the self-titled Temple of the Dog, in April 1991 through A&M Records. Although earning praise from music critics at the time of its release, the album was not widely recognized until 1992, when Vedder, Ament, Gossard and McCready had their breakthrough with Pearl Jam.

Cab Calloway: Minnie The Moocher

Blues Brothers featured this, but even they couldn't do this song justice.

Three Dog Night: Never Been To Spain

Another one of my mother's favorites, Three Dog Night is a classic of Southern  Rock, and have been in existence since 1968, to the present time (which is fairly impressive). Based in Los Angeles, they're best known for their years of 1968 to 1975, topping the Billboard lists with 21 top hits. 

Wilco: Radio Cure

Wilco is another one of my favorite bands, but this time from Chicago. I love anything they put out, though this song has meaning to me, more than any other. I'm partial to it, simply for reasons that stretch beyond 

Lindsey Stirling: Crystallize

My. two. favorite. things. in. one. song. Is there anything this gal can't do? Play the violin to dubstep and dance in the FREEZING COLD. + 5 points, Gryffindor.

William Fitzsimmons: Passion Play

Passion Play speaks for itself, but I'll blurb the author. William is a singer-songwriter working out of Illinois, with deep roots in James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, Dylan, and Joni Mitchell, as evidenced in his laid-back styling and acoustic background.

Calexico and Iron & Wine (cover of the Rolling Stones): Wild Horses

Calexico has the best version of this song. On vinyl. Oh. My. Gosh. (Iron & Wine is here, too.)

Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi is one of the few artists I look at their videos. His visual accomplishments are on par with his musical accomplishments. The lyrics to this song are simple, but still impressive. Overall, Kid Cudi stands as one of my favorite artists from the hip-hop genre.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Snow (Hey Oh)

Mmmmmmmmm, I like Red Hot Chili Peppers. On eggs, with coffee, or just in my ears :]

Nirvana: Heart Shaped Box

Grunge rock, acid wash jeans, etc. etc. etc.

Laura Marling: Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)

Laura Marling, at least for me, is associated with good memories of getting better, of healing and of rehabilitation. Those feelings come back anytime I hear Laura's voice. I like to think she channels England's magic through her fingers and her voice. 

Baths: Aminals

Aminals is a fun song with a lot of different elements comprising the song!

The Swell Season: Sleeping

I used to have issues sleeping (still do) and I dealt with them by making a sleep playlist of music. The Swell Season was give or take about half of it. So relaxing.

Pandit: Pack Your Bags

I'm not going to lie; I have a category of music in my head that's a catch-all. This particular song falls into it. I like it, it's memorable, but for the life of me, it's in that category. I heard it on a TV show earlier and had to Shazam it. Sure enough, it was in my computer, and has been since February of 2011. Enjoy!

A Perfect Circle: The Outsider

Maynard said in a acoustic session explaining this song "I had a friend who had some chemical problems. I ended up meeting his brother and his brother was so out of touch with what he was going through…so this song is kinda sung through the perspective of the brother who doesn't understand what his loved one is going through and in a way has no compassion for what he is going through… this song is called the outsider because that brother is standing on the outside of a understanding and doesn't get it. This song is from the perspective of someone who is ignorant and doesn't have the time or patience to understand what their loved one is going through."

"What's your rush? Everyone will have his day to die. Medicated drama queen; picture perfect non-belligerence. Narcissistic drama queen craving fame and all its decadence."

Dashboard Confessional: I Light My Own Fires Now

Middle school was filled with Dashboard. I didn't really understand what Dashboard Confessional was until college, and now, if my dashboard could talk...you guys wouldn't be reading this--you'd be listening to my dashboard talk.

Modest Mouse: Float On

Modest Mouse is a super-fun alternative rock band from Issaquah, Washington who have an intriguing sound!

GROUPLOVE: Colours

Grouplove is a LA, CA based indie-pop group who've found something special in spontaneity. Whatever they found, I like it lots.
"You've still got your head"

The Fray: Never Say Never

Automatically joining the mile-high club, these Denver-bound fellows blend melodic rock-pop with rich, sonorous vocals weaving masterful tapestries of art, otherwise known as songs. This one in particular utilizes ample use of the voice of a piano and the sonorous vocals discussed earlier.

"You can never say never."

Foster the People: Pumped Up Kicks

Foster the People hails from Los Angeles, CA and is classified as an indie pop/rock group, with this song being their first hit, debuting in summer 2011, and it caught on quick because of it's quirky catchy tune.


"All the other kids with the pumped up kick ya better run ya better run faster than my bullet."

Phoenix: 1901

"Fall in thought I couldn't tell how to fall out."

Whitley: More Than Life

Summer. Car. Night time. Light on leaves. Opossum. If you guys can make sense of the previous sentence, maybe I was out with you. Whitley seamlessly blends organic acoustic flavors with electronic overtones creating songs with hushed, whimsical tales of love and loss. 

teen suicide: Goblins Cry Too

Goblins cry too, who knew?

The Naked and Famous: Girls Like You

Girls like you are few and far between. Otherwise, there'd be more songs like this ;]

CocoRosie: Promise

I really appreciate anything that's different than what I'm used to. CocoRosie is different, and it's a good sort of different. I included them in a presentation for my French culture class last semester. They're a French group--even though the sisters grew up in the states, they met up again for the first time in years again in Paris. Magic happened, music happened--CocoRosie was made.

Clutchy Hopkins: 4:08

Clutchy always has a fun, smooth feel to it. 4:08 is no exception!

Star Slinger reworked by Cocteau Twins: Elizabeth Fraser

I love anything that Star Slinger mixes. Anything-smoothies, songs, icecream-I like it all from Star Slinger!