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."