Nerina Pallot - This Will Be Our Year

Hope your New Year's celebration is off to a great start!  I think 2013 will be our year, fiscal cliff not withstanding!  Nerina Pallot's song captures the optimism perfectly.

Happy New Year to everyone!!!! I hope that 2013 is a blessed year for you!!!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Dido - Mary's in India

Born Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong, she grew up being called Dido by her family.  In The Guardian, when she was interviewed in 2001, she says this about her name:

To be called one thing and christened another is actually very confusing and annoying.  It's one of the most irritating things that my parents did to me. I'm still irritated by it. Florian is a German man's name. That's just mean. To give your child a whole lot of odd names. They were all so embarrassing.  I thought it was cruel to call me Dido and then expect me to just deal with it.

 You can read the rest of the interview by clicking here.

Mary's in India is a pretty interesting song.  I guess the object lesson from this song is that , if you go on a long trip, don't ask your friend to look after your boyfriend.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.




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Ke$ha - C'Mon

A song from Ke$ha's new album, Warrior.  It's a good album, though not quite as good as the first.  I miss the liberal use of Auto-tune that made the first one so memorable.  However, she does not disappoint with great lyrics that are light-hearted and filled with double entendres.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Keith Urban - Making Memories of Us

I like country music because the genre emphasizes lyrics over the accompanying music.  Each song is a story and Keith Urban's music certainly fits that criteria.  His songs are well-written and sung in a manner that allows for the song, rather than the personality, to play center stage.

He has had so many hit songs that it makes it difficult to just pick one.  I think Making Memories of Us is my favorite.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Tanita Tikaram - Light Up My World

Tanita Tikaram is one of those artists who have a cult following but never made it big for some reason or another.  She's had eight studio albums and one compilation album of her greatest hits as well.  I've never heard her on US radio but love her music and hope you do as well.

The Cappuccino Songs is an album from 1998 and arguably her best work.  Light Up My World is from that album and one of my favorites.  She's released a new album this year titled Can't Go Back.  I'll report back on what I think of the new songs!

In the mean time, the video below contains music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Phil Collins - Do You Remember?

I think it is easy to forget that Phil Collins was a serious artist with a string of hit songs and albums when all one ever hears is his Disney music.  I cannot get the Tarzan soundtrack out of my head when I see a picture of Phil Collins!!

Anyway, this song is just one of my favorites.  While I love his group, Genesis, I like the different style of the songs he performs as a solo artist as well.  Sometimes you want rock and other times you want pop music, with the horn section and other embellishments that he adds in his own music.  This one is a little quieter than most of his solo work but the simple arrangement goes well with mood.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy his music!!!

Lights - Pretend

Lights is a Canadian singer-songwriter.  According to Wikipedia, she was born Valerie Anne Poxleitner but legally changed her name to Lights when she turned eighteen.

Regardless of name choices, I think she's exceptionally talented.  I've not heard her once on a US radio station which is insane!!!  In any case, she has three albums, all of which are very listenable and have some great songs.  It was hard to pick just one but this is one of my favorites.  Hope you like it!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Imogen Heap - Hide & Seek

Interesting song from Imogen Heap, not that she does anything but interesting songs.  Hide & Seek's music drew me in but it's the lyrics that are most interesting.  Though I've not been able to confirm it anywhere, a blogger on Inspire The Grind stated that Imogen Heap told her that the "song was about her father getting a new wife and how she felt estranged from him because of that relationship."

Some of the lines are classic like "the dust has only just begun to form crop circles in the carpet" or "oily marks appear on walls where pleasure moments hung before."  But I wish I knew what she's referencing when she mentions "trains and sewing machines."

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Feist - Graveyard

Canadian sing-songwriter Feist has had a lot of albums and great songs over the last 13 years or so.  If you've not heard of Feist, you may have heard her most popular song, 1234, from The Reminder (2007).  I think it was featured on an Apple commercial which definitely means it was a great song!!

Graveyard is from her most recent album, Metals (2011).  It is a little dark and I'm not sure what it means but that's never stopped me from enjoying a song.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Vanbot - Lost Without You

I love this song from Vanbot (what a really cool name!!). I think she has some of the best synth pop music out there. Very catchy and easy on the ears.  She only has one album and is currently working on her next - cannot wait!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Brandi Carlile - Rise Again

Great song from Brandi Carlile's fifth album, Bear Creek (2012).  Falling "like rain only to rise again" is an uplifting sentiment and she has a powerful voice that delivers the song really well.  The majority of the songs on the album are excellent but this one is my personal favorite.  I think this album is her best work to date with the most consistent quality in songs.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Ross Copperman - All She Wrote

Good song by Ross Copperman. All She Wrote is from his second album, Welcome to Reality (2007).  He's had five albums in total, all fairly good with some great songs.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy his music!!!

Passenger - What You're Thinking (feat. Josh Pyke)

Passenger was originally a five-person group that released an album in 2007.  Unfortunately, the band dis-banded and Mike Rosenberg decided to continue a solo act using the group name.  It's fortunate that the band was not named Passengers, or he would have had to find some others to fit the plural!

In any case, he's released four separate albums as a solo artist, all of which are very good.  I have a hard time picking my favorite since it depends on my mood.  Hopefully, you like this one as much as I do!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy his music!!!

The Radio Dept. - We Made the Team

A song for anyone who didn't make the team. I cannot tell you why I like this song but I just do, despite the scary album cover on their greatest hits!!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!

Band of Horses - I Go to the Barn Because I Like the

I like this song a lot for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the unusual title.  It's not a mistake...or at least it isn't mine.  This is the actual title of the song.  I wonder what the singer likes in the barn. It's a cliff-hanger!

In any case, I love when Ben Bridwell sings "I'd like to think I'm the mess you'd wear with pride." I think it's a love song that talks about being accepted for who you are.

Band of Horses has four full length studio albums and a single EP.  I Go to the Barn Because I Like the is from their first album titled Everything All the Time.  I would say it's their best album and also includes their best known song, The Funeral.  If you haven't heard it, listen to it!

The video below contains the music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!

Lykke Li - Little Bit

This is a great song by Lykke Li from her first album, Youth Novels.  I really like the music - it's great to hear on headphones.  And the sentiment is not an unusual one.  After all, no one wants to admit to being in love first in a relationship!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Lissie - Everywhere I Go

One of my favorites - a song by Lissie from her album, Catching a Tiger.  Great song that captures the feeling that no one is ever truly alone and someone is always there to help!  If you like this song, you'll love the entire album.

The video below  isn't mine but does such a good job of providing the lyrics that I thought it best to share it.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Youth Lagoon - Montana

I think this song is about the end of a relationship (aren't they all about the beginning or the end of a relationship?).  It doesn't sound like a particularly nice ending as described by the lyrics:

Your honesty was killing me...The monsters in the room were all dancing to the music all around us 

I don't understand the reference to the "spirit" in Montana but love the end of the song where he sings:

As I walked slowly down your driveway to my car, I looked back and turned into salt...a pillar with a hat.

Though he was commanded to leave, does he suffer the same punishment as Lot's wife, who turns into a pillar of salt when she turned around as she left Sodom because she expressly violates God's command?   At least he is still styling, since he is a pillar with a hat!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!

Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land

Great song - one of Frightened Rabbitt's best!  I think it's about moving on and letting go of the past, rather than getting mired in it and dwelling on old issues.

In any case, the video with music and lyrics are below.



If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!

Ayo - Down On My Knees

Great song by Ayo!  Down On My Knees is from her debut album, Joyful (2006).  She has had two subsequent albums that have done fairly well.  

I think this song has one of the best lines ever:

I gave you even more than I had to give....I was willing for you to die

Giving something you don't have does not seem quite like a sacrifice!

The video below contains music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Santigold - The Riot's Gone

Santi White performed under the stage name Santogold until 2010, when she change her name to Santigold instead.  Apparently, an 1980's performer named Santo Gold was not thrilled with the use of the name and took legal action.

In any case, she's had two albums.  The Master of My Make-Believe is her most recent and was released this year.  It has several really good songs as well as a very interesting album cover.  Of the songs, I like The Riot's Gone the best.

The video below contains music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!!

Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (feat. Calvin Harris)

Ellie Goulding's first album, Lights, is one of my favorite albums and showcased a great voice coupled with excellent song-writing.  Naturally, I've been waiting for the follow-up album.

Halcyon is good but not great.  I don't think the songs are quite as good as the ones that comprise Lights.  There are so few artists who have been able to transcend a great debut album and get better with each work.  On the positive the production quality is excellent on every song.  However, there is a still a lot of coo-ing and vocal gymnastics that get in the way.  All of the songs are enjoyable but few are memorable.  I Need Your Love is one of my favorites off the album.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!

Joshua Radin - I'd Rather Be With You

I'd Rather Be With You is from Joshua Radin's 2008 album titled Simple Times, a most excellent collection of songs. I'm not sure where I read it but someone termed his music "whisper rock" and I think it fits.

I like most songs by Joshua Radin.  He's a very talented songwriter with a talent for writing songs that are in hot demand for television and movies.  Wikipedia says that his songs have been used at least 75 times in film and TV placements and Wikipedia is never wrong, right?

In any case, I really like the music a lot and cannot understand why all of the commercial use doesn't translate to greater popularity and more radio airplay.  It is a shame.  I'm a fan and I completely missed the fact that he released a new album over the summer (I will listen and report back!).

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


If you like the song, please support the artist and buy his music!!!