Sky Ferreira - I Will

I don't know much about Sky Ferreira; however, her first full length studio album promises great things are in store.  She also has two extended plays that were released in 2011 and 2012.  You're Not the One was the first single released from Night Time, My Time (2013), but I like I Will the best!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Indigo Girls - Closer to Fine

I cannot imagine that this song by the Indigo Girls is new to anyone but I thought I would post it anyway! The Indigo Girls are an American duo (Amy Ray and Emily Saliers) who sing intelligent folk songs with a message. They independently released their first full length album, Strange Fire, in 1987. Their second full length album was titled Indigo Girls (1989) and contained Closer to Fine, their first commercial success.

They've had thirteen studio albums over the years, a vast library of songs from which to choose. Another favorite of mine is Galileo from their Rites of Passage (1992) album.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



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Ed Sheeran - Lego House

This is probably my favorite song from Ed Sheeran's debut album, + (2011). It doesn't hurt that the song mentions LEGO pieces which have to be among the greatest inventions ever. Wouldn't it be cool to live in a house made of LEGO bricks?

I cannot wait for Ed Sheeran's follow up album which is scheduled for release in 2014.  Wonder if it will be called "-" or "*" this time out?

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Tristan Prettyman - Say Anything

A beautiful song by Tristan Prettyman from her third studio album, Cedar + Gold (2012). The album is an excellent one, deserving of much more publicity and acclaim than it received. This is one of those albums that can be heard in its entirety without having to skipping through filler. It is definitely worth buying.

Hopefully, the additional exposure from having this song as part of the Safe Haven (2013) movie soundtrack will help raise her profile. Though based on the critics' review, that's not assured.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Lady Gaga - Gypsy

I like this song from Gaga's latest album. While almost every song on Artpop is worth a listen, Gypsy seems very different from the rest of the album. I particularly like the end of Gypsy though I feel badly for all the countries and regions not mentioned. Here's to all those living in Antarctica who did not get a shout out!

Applause keeps ringing in my head from overplay on the radio and I am sure many of the other songs will become tiresome for a while as a result of the radio.  Overexposure to Lady Gaga's music forces one to retire her albums for a bit and then rediscover them after everyone else is done with them.



Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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John Legend - Made to Love

This is one of my favorites from John Legend's latest album, Love in the Future (2013).  It was the second single released from the album over the summer of 2013.  The background vocals are provided by Kimbra, an artist from New Zealand.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Nine Inch Nails - Satellite

Nice song by Nine Inch Nails from the new album, Hesitation Marks (2013).  The music sounds a little different.  It's lost some roughness around the edges but it still has an industrial rock sound that works.  It's just different, that's all.

The lyrics remind me of "Big Brother" when referencing satellites.  I think the song is about the fact that we are constantly being watched from the sky, though it might be drones rather than satellites in reality. And maybe finding a way around all that surveillance?

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Jason Aldean - Staring at the Sun

Jason Aldean is an American country artist with five albums over the last eight years. This is one of my favorite songs from his last album Night Train (2012).  I like the fact that his country twang is authentic - at least I'm guessing that it is since he was born and raised in Georgia.  



Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Eminem - The Monster (Feat Rihanna)

The Monster is one of my favorite songs on Eminem's latest album, The Marshall Mathers LP2 (2013). I think his best songs are collaborations with other artists (notable among the crowd are Nick Reuss from fun and Sia). Eminem is definitely talented and entertaining!  But, as always, the lyrics are not for the faint of heart.



Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Modest Mouse - Satellite Skin

Modest mouse is an American group that's been around for almost twenty years. They have eleven studio albums.  Satellite Skin is from their most recent album, No One's First and You're Next (2009).
They've been working on their next album for several years - not sure if it will ever come out.

For those wondering about the name of the group, it is not a take on the cartoon character, Mighty Mouse.  Wiki reports the following as the source of the name:

Their name is derived from a passage from the Virginia Woolf story The Mark on the Wall which reads, "I wish I could hit upon a pleasant track of thought, a track indirectly reflecting credit upon myself, for those are the pleasantest thoughts, and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people, who believe genuinely that they dislike to hear their own praises."

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Editors - What Is This Thing Called Love

The Editors are a group that formed more than ten years ago. After several name changes, they finally settled on their current name in 2004, as they were getting their first recording contract. They've had four albums, the most recent was The Weight of Your Love (2013). It's a good album with What Is This Thing Called Love being my favorite. It's a little melodramatic but still good.


Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



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The Civil Wars - Eavesdrop

The Civil Wars is an American duo with country roots. The group has said the inspiration for the band name came from driving around and seeing civil war monuments (see NYCARTSCENE for more from that interview). I wonder if it has more to do with the dynamics of the two as they sing on some of their songs.

With two studio albums to their credit in the last three years, John Paul White and Joy Williams have a good start towards a long and successful country music career.  Eavesdrop is one of my favorite songs from their second album, The Civil Wars (2013).

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



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Lauren Aquilina - Lilo

Lauren Aquilina is an eighteen year old singer-songwriter from England.  She has two extended play albums, both of which had a single that broke the top 100 for the UK Singles Charts.  Lilo is from her first album, Fools (2012).  I can't wait for her first full length album.

I wasn't sure what a lilo was but apparently it is a UK term for an inflatable mattress.  I guess the lyrics make more sense with that knowledge!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wide Lovely Eyes

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian group that formed thirty years ago.  With fourteen albums, they've a lot of songs from which to choose.  Amazing to see any group last so long but Push the Sky Away (2013) is the first without Mick Harvey, who was one of the founding members.  It's still an excellent album with lots of good music with vivid imagery.

Wide Lovely Eyes is from Push the Sky Away (2013) - good song though Higgs Bosun Blues is the song with the catchier title!  That song belongs on Big Bang Theory (my favorite sitcom on television!).

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Vienna Teng - Stray Italian Greyhound

Vienna Teng is an American folk-singer. Though she's had five studio albums, I don't think she's had major commercial success. I think that's our loss. As a Stanford Comp Sci grad who has worked for Cisco, she certainly has a fallback career if need be.

She has released a new album recently, Aims, but I haven't heard it yet, though I'm very excited based on past work. Stray Italian Greyhound is from her 2009 Inland Territory album.  I liked the work a lot and think we can expect great things from Vienna.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Jay Z - Oceans (Feat Frank Ocean)

Really interesting song from Jay-Z and Frank Ocean. Go to rap-up.com for a video from Jay-Z that explains the song - basically reflecting on the fact that the water on which his yacht is floating is the same water that brought his ancestors as slaves.

Catchy tune and I like the contrast between Frank Ocean's and Jay-Z's voice makes the song all the more interesting!!



Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Barbarossa - Bloodline

Barbarossa is a UK-based artist - don't know much about him but his album Bloodlines (2013) is a great introduction to his work.

I liked most of the songs - great music and intelligent lyrics are always something I appreciate.  Bloodline shows off Barbarossa's vocal talent which is on display throughout the album.  Hope you enjoy!!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Rudimental - Right Here (Feat Foxes)

British group Rudimental is an electronic group that released its first single in 2011.  Home (2013) is their fist studio album and it is quite good.  As producers of electronic music, most of their music is made or broken on the quality of the artists who are featured on vocals.  From that perspective, this album definitely does not disappoint, especially when artists like Emeli Sande and Alex Clare are singing.

Right Here features the musical group Foxes and is representative of the songs on the album.  Cannot wait for more from this group!!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Movie - Gravity (2013)

When I first saw the trailer for Gravity, I was not interested in watching the movie. After all, listening to Sandra Bullock screaming for two hours didn't seem like a sustainable plot device.

Quick movie summary as follows:

1. Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) visits the space station as a mission specialist to complete critical work on the Hubble Telescope.  
2. Stone and another mission specialist conduct a spacewalk to perform maintenance/upgrades on the telescope while veteran astronaut and mission commander, Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) joyrides through nearby space with his new jetpack.
3. All three are advised that the Russians have destroyed a spy satellite via a missile strike and the resulting debris will impact them in short order.  The debris kills all of the individuals within the space shuttle and the mission specialist that accompanied Ryan on the spacewalk. 
4. Stone and Kowalski are stranded in space and need to determine how to get home (here's to hoping the International Space Station is still working).

I'm glad I saw the movie.  Bullock gave an amazing performance and was not nearly as annoying as she could have been.  The screaming was kept to a minimum and the time went by quickly since I was immersed in the story.  An amazing work that is enhanced by IMAX and 3D.  I normally am irritated by 3D but this movie did a good job of using it without overwhelming the viewer.

I give this movie five stars out of five.

Asia - Heat of the Moment

Asia was an 80's rock band from England.  Founded by four individuals with a long pedigree of rock groups, the group formed with high expectations and had a lot of success with their first two albums.   Not sure that the other ten studio albums lived up to the promise.

While there have been multiple changes to the roster over the years, the original line-up of John Wetton (lead vocals from King Crimson), Steve Howe (lead guitar from Yes), Geoff Downes (keyboards from Yes) and Carl Palmer (drummer from Emerson, Lake & Palmer) all returned in 2006 to take the Asia name back.  In 2013, Steve Howe retired and Sam Coulson took his place.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Aaliyah - Back & Forth

Just thought I'd put something from the past...any death is a tragedy but the untimely death of someone with such a bright future is truly sad.  Here was her debut song - a fun song and not too deep but sometimes that's all that's necessary!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



If you like the song, please buy the music!!!

Daft Punk - The Game of Love

Daft Punk is a French duo focusing on electronic music.  With four studio albums to their credit since 1997, they don't set records for frequency of record releases.  In fact, there was an eight year period between Human After All (2005) and their latest release, Random Access Memories (2013), during which time they were busy working on original music for the movie Tron: Legacy (2010).  An interesting career choice...but maybe I'm looking at it from hindsight after watching the movie.

In any case, I like The Game of Love along with their lead single Get Lucky which includes Pharrell Williams on vocals.  As with all of their albums, It's unlikely that anyone would love every song on Random Access Memories given the broad range of music but there is enough there to give Daft Punk a chance.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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The Cataracs - All You (Feat Waka Flocka Flame & Kaskade)

The Cataracs started out as a duo and then wasn't...David "Campa" Benjamin Singer-Vine left the group in 2012 leaving Niles "Cyranizzy" Hollowell-Dhar with the Cataracs name.  Strange to refer to Niles as The Cataracs.  The name was supposedly inspired Snoop Dogg's "Smoke till ya eyes got cataracts" lyric from his What's My Name Pt.2.  See this website for this and nine other things you didn't know about the Cataracs...it does not mention poor spelling but that might be well known given their name.

I like this song a lot. Not sure why Dev is not given credit for female vocals on this one but it's definitely a great song and I love the music!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



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Grimes - Vowels = Space And Time

An interesting Canadian artist with some very surreal music. She's had three albums in the last the three years.  If you're a science-fiction fan, her first album is titled Geidi Primes (2010), after the Frank Herbert novel from 1965, Dune.  Read it - it's still stands the test of time.  

But this is about the music which is hard to define but definitely interesting to hear.  It's techno but still retains lyrics as an important component of the music.  Listen to the music and I'm sure you will agree.  And if you like the artwork on the album, please check out her blog for more art - she's a fan of Animé

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates

Norah Jones has had five albums, all of which are quite good with lots of material from which to choose.  Chasing Pirates is my personal favorite and from her fourth album, The Fall (2009).  

But if you're one of a handful of people who've never heard a Norah Jones song, start with her first album, Come Away with Me (2002).  Every song on the album is exceptional and worth a listen.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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

Jennifer Paige - Wasted

Good pop song from Jennifer Paige from her third album, Best Kept Secret (2008).  Her most recent work was a 2012 Christmas album - I think it is safe to say that an artist's release of a holiday album is the musical version of "jumping the shark."  For those not familiar with the term, please see the following site: tvtropes.org.

Hopefully I'm wrong and more real albums are on their way!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



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Nneka - The Uncomfortable Truth

Nigerian-German artist Nneka has an interesting sound. The Uncomfortable Truth is from her third album, Concrete Jungle (2010). Though she has toured in the US, I don't think that has translated to commercial success outside of Europe.

In any case, have a listen and tell me what you think!

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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

John Mayer - Who You Love (Feat Katy Perry)

I like John Mayer and I like country music. With that in mind, I thought that I would love his latest album, which seems to be going for a quieter and more contemplative style. Or something just not very entertaining...

While the album received generally positive reviews, I must say that this is my least favorite work from John Mayer, I liked only two of the songs, both of which were duets. I don't believe that is a coincidence since both Katy Perry and Frank Ocean (on Wildfire) deliver on an otherwise bland assortment.  This is really a disappointment for me - I'm a huge fan normally.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Aimee Mann - That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart

Aimee Mann was the lead singer of 'til Tuesday, an eighties group with three studio albums of uneven quality. She's been a prolific solo artist with eight albums from 1993 through 2012 and has done quite a few duets and backing vocals as well. This song is one of my favorites from her solo work and can be found on her 2005 album, The Forgotten Arm.  Interesting album art!

You can find out more about her on her website: aimeemann.com


Please see the video below for music and lyrics.



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OneRepublic - What You Wanted

OneRepublic is an American group from Colorado.  They've ha a total of three albums in the last six years and all of them are quite good.  Native (2013) is their latest and has had several successful singles launched from it making this album their most popular one to date.  I can listen to Native from beginning to end without skipping over any of the songs - as always, that's the highest praise I can give any album.

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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