Sara Bareilles - Chasing the Sun

Great song from a great album by Sara Bareilles.  Her fourth album, The Blessed Unrest (2013), shows a maturity that might not have been there earlier.  The music remains fresh and it sounds wonderful.

Chasing the Sun is a celebration of life sung from a cemetery.  The  juxtaposition of life and death to illustrate how fleeting life is and the urgency necessary to live to the fullest works so well.  And it never hurts to write about New York...I've always wondered where all the bodies are buried in such an old city with so many people.

The album cover reminds me of the sphinx...maybe watching over the city over the centuries like the sphinxes that guarded the tombs in Egypt?

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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Jewel - I Love You Forever

Jewel Kilcher has had eleven studio albums over the last two decades. Sounds like a lot of music but some of them are holiday albums, which don't really count in my book. As I've said before, it's a sure fire way to ensure that a music artist's career has jumped the shark.  For those not familiar with the term, please see the following site: tvtropes.org. 

I Love You Forever is from her ninth album Sweet and Wild (2010).  Good album with acoustic versions of most of the songs - they are oftentimes better than the regular songs.  

Please see the video below for music and lyrics.




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Robin Thicke - The Good Life

With Gloria Loring and Alan Thicke for parents, a talent for singing must have been in Robin Thicke's genes. With six albums to his credit over the last ten years, he has definitely been busy.

Blurred Lines (2013), his latest album, is without a doubt his best to date. I don't believe there is a person left on the planet who has yet to hear the single, Blurred Lines. However, the album has a lot of other very good songs, though I like The Good Life best!  All of the songs are a mix of good music and entertaining lyrics.


Please see the video and below for music and lyrics.


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Radical Face - Welcome Home, Son

Radical Face is a pseudonym used by Ben Cooper, under which he has released four studio albums and four extended play albums over a ten year period.

Welcome Home, Son is from Ghost (2007).  It's an excellent album and all of his music very easy on the ears, though some of it can sound very similar.  I like the album cover a lot!


Please see the video below for music and lyrics.


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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.


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