Where Is My Mind

Maxence Cyrin has made a number of covers of popular songs on the piano. They are beautiful.  He has an album, Novö Piano, out with covers including No Cars Go by Arcade Fire, Kids by MGMT, and Lithium by Nirvana.  This is a lovely rendition of The Pixies' Where Is My Mind.

Can't Explain The Sunlight

(I feel like I am constantly posting bands from England, but they make good music.)


Bombay Bicycle Club is from North London.  This is Ivy and Gold on their album, Flaws.  It was released in July of this year.  The moment I heard the first 20 seconds of this song, I bought the whole album.  It is the second album they released. 


They remind me of Iron and Wine.

Believe Me

Ray Davies, frontman of the Kinks, is coming out with a new album featuring a number of impressive musicians, including Mumford and Sons, The Pixies, and Spoon. The album is entitled See My Friends. It has already been released in the UK but will be released in the US in early 2011. This is Ray Davies and Mumford and Sons performing Days/This Time Tomorrow on a show in Holland.

Just To Remind You

Lupe Fiasco's new album, Lasers, isn't being released until March 2011, but this new song, Never Forget You featuring John Legend, made its way onto the internet.  Lasers is an acronym for "Love Always Shines, Everytime Remember 2 Smile".  Apparently this album is complete, but Atlantic Records is not releasing it yet.  Posted on the LupE.N.D. Blog, "Lupe said Atlantic wanted him to sign a contract that would give them 25% of anything he makes from shows or deals with other companies like Nike or whatever. He told them no so they threatened him by not pushing any of his new songs on the radio or giving him money to make the videos."  But finally Atlantic Records backed down because of a petition put out by fans.  The petition acquired 5,000 signatures in one day. On October 8th, Atlantic Records announced Lasers will be released on March 8th, 2011.

Down By The Roller-Coaster

Surf Music. The Beach Boys and Dick Dale both represent the two major forms: vocal surf pop and instrumental surf rock. The Drums have been described as the new era of surf music, which also includes Surfer Blood. They are based in Brooklyn, but are currently touring in Europe. Two of the band members, Jonathon Pierce and Jacob Graham, were childhood friends. They first formed an electro-pop group called Goat Explosion. But after several years, the two separated and went on to form other bands. They eventually grew tired of electro-pop and decided to work together again, switching to indie surf music.

The New York Times has written "Pop without apology…It’s an old, limited vocabulary, but the Drums know its every nuance."

Nothing To Do

Avi Buffalo is a band based from Long Beach, Ca. They started out acoustic, but moved over to electric.  They remind me of The Shins.  This song, What's It In For?, came out this year off their self-titled album.

Listen To Me

This song came on shuffle.  I remember listening to this song, All 'Cause Of You, when I first got my license back in high school.  I went over to Best Buy to get this album because they didn't have it on iTunes yet.  The 88, a band from LA, released Over and Over in 2005.  It is a very appropriate title because I listened to this album over and over when I first bought it.

Dare To Look

These four songs are my favorite songs by the Big Four British Invasion Bands. (Well my favorite songs right now. With these bands, your favorite is constantly changing.)

Substitute by The Who was featured on their 1966 compilation album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.

Doesn't Matter Much

This Time Tomorrow by The Kinks was featured on their 1968 album Lola Versus The Powerman and The Moneygoround, Part One.

Life Goes On

Obla Di Obla Da by the Beatles featured on their 1968 album The White Album.

Colors Everywhere

She's A Rainbow by The Rolling Stones was featured on their 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request.

Derezzed Punk

So much can be said about Daft Punk.  They were very essential in the French house scene in the 1990s.  This single, Derezzed, is off their newest soundtrack album for Walt Disney's Tron.  I don't know much about the film, but the soundtrack is amazing.  I am really surprised that Daft Punk chose to work on a project like this.  But I guess they did meet Stuart Macmillan, the man that helped them get a record deal, at a rave at EuroDisney.  They have had three previous albums prior to Tron, Homework, Discovery, and Human After All. 

Everyone Is Invited

And this is Rats off of What We Will Be released in 2009. (The beginning of this song makes me immediately think of Pink Floyd).

Freedom Ain't Free

Devendra Banhart is an incredibly talented musician.  He is constant changing his sound.  His earlier albums have a very simple acoustic sound.  They sound very raw.  When he got signed to a bigger label, he got more of an elaborate with his sound. With Crippled Crow and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Banhart found his sound.  But then he came out with What We Will Be, his latest album.  With this album, he is just proving to everyone that he is an amazing guitarist.  Each song sounds a little different, which means you can never get bored of the album. Now That I Know is a record of his album Crippled Crow released in 2005 by XL Recording. (Beck, Radiohead, and Ratatat, are among some of the musicians they have represented).

My Love Is Strong

She & Him is a band consisting of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.  I know that Zooey Deschanel is an actress and usual actresses can't really sing, but Zooey is definitely an exception.  Zooey and M. Ward first met on the set of the film, The Go-Getter.  They bonded over their shared interest of well-known record producers George Martin (who produced the early Beatles records, guitarist Jeff Beck from The Yardbirds, and Cheap Trick) and Phil Spector (who produced later Beatles records, The Righteous Brothers, and The Ramones).  They have released 2 studio albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2.  This is a cover of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, which was on their Volume 1 album.

Back to the Days

In 1993, rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Mark 7even), and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macfadden (Cut Chemist) got together to form the American indie hip hop group Jurassic 5.  The group split in February 2007. The reason for the split was unclear, however member Zaakir said: "I don't want to sit here and fake around with it - we're not seeing eye-to-eye right now. I'd like to keep it going, but you can't force grown men to do what they don't want to do."  "What's Golden" is a single off their 2002 studio album Power in Numbers.

You Are Magnetic

Marina and the Diamonds is a band made up off a single Welsh artist, Marina Diamandis.  She decided on the name Marina and the Diamonds because not only does her last name mean diamonds in Greek, but she considers all her fans to be the diamonds in the name (a little corny I know, but I really like her music).  A funny story about her is that she was so driven to become a recording artist that she dressed up like a boy and auditioned to be in an all boy reggae band, held by Virgin Records.  She didn’t get hired for the band, obviously, but did get a call back by the label a week later.  This song was actually released in June 2009 on her EP album The Crown Jewels but was released in February of this year on her album The Family Jewels.

Two Weeks Of Hip Hop

Mash up of Dead Prez and Grizzly Bear....perfection.  The Hood Internet is a duo (Aaron Brink, aka ABX, and Steve Reidell, aka STV SLV) from Chicago that combine hip hop and indie rock.  They also have a blog where they release the music they make www.thehoodinternet.com.  Like Girl Talk, but more specialized.  Play there mixtapes at a party and everybody will be happy.


This is Two Weeks of Hip Hop off The Mixtape Volume Four

Watch It Burn

Bob Dylan's son Jakob Dylan is the frontman for the band The Wallflowers.  They have had a number of different band members with Dylan being the only constant.  They have won two Grammys, one being Best Rock Song for "One Headlight" in 1998.  I love this song, especially the beginning.  The combination of the guitar, the bass, the drums, and the keyboard is perfect.  Instead of all of the instruments playing the same melody line, they each work together to create the melody.  I also love the metaphor in this song: I don't need everything to get through, I can still get through....only one headlight.

It Was Beautiful

The Antlers, based in Brooklyn, first released their album, Hospice, independently.  Once they sold all the albums they had in stock, they realized that they could not do it alone.  The band signed on to a New York independent label, Frenchkiss Records, soon after.  Frenchkiss remastered and re-released Hospice and the album has been on a number of Album of the Year lists since, for both its musicianship and narrative.  Peter Silberman, the front man and songwriter, said that the album is about an abusive relationship told through an analogy of a hopsice worker and a terminally-ill patient.  Two is the seventh track on the ten track album.

Are You Busy?

Amy Winehouse.  A perfect example of an artist whose personal life is written about more often then the music they release.  But everyone knows she is talented.  I mean she won five grammies from six nominations back in 2004 with the release of Back to Black.  But this is the song that made me become a fan.  Originally performed by the British rock band, The Zutons, Valerie is a song that makes me think back to the early 1960s, during the time of The Drifters and The Shirelles.

Not Coming Down

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a garage rock group from San Francisco.  They formed in 1998 and this was one of their first singles, Spread Your Love, off the album B.R.M.C..  It is clear that they are influenced by rock groups such as The Verve, The Rolling Stones, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth.

Moment's Almost Gone

Ghostland Observatory. A must see live band. Daft Punk meets Freddy Mercury.

The Band Marches On
(p.s. this song is over at 3:50)

You're Gold

Beach House is a duo from Maryland. Their third album, Teen Dream, is amazing. I constantly find myself listening to it over and over again. 


This is the first song off that album. Zebra.

Reach The End

If you like Weezer, Pavement, or Built To Spill...Surfer Blood's Swim.

I like to listen to this song really loud on headphones.

Pages Of Hills And Plants

Bron Yr Aur is Welsh for hill of gold.  It was also the name of a Robert Pant's family cottage.  Plant and Jimmy Page retreated at the cottage after a long tour in North America and wrote this song.  It is a beautiful example of Plant and Page's talent.