Songs on Heavy Rotation

For the past couple of years, I've been giving my brother an iTunes mix of songs that I have on heavy rotation as a means of sharing new music.  I always include some notes about the songs I'm sending, so instead of just sending that to him, I figured I'd throw it in a blog post.  Here's some stuff that I've been listening to:

Got Nuffin Spoon – This one is from their most recent release, and a song indicative of their overall sound. Surprisingly, they didn’t play this at their recent concert which I attended, likely due to it being the second show in two nights. It was missed.

Laughing With Regina Spektor – This is one of my favorite songs of the past year. There seems to be a real resurgence with dealing with religious issues by Millennials, and Regina gets right to the heart of the issue. The best songs make you think, and this one surely does.

Fisherman's Blues Dodd Ferrelle This is a cover of The Waterboys’ big hit. I always liked the original, and feel like Dodd retained a lot of what made the song so appealing. A nice cover treatment.

Deceptacon Le Tigre An older song but still hit my radar recently. Quirky and fun. Reminds me of a female Devo song.

Awake to Remember Me Eleanor Whitmore Incredibly talented singer/songwriter and musician. Folky and indy, and still way below too many radars.

Gold Guns Girls Metric I really enjoy a lot of Metric’s music, and this release is my favorite.

Carry Me Ohio Sun Kil Moon The vocals and singing on this one are pretty haunting. The best night driving song on the list.

Shadows Au Revoir Simone Similar to Metric – this band is on heavy rotation with me, and this song is one of my favorites.

Your Decision Alice In Chains With the death of their lead singer, everyone wondered if their sound would change appreciably. I’d argue that it’s matured and become more nuanced, while still maintaining the incredible harmonies that have been the hallmark of the band since their inception. Really solid.

100 Days, 100 Nights Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Classic R&B that is brand new in 2010. Not faked or forced – simply great R&B. Would love to see these guys live.

Speak for Me Cat Power Way, way indy. Love the vocals, keyboards, and overall treatment.

Pa Pa Power (feat. the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children's Choir) Dead Man's Bones An extremely weird song - weird lyrics and weird use of a kid's choir as background singers, but there is just something about this song that I absolutely love.

Cheater's Town Chris Isaak I never really liked this guy, but there is something about this song that really resonates with me. It is almost a country-blues feel to it.

Islands The XX Indicative of the sound of The XX. An acquired taste to be sure, but I think they really do some interesting stuff. It will be interesting to see if their sound can mature on subsequent releases, or if they go the Morphine route and never break our of the rut.

Powerlines What Bird This band is way off the beaten path, but their latest release is outstanding. I'm not sure why they're not bigger. Definitely a band to watch. Vocals here, especially on the chorus, are outstanding.

Sweetest In the Morning Jill Andrews Sounds like a lot of performers, I'll grant you that. However, she did this song acoustically for Paste Magazine, and it totally opened my eyes. She's a great talent.

Pearl's Dream Bat for Lashes This woman is the closest thing I've ever heard to Kate Bush. On some songs, it feels pretty identical.

Houston, We Have Uh-Oh Minus the Bear I really like this band, and this track is one of my favorites. Another example of the great music that is being made today that never finds its way to the mainstream.

Daft Punk Is Playing At My House LCD Soundsystem Best party song in the mix. His latest release was pirated and released early, and it outstanding. It will likely be the summer album of 2010.

Girl's It Ain't Easy Honey Cone As long as we're doing R&B, why not go back and get some real stuff. Nostalgic, sappy, and fun.

October Broken Bells One of my favorite recent albums, and a favorite track from it.

Come to Jesus Mindy Smith - She did this song when she played live here last week, and it was chilling. What a beautiful voice.

Hell Tegan and Sara - The most mainstream of what I've presented. This song is getting a lot of airplay, but it is still on heavy rotation with me.

Natural Forces Lyle Lovett Classic Lovett off his latest release.