Big Sean feat. Kanye West and Roscoe Dash - Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay

Perhaps I was too quick to jump to the conclusion that Big Sean, a frequent collaborator with Mr. West, was nothing more than a "featured" artist.  There's wonderful potential in "Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay," a rap song in which the featured moves into the front seat, and the usually front-runner rides shotgun, though it's not a quiet shotgun.  This isn't stripped-down rap music, but has a good and loud instrumental side to it, rather than the overused fast-paced beats and throbbing bass.

Big Sean shines here, but with a quick two-second reference of "Amazing," you can't forget about a rap god looming in the verses.  Kanye isn't half-bad in the song, but when is he ever anything less than stellar?  Roscoe Dash (who I can't say I'm too familiar with now...) does a good job with the chorus, reminding us that this was all inspired by a little Marvin Gaye and chardonnay.  Yes, the song is probably exactly what you think it's about, but this is the kind of musical genius where everything fits where it should be.  After all, there's more than one formula for success.

Ludo - Skeletons on Parade

I've spoken out against theatrics in music, deeming them to be typically unnecessary unless your objective is to make it onto the Top 40.  In some cases, however, they can prove to be handy, even stupendous.  Where would we be without Freddie Mercury and Queen?  A more current band that does theatrics the right way is Ludo, a quartet from St. Louis, Missouri that loosely falls into the "alternative rock" category.  I mean, what is there not to like about guys who sing about robots, skeletons, and everything in between...and is named after a character in one of the best movies of 1986?  Nothing, really.  These guys are good.  Their latest release hosts a smorgasbord of gems, among them "Skeletons on Parade," the last song to come on my itunes library.

"Skeletons on Parade" is reminiscent of Tim Burton movie soundtracks, with an alternative twist.  It's essentially about what you think it is...skeletons on parade.  It begins hauntingly, then takes a jazzy detour that reminds me of a scene in The Corpse Bride (props if you know what I'm talking about) before going Nightmare Before Christmas.  There's no denying that Andrew Volpe is a gifted vocalist here.  He doesn't have that "typical alternative" sound, which he uses to his advantage.  Ludo doesn' sound like anyone else out there, which makes me quite happy.  I've been following them since "Love Me Dead" came on the radio years ago, and am too anxious for their next album.

Lady Gaga - Yoü And I

I suppose there is no introduction needed for an artist such as Mother Monster, the one and only Lady Gaga.  I'd like to think that I was the first person in my town to get my hands on her second full-length album, Born This Way, after camping outside of Wal-Mart on Victoria Day until the doors opened, but we'll never know for sure.  Point is, Born This Way is a brilliant pop album with few filler songs and a basketful of stellar tracks.  I've long been debating what the best of the best could be, going back and forth between several of the songs included on the album.  Perhaps the title goes to the little song that could, the underdog..."Yoü And I."

"Yoü And I" is what you'd get if pop and country got into a fight, with pop squeezing the heart guitar riffs right out of country's throat.  This passes as a romantic ballad in Gaga's eyes, and listening to the lyrics closely, you understand most of what she's getting at (admittedly, some of her words still catch me off guard).  It's something about lonely nights and the lipstick on your face, something about my cool Nebraska guy...  Leave it to the new queen of pop to bridge genres in a way that creates a new genre.  Yes, it's possible.  Gaga isn't going anywhere, thankfully.  I'd like to say that I'm already anticipating what she'll come out with next, though a bit fearful as well.

Kreesha Turner - Rock Paper Scissors

"Don't Call Me Baby" used to be a staple of the stuck in my head at the moment playlist.  I didn't necessarily like that song, and I still don't really, but there's no arguing that Kreesha Turner is a both a powerhouse and a gifted songstress.  Her newest single, "Rock Paper Scissors" lands her in my good graces, for both the catchy tune and a not-half-bad music video.

"Rock Paper Scissors" owes its infectious tune to the pound of drums throughout, giving it a mysterious jungle-ish feel.  And the chorus...that sucker will get into your head by the time the song has closed.  As one fan said on a recent episode of New Music Live on MuchMusic, her strategy from the real decision game came from the song.  Rock paper scissors paper scissors rock rock paper scissors paper scissors paper.  Who knew that three words in a specific sequence could follow you around for an excess of three days (and counting)?  Though I'm not one for frequently featuring Top 40-ish pop songs, I make exceptions for greatness.  Ms. Turner knows greatness, and how to get a song on my radar.  I commend you, Kreesha, for redeeming yourself from "Don't Call Me Baby."

Aaron Neville - The Grand Tour

Maybe I've still got some country in my blood, or maybe it's just that the oldies have got a grip on me as of late.  A favourite for the last little while has been Aaron Neville's cover of the country classic "The Grand Tour."  Mr. Neville gives the song a brilliant element of soul from his R&B roots that saves it from falling into typical country song about broken hearts territory.  He's doing this right.  You've got a wonderful song about a horrible subject here, and probably not for you if sad songs make you sad (who knew?).  I see "The Grand Tour" as more inspiring than depressing.  It paints a picture of a sad man showing you through his home, specifically spots that remind him of a long-gone wife.  I'll keep it short and sweet...give this a listen.  Plain and simple.

Carrie Underwood - Wasted

In honour of my first trip to a country bar last night, I offer a track from one of my favourite country artists.  Though it's not a genre that I'm a general fan of, there are a few acts that I love just as much as the hardcore metal groups or rap duos.  Among them, Faith Hill, Alison Krauss, some Taylor Swift...and the queen herself, Miss (or really, Mrs.) Carrie Underwood.  She proved that winning American Idol really doesn't mean you'll be flipping burgers in two years.  I commend her for taking the opportunity to become a superstar.  From her debut album, Some Hearts, comes a handful of gems, including the first track "Wasted." 

"Wasted" is a heart breaker about alcohol, love, and redemption.  Country bread and butter.  Carrie doesn't keep it cookie-cutter though.  With a little orchestral sound thrown in, you've got a melancholy song that, preformed in a certain way, doesn't have to be country.  It doesn't hurt that her voice could make angels weep either.  With this magical formula for success, you've got someone who will stand to endure the ever-changing music industry.  Here's hoping.

The Outlawz - Black Rose

The Outlawz have an interesting history: originally a larger rap group formed by Tupac Shakur following his release from prison, the group gradually fell apart after the death of one of the greatest rap gods of all time.  Ten years later, a handful of the group has reunited to make music again, including the hauntingly beautiful "Black Rose."  Some of the best rap songs have a woman lending a hand on the hook, and this is no exception.

Over some beautiful beats, The Outlawz do their creator proud.  You've got a good formula for a successful rap song here, and the group doesn't squander the chance to be brilliant.  With the haunting chorus, I put my hand up and you hold me like a flower, speaking words I am longing to hear... you've got the probable saddest rap song you've ever heard.  It will make your heart ache.  It'll make you think.  But most of all, it'll climb up your most played list.

Kanye West & Jay-Z - No Church In The Wild

Watch The Throne is the most epic release that came out this summer, bringing together two gods of rap.  I don't have anything against Jay-Z, but I'm admittedly a bigger fan of his "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" days.  Still, he and Kanye work together like your regular laundry detergent and a stain booster.  I finally got my hands on the album about two weeks ago, and have been religiously listening since.  So religiously, in fact, that the first track "No Church In The Wild" has become a hymn if you could put it that way.  The new disc is full of impressive rhymes, but you know how things work.  You've got to start things off with a bang.

"No Church In The Wild" is subdued, actually.  You could probably guess, it contains the elements I look for in a good rap song, and it's stripped down to the near bare minimum too.  There are the interesting background beats; a beautiful throb of what sounds like travelling music, and lyrics that'll make your head spin...in a good way...

Sunglasses and Advil, last night was mad real
Sun coming up, 5 a.m., I wonder if they got cabs still?
Thinking 'bout the girl in all leopard
Who was rubbing the wood like Kiki Shepherd
Two tattoos one read "No Apologies"
The other said "Love is Cursed by Monogamy"

The things about bringing two rappers together for an album is that it can be a hit or miss.  I can't say that I'm a fan of Bad Meets Evil.  Kanye and Jay-Z don't do anything unnecessary in their pairing; they just make great music.  I can't ask for much more.

City & Colour - Sleeping Sickness

I've bee  a fan of Dallas Green since Alexisonfire's epic Watch Out!  He's a prime example of a gifted Canadian artist, able to transition between the post-hardcore genre with Alexisonfire and folky-acoustic numbers as City and Colour.  My favourite of his solo releases stands as "Sleeping Sickness," featuring the likeness of The Tragically Hip's Gordon Downie.

The song has an intimate feel to it, like Mr. Green is preforming in a quiet coffee house or bar with an acoustic guitar strapped on.  There's no need for anything else other than the music and his voice here, as he weaves together wonderfully strummed chords and lyrical genius.  A little electric guitar does come in later, but it doesn't take anything away from this beauty of a track.  Really, it's tough for anyone to work with the acoustic genre better than this.  This is another example of how music should be done.  As I've just learned that Dallas has left Alexisonfire to work solely on City and Colour, I am both remorseful and hopeful at the same time.  He's got the chance to make some amazing music with high quality.  I can hardly wait.

K-Os feat. Saukrates - I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman

There are few songs that can grab my attention in about three minutes.  I'm not talking about the songs that you listen to and say "oh, that's good."  These are songs that lasso a rope around your neck and pull you in like a captured sturgeon (yeah, I lasso sturgeon).  Yesterday, I was home from class and dwindling my time away when "I wish I Knew Natalie Portman" came on MuchMusic.  At first, watching K-Os and Saukrates sitting down and rapping, I nearly wondered aloud "what the hell is this?"  I brushed it off at first, but it was too late.  The eggs had already been laid, and they were hatching.  I fell in love with a song.  This might be the best K-Os I've ever seen.  Even better than the also notable "Crabbuckit" and "Heaven Only Knows."

"I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" blends rap with the notorious Phantom Planet theme song of The OC.  K-Os keeps the sad tones of the original, while adding his own spin of electronic beats.  With a wonderful chorus, beginning: I've been on the run, shadow weighs a ton, it's starting to make sense to me, I can't really make you love me, you've got something you don't see often.  This isn't just beautiful rap.  This is the way all music should be.  Maybe I would have actually watched The OC if they used this as the theme song.  And Saukrates?  He doesn't act as a featured artist by "just being there" or "just hanging around."  He adds even more wonder to this tune.

I can't really make you love this song, but I can try.  What do I recommend even more?  Youtube the live performance, and your mind will be blown.  Ignore everything else I've ever said in this blog before; if there is only one song I've featured that you actually listen to, make it this one.  Field any complaints to me, but I doubt there will be any.

Banquets - Fireplug

I've mentioned songs that have a penchant for worming their way into the brains of the world.  Such phenomenon reminds me of a quote from The Simpsons: "As a child, I was bitten by the acting bug. Then it burrowed under my skin and laid eggs in my heart. Now those eggs are hatching and I... the feeling is indescribable."  Props if you can remember the episode.  You get a fist-bump through the screen of your computer.  But this quote applies to these songs, among them, "Fireplug" by New Jersey alternative outfit Banquets.

They have two and a half minutes to rope you in, and they do it.  This is the way alternative is supposed to be done.  Smart lyrics, catchy guitar riffs and vocals that impress someone who's heard pretty much every register out there (a.k.a me).  They've got a album, Top Button, Bottom Shelf, that I'm hoping comes into my area and has already garnered attention from the musical community.  They're doing it right.  Open your doors, just let me in.  Or rather, open your ears and let Banquets in.  You won't be disappointed.  The world is waiting.

Iron Maiden - Mother Russia

Imperial Russian history class has turned me into a nerd about my family's homeland.  I'm mostly enjoying their violent times before the Mongol invasion in which tribesmen were buried alive in ships and anyone who disagreed with the town majority was thrown off of a bridge.  Though living in Kievan Rus sounds like it'd be a good time, I'd have to say it's a good thing I'm reading about it and not living it.  Now, if there was only one band in the world who could take theatrical metal guitars, historical lyrics and the country of Russia and put it into an epic song, who would it be?

Iron Maiden.  No contest.

"Mother Russia" is what Iron Maiden does best.  With lyrical genius, the song goes from audio to visual.  You will be in Russia after five and a half minutes.  And you will like it.  Arguably the best song from 1990's No Prayer For The Dying (sorry, it's not "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter"), it brings the album to a climactic close just as intricate, vast, and complex as its namesake (unless you got the US version of the album, then you're not done yet).  While staying true to their bread and butter, the band gives "Mother Russia" the attention it needs, yielding fantastical results.

Operator Please - Catapult

From the wide expanse that is Australia comes poppy-alternative-ish-electronica group Operator Please, making use of everything at their disposal.  Their "Catapult" has been on my radar since it first appeared on rcrdlbl, and since then has been jumping on an off the Top 25 Most Played Wagon.  Here you've got guitars, an amazing female vocalist, a catchy tune, brilliant percussion...an overall "total package" if you could call it that.

The lyrics aren't too shabby either; not too pop and not too alternative.  Just right.  You're sinking ships like a fist through a mirrorball, but that's okay.  You're forgiven.  This is what pop music should be doing right now; bridging wondrous female vocals with riveting guitars.  Give "Catapult" a listen and tell me that it hasn't burrowed a deep hole in your brain.

Donnybrook - Accepting the Inevitable

From the Los Angeles punk-hardcore scene comes Donnybrook, a particularly good act that proves to be hard to research using Google.  I came across their music with freegal early this summer, beginning with the short, yet majestic, "Accepting The Inevitable."  They crawled back onto my radar last night thanks to the shuffle feature of itunes, and soon I was acquiring more of their music.  The band has a strength in combining heavy metal guitar riffs with vocals that are reminiscent of nu metal, akin to 1999-era Corey Taylor in Slipknot (give me grief if you want to about that, but it's true).  This is the music for those days, after a long slew of classes and half an hour in line for Starbucks (not worth it, as I found), you feel the need to headbang.

"Accepting The Inevitable" is fast-paced hardcore fun, though not for the faint of heart.  You're going to want to tap your foot or drum your fingers on the desk when you listen.  Donnybrook also proves that hardcore music doesn't need hardcore vocals to be brilliant.  While I've encountered people who stray from any vocals that sound "clean", they are truly depriving themselves of good music.  Punk mixed with hardcore does what I love, bridging genres.  Dear Donnybrook, please be huge soon; the world needs to know you.

Aficionado - Do Nothing, Be Nothing

I'm realizing that every day is the same, no matter when I wake up, it's way too late.  Then I will make a point to recognize that I will never have that morning that I just slept away, ever again in my life.

Lyrical genius makes up for an absence.  Internet has been up and internet has been down...mostly down.  Now, I've featured "fun" songs before.  They are mostly alternative and indie selections that are short in duration, but long-lasting in your head.  A jawbreaker for your brain, if you can elaborate in such a way.  "Do Nothing, Be Nothing" comes from Aficionado, an eight-piece indie-alternative-ish band hailing from Albany.  They give us the perfect song to begin the summer, and most fittingly, the perfect one to end it.  The time for fun and games might be over as school starts (unfortunately), but that doesn't mean that more fun and games can't begin.

A fun gathering of guitars, percussion, cymbals, keyboards and what might be a horn of some sort, "Do Nothing, Be Nothing" contains nothing short of perfection in music.  There is a lot going on, but nothing is ever lost (with 8 people, it can be easy).  The real star here?  The guitarist(s).  Whoever is behind those instruments is doing something right.  No, they're doing everything right.  This is the kind of stuff that indie music should be.  I'm tired of five boys in wrinkled suits trying to play guitar and sing.  Aficionado knows what they're doing, so why can't every other band do it too?

And if you wanna go for this nostalgia, I feel the solution is all too simple; it's called "do nothing, be nothing."  Don't wanna feel so bad when these good times come to an end, well fill your memory, with nothing nothing worth remembering.

Zee Avi - Swell Window

Zee Avi is a wonderful singer-songwriter that hails from Borneo in Malaysia, weaving a dreamy voice with a folky guitar.  For the person that is running on very little sleep (explaining my absence yesterday), it sends you to a land of sleep, in a good way.  I'm always looking for music that I can listen to while drifting off, after discovering this summer that it's easier to go to sleep while the TV or ipod is on.  "Swell Window" is just that.  And before you think, only boring songs can put you to sleep! think again!  This song is anything but boring!

The titular line will get stuck in your head, along with the soft strum of the guitar.  Like a swell window, I will wait for you, ride the moment 'til I catch you again, 'til I catch you again.  This is true beauty in music.  it gets even better when Miss Avi sings the chorus in around near the end of the song.  One word?  Brilliant!  Listen closely to the lyrics and you'll be transported to a calm morning on the ocean, bobbing up and down on a surfboard as you wait for the waves to pick up.

Dream land won't get any more peaceful and wondrous than this.

Matt and Kim - Block After Block + (Douster Remix)

I bring you the duo, Matt and Kim.  Matt is on vocals and keyboard, Kim is on drums.  They are perhaps one of the best indie acts I've seen in the recent year, first coming onto my radar with the Douster remix of "Block After Block."  Now, the original is amazing in its own right.  It's peppy, full of life, and the video is ah-maze-za-zing.  In the remix, you have the slightly more danceable, electronic counterpart of the original, with less vocals and more sounds you won't hear with Douster helping.

I've decided that is impossible to choose between the two versions.  Usually, I have a preference depending on which version came to me first, and how good the vocals and beats are in the original.  Not here.  Matt can sing like no other indie male lead signer I've heard.  The band hails from Brooklyn, but Matt sounds like he's singing with a Scandinavian accent.  Nothing wrong with that, it just sets him apart from others in an interesting way.  And Kim?  She is a drum goddess.

So in this case, you get the best of both worlds.  Indie and electronic versions of one amazing song, both amazing apart.  But why stop there?  Keep listening to Matt and Kim.  A duo like this doesn't come around often.

Whitehorse - Emerald Isle

Lyrics can be found at this link: http://fromalt2zen.blogspot.com/2011/10/lyrics-emerald-isle-whitehorse.html

It's always a hit-or-miss situation with the free songs available on itunes every week.  Sometimes you get something brilliant (like "Mercure au Chrome et P'tits Pansements," still reigning as one of my most-viewed posts) or something that makes you say aloud, "oh, this is why it's free..."  I can say that last week's English-language, "Emerald Isle" by the beautiful Whitehorse fell onto the brilliant side of the spectrum.  It might just be my favourite free song in a loooong time.

Beginning, I'll wait on the emerald isle for you to come and rescue me from every step that I can't make, feet don't you ever break, drag me over that line, you get the idea that this is going to be amazing.  I've started to live by the proverb that good things can happen in less than three minutes.  Clocking in at two minutes and forty-six seconds, "Emerald Isle" proves it on each listen.  You have two voices that compliment each other, and I'm always up for a good male-female duet.  Though I am unable to find the artist's names (Luke and Melissa....I need last names!  What good is Google and Wikipedia??), their lyrical prowess and instrumental power amazes me every time.

I've got it at nine listens so far.  Let's see how high that'll be in a week...

Great Big Sea - John Barbour

Nothing like a good Canadian band mixed with an old ballad all the way from Scotland.  The always energetic Great Big Sea tone themselves down for "John Barbour," a cover of the old song "Willie o Winsbury."  The Wikipedia synopsis of the old ballad essentially says that:

A king is away for a long time. His daughter becomes pregnant by the hero, William or Thomas. The king threatens to hang him, but is struck by his beauty and offers him the heroine and gold. The hero accepts the lady but declares that he has both gold and lands enough of his own.

Now, that sounds good to me.  A song with a story wins everytime.  Even better: these guys can sing.  The song also rises in intensity and power, something I can't argue too much with either.  What can I say?  Canadian bands, no matter what genre they deal with, are the best.  Sorry, United States.  You might have Kanye West, but I secretly think he's a dual citizen.  The point?  John Barbour is his name, and this song is game.  Which means good.  Listen now!  Listen even sooner if you enjoy a good flute.

30 Seconds To Mars - Night of the Hunter

I've long been a casual fan of 30 Second To Mars.  They were on my radar, let's make that clear, but never as on my radar as other bands (PTH, D&D, etc.).  This changed during my life working in the fields.  Driving between work sites, "Night of the Hunter" came on the radio.  I thought it was good.  It was on again later that week.  I thought it was great.  I'm the kind of person that music grows on.  In fact, I lament that some of the best songs I've featured here were ditties that took several listens to capture my attention.  I'm only human.

What is "Night of the Hunter?"  A good alternative song in a sea of bad alternative songs.  It's hard to go wrong here.  With a fantastical feel, reminiscent of "The Kill (Bury Me)," it contains a few wondrous lyrics and a feeling that it belongs in some sort of werewolf movie.  Well, that's what I think.  The band bridges the fine line between Theory-of-a-Deadman rock with early-2000's-alternative into something unique.  And that French chanteuse adding her own words now and again?  You know I'm partial to female guest vocalists in rock songs.  You didn't?  Well now you do!

Natural Child - Nobody Wants To Party With Me

Nothing beats a good indie tune for dreary fall days under a gray sky.  The trio of Natural Child brings their A-game with the speedy, surfer tune "Nobody Wants To Party With Me."  With an atmosphere that reminds you of better summer days when the sun would actually come out and the sky was only different shades of blue.

I'll keep this short, and I'll keep this sweet.  Music has an effect on people.  I know that a few months of bleak music while writing a bleak novel had me feeling rather...bleak.  There are some songs that force you out of your chair and on your feet, pulling a Willow Smith and whipping your hair back and forth.  Natural Child takes breezy guitars, laced into a quick tempo, and once those indie vocals are thrown in...well, you're not left with much but the urge to find the closest beach possible so you can roll in the sand until sundown.

Maybe nobody wants to party with me, but I want to party on to this song.

The Verve Pipe - Real

You might know The Verve Pipe for their slowed down mega-hit "The Freshman."  While I do like that song, I like an obscure selection from their second album, Villains.  "Real," a short story of nursery rhymes, playtime between a brother and sister, and the realization that there is a fine line between the world of play and everything else around us.  What caught my attention first?  The lyrics...

My sister had a nursery rhyme, set of figurines.  She often let me play with them, I set them up in different scenes.  Fifty plastic army men, led by superman destroyed the ranks of Mother Goose, Mary and her little lamb....slips away and catches sister getting read.  And I can too, as long as I don't make a sound.

Some songs have a powerful lead singer.  Others have lyrical genius.  While some have both, I am partial to ones that have no-nonsense lyrics (though, there is nothing wrong with nonsense).  The lyrics of "Real" make this song what it is.  No lies.

Protest The Hero - I Am Dmitri Karamazov And The World Is My Father

I am Laura and this is my favourite song.

Once in a while, a selection from a year, maybe two years ago creeps back onto my radar.  Lately, it's been a stellar song from the one and only Protest the Hero; from their EP A Calculated Use Of Sound, specifically.  I think that this EP rivals all of their full-length albums in epicness and amazement.  They sounded a bit like this in the full-length debut, Kezia, but since then, they've evolved into a more theatrical hardcore.  While what they do now is still wondrous, nonetheless, I sometimes miss the way they preformed in songs like "These Colours Don't Run," "Red Stars Over The Battle Of The Cowshed," and, today's feature...."I Am Dmitri Karamazov And The World Is My Father."

What sets this particular song apart from the rest, besides the longer-than-average title?  It is a combination of a strange melody, unlike one you've ever heard before, a voice like no other courtesy of Mr. Rody Walker, and lyrical genius.  I have a penchant for a lead singer who you desperately want to understand, yet can't.  When Mr. Walker spits out words, I find myself leaning closer to the speakers on my laptop in order to try catching each syllable.  And the lyrics?  Well, you can get me started on their beauty, but I'd go on for a while.  Some of my favourites in the history of lyrical music grace the ending of both this song, as well as this posting...

And though I didn't kill you
Like you tried to do to me
I am just as guilty

System of a Down - Suite-Pee

The first song from the first album of one of the greatest bands to ever exist; System of a Down came in with a bang.  I can describe myself as a huge fan.  I have all of the albums, as well as the solo projects by Serj and Daron and John (see the review of 'Insane').  Even though both new projects are wonderful in their respective ways, I am still hopeful that everyone will get back together and start recording albums again.  Their self-titled debut isn't my favourite of their discography (that would be Hypnotize), but includes gems like the insane-in-its-own-right "Suite-Pee."

Beginning with I had an out of body experience the other day, her name was Jesus, and for her everyone cried...with their signature "crazy guitars," SOAD gives you an amazing song as well as an insight into the year ahead.  I admit, they didn't sound like this on their later albums, but you can hints of what appears later on.  And the second half of "Suite-Pee?"  Slowed down and distorted, that's just how I like my bridges to finish.  With lyrics following along their usual lines of religion, government, and world issues, this was SOAD telling the world that they were here to make music their way, and frankly, I still haven't heard anyone who sounds like them.  If only they'd tell the world that they're coming back...

Kerli - Army of Love

Estonia's answer to Lady Gaga, who I believe came a little bit before Mother Monster, is Kerli.  The winner of an American-Idol-style competition in her native land, she entered my radar this year with the infectious pop tune "Army of Love."  It's catchy.  It's eccentric.  It's danceable.  And the video?  Watch out, Bad Romance.  Kerli isn't your typical pop star.

"Army of Love" is about exactly what you think it is, an army of love.  Come one, come all, she's building an army.  Kerli uses an airy voice that doesn't sound too familiar enough to venture into radio-repeat territory.  No wonder this girl won Estonian Idol.  If love and freedom's all that we need, then follow me.  I'd happily join the army of love, because ever since I got this song, it has been playing on Sir Lappy, as well as finding a place in the rotation of mixed CDs in the family van.  Do I think Kerli can make it in a North American market?  Yes, if she keeps it up.  Also noteworthy are the songs "Tea Party", "Walking on Air", and the Cherry Cherry Boom Boom Refreak of "Army of Love".  The refreak stands as one of the best, and only, instances where throbbing bass and I don't have any hate between us.

So what are you waiting for?