Amy Winehouse - Me & Mr. Jones

I finally completed my Amy Winehouse discography a few weeks ago when I picked up Back To Black from Value Village.  While I already have most of the songs already, there were a few I'd been missing out on, and of course, they were all brilliant.  Personal life aside, Amy Winehouse was a stunning musician, and was definitely taken from us too soon.  Who's to know what else she would have given us had she lived longer?  At least we have what she was able to give us, and "Mr & Mr. Jones" is a mighty fine example of her prowess.

"Me & Mr. Jones" is powerful soul, and classic Amy.  It's a torrid love story with some little sweet undertones, but you know, Amy did it in the torrid way.  This is her flavor, and I'll take a double scoop.  The  piano work is brilliant, and really showcases her vocal ability.  Stuff like this has to make you ask the inevitable what if? but how about we instead ask why not?

Young Gliss feat. Dosage & Born I Music - Everything

Rainy days call for good rap music, and today, why don't we give someone new a chance?  After all, there's more out there than Swollen Members and Kanye...right?  Right?  From the depths of Philly comes Young Gliss, cousin of Questlove, if you can believe it.  "Everything" is off of his 2011 EP The Glimmer EP, but at a year and a half old, it still sounds just as refreshing.  The beats are powered by slick electric guitar work, and the rhymes are just as good.  The chorus?  It's catchy, and hell, it's even a little danceable  I want it all, I want everything, and I need it right now.  Fellow Philly rapper Dosage and DC's Born I Music lend a hand on "Everything" as well, and the three fine young men work together to give us something refreshing and worth the listen.  Need I say more?

Om - Haqq al-Yaqin

My go-to guy for long epics from the metal genre is my brother.  Give him a request for something long and guitar-filled, and he'll find you something strange.  It can be hit-or-miss, but sometimes what he sends my way is good.  Like this.  Om is an experimental metal group from San Fran, and though "Haqq al-Yaqin" isn't terribly metal sounding, I hear some doom elements that make me very happy.  Clocking in at about eleven and a half minutes, this epic sounds like Tool and Opeth jamming together on a rainy day.  It's a very atmospheric track, with interesting instrumentals and spooky vocals.  It belongs in some kind of psychological thriller from Mr. King.  I've read up a bit on the album it comes from, 2011's Advaitic Songs, and which fans of Om may not have liked it too much, if the rest of it sounds like this, then my evening is going to go pretty well tonight.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Despair

I haven't really decided if I like the new stuff that's been coming from Yeah Yeah Yeahs (I'll always be a "Gold Lion" girl), but Mosquito really isn't that bad.  It's different from what I'm used to from the band, but then again, there's nothing wrong with trying something new.  I got "Despair" thanks to one of those free song download cards they give out at Starbucks, and what I like about it is that it's so different.  I like Karen O rough around the edges, but here she's...soft.  Anything is possible.  "Despair" sounds kind of like a more-rocking version of Metric, with whimsical vocals and impressive guitar work.  If this is where Yeah Yeah Yeahs are headed now, I think I'll be okay in the long-run, though I still wouldn't mind some gritty pieces of the past stopping in for a visit.

Kanye West - Black Skinhead

So what if Kanye spawned a child with the Antichrist?  I can put his personal life aside to enjoy his music, and you bet your ass I was at the mall at 9:30 a.m. last Tuesday to get Yeezus.  My collections wouldn't have been complete without it...literally.  It's definitely a lot different than what I've gotten from him before, and while it's good to be different, new music also needs to be good.  No worries there.  Yeezus is an artistic cacophony that showcases all of the hard work Kanye put into this.

"Black Skinhead" was the first track to speak to me.  I'm not sure if it was Kanye's aggressive lyrics, the industrial-jungle beats, or a strange combination of the two, but it's got me.  This shows the growth he's developed as an artist since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and I'm happy to see it.  "Black Skinhead" is pure power and energy, and the closest I'm ever going to get to Kanye death growling.  I'm devoted, and you know it.  Oh Kanye, as long as you keep making albums, I'll be buying them.

Battle Beast - Black Ninja

June may be a busy month for me, but I still take the chance to blog whenever I can spare the ten or fifteen minutes to listen to a song and post about it.  Let me make up for a long absence by revisiting a group that can only be described as a female-fronted Iron Maiden.  That's right, it's Battle Beast.  I was sad to see Nitte Valo go in 2012, but this Noora Louhimo character isn't half bad.  In fact, she's pretty damn good at what she does.  She gives us sweet-symphonic-esque before shocking us with something that Bruce himself would be proud of.

"Black Ninja" comes off their new self-titled album, and I can picture this as an Iron Maiden song.  I won't lie about that.  The verses are very mysterious and atmospheric, but a hard-rocking chorus brings everything together in a nicely contrasting way.  Noora's got it here.  The instrumental work is also very nice, nothing too hard while at the same time not being too soft.  This is the perfect metal song for the summer of 2013; who knew something that sounds like British heavy metal could come out of Finland?

Fleetwood Mac - Second Hand News

I remember ages ago when my mom brought home Rumors on CD, excited that she could finally listen to her favourite songs again.  Being the brat I was back then, I groaned ewww and went back to my Simple Plan and Sum 41 (well, who's laughing now?).  Eventually I caved and gave Fleetwood Mac a try, as part of my quest to have as much music as possible, and I was surprised.  I was very surprised.  Young Laura learned from her mistake of being quick to judge music just because it's old, and look where we are now.

"Second Hand News" was the track that first stood out to me, probably because it was so different from what I was listening to back in 2005 and 2006.  There's something about this blend of folk and rock that simply speaks to me, with a bigger-than-all-of-us quality while still sounding very minimal.  Putting that kind of special something into music is what makes the world go 'round, and really, I can't do it justice with my words alone.