Jump.

Fun in the sun. This song has horns in all the right sections, be-bop girls the charm the heavens, and that beat, that beat, that beat. Let loose and enjoy this with the windows down and your hand in her lap. The song?

Corinne Bailey Rae - Put You Records On - from her self-titled debut.

The words:

Oh, You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Animals Feel.

Full of crazy, wierd sounds and yet strangly engaging. That's how the whole album comes off, but one song in particular realy grabs me. I think it's the funky yelling that draws me in. This song is best for those times that you're girlfriend or boyfriend is coming over and you need to clean your room in a hurry... It's just that you'd like to have fun as you clean. The song?

Animal Collective - Grass - from their album Feels.


The words:

Whats with all the changes since the time i was aware
its like the apple eating people that we once were arent there
Did they empty out their pockets and debase their younger faces
and you must make sure your happy when you leave your summer places

Disease.

Huge. That's how this song starts and it never lets up. The chorus here is reminiscent of that of Beautiful Day by U2. Vocalist Tom Smith has a tense, smooth voice. The song?

Editors - Bullets

The words:

If something has to change then it always does
If something has to change then it always does

You don't need this disease, not right now
No, you don't need this disease, not right now

Oh you don't need this disease you don't
You don't need this disease you don't
You don't need this disease you don't
You don't need this disease

Voice.

Huge. Operatic. So full of emotion it hurts. Some people hate this guy's voice... but I think it's spectacular. The lyrics may not come across as especially deep or meaningful, but thats because you are reading them, not hearing them sung. This is a group that's weak on paper and most powerful in motion. The song?

Antony & The Johnson's - For Today I Am A Boy

The scribbles:

One day I’ll grow up, I’ll feel the power in me.
One day I’ll grow up, of this I’m sure.
One day I’ll grow up, I know whom within me.
One day I’ll grow up, feel it full and pure.

But for today I am a child, for today I am a boy.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy.

Red.

Remember the first time you heard this guy's voice? It so rich, so soulful, so "lived in a car while writing this album," so good it actually cause my soul to ache, ache I tell you! Ache for my senses, fade and snuff out as they someday will. Ache for my sense of the ground below me, ache for the sense of the sky above me. Yeah, you should track down this song... but get the whole album while you're at it. The song?

Ray Lamontagne - Trouble

The heaven:

Trouble...
Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Feels like every time I get back on my feet
she come around and knock me down again
Worry...
Oh, worry, worry, worry, worry
Sometimes I swear it feels like this worry is my only friend
We'll I've been saved...
by a woman
I've been saved...
by a woman
I've been saved...
by a woman
She won't let me go
She won't let me go now
She won't let me go
She won't let me go now

Hard to Remember.

Simple guitar strokes give way eventually to a frenetic guitar and stirring strings which all form the backbone for this song. Isaac Brock comes through, as always, with stirring lyrics. The first minute may be a challenge, but the listener is well rewarded for paying attention. The song?

Modest Mouse - Lives

The gossip:

It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the first time
It's hard to remember were alive for the last time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
To live before you die
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
That our lives are such a short time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
When it takes such a long time

Cuckoo!

Bizzarre song. Deceptively simple. Fun lyrics. Short and sweet. Enjoy. The song?

The Magnetic Fields - Absolutely Cuckoo

The juice:

Don't fall in love with me yet
We only recently met
True I'm in love with you but
you might decide I'm a nut
Give me a week or two to
go absolutley cuckoo
then, when you see your error,
then, you can flee in terror
like everybody else does
I only tell you this cause
I'm easy to get rid of
but not if you fall in love
Know now that I'm on the make
and if you make a mistake
my heart will certainly break
I'll have to jump in a lake
and all my friends will blame you
There's no telling what they'll do
It's only fair to tell you
I'm absolutely cuckoo