The he-said/she-said interplay on Dengue Fever's 'Tiger Phone Card' lends a playful tension to a song that would otherwise sound daffy. The unfolding story between the two characters is intriguing, while the song's choral hook slowly seduces the listener into devoting themselves to the track for the entire way through.
'This Is a Problem' is a dreamy track off of Great Northern's February '08 release, Sleepy Eepee. As the EP's title suggests, the record provides some great tunes to drift to sleep to.
This is a great, bouncy little tune with a great chorus. And the pipe organ makes it all the better.
Front of the Country Music Hall of Fame 
Here's an uptown dance-rock tune by Neon Neon, and a strong candidate for the next worldwide summer clubbing hit. It's quite chill.
It's been a couple of years since I last posted about Bedtime for Toys, and in that time the Los Angeles electro-funk rockers have increased their lineup and developed quite the following. Not to mention, the band was included in Rolling Stone's 25 Best Bands on Myspace. 
The New Pornographers have been cutting delicious pop cuts for over a decade now, and with their latest release they haven't disappointed.
Here is a slowly addictive, Elvis Costello flavored tune. It's The Billy Burke Estate's 'Perky Muscle Girl.'
Nine Inch Nails released a brand new album this week."I've been considering and wanting toRight now, you can download Ghosts I for free, or download the whole collection for a mere $5.
make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made
sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a
very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound
and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and
the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy
the first four volumes of Ghosts."
"This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The
rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything
driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as...
something."
"The end
result is a wildly varied body of music that we're able to present to the world
in ways the confines of a major record label would never have allowed - from a
100% DRM-free, high-quality download, to the most luxurious physical package
we've ever created. More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the
future."
Lucinda Blackbear's charm is their lyrics. Combined with an allegiant melody, the strong songwriting makes for some introspective tuneage. Expect to see these guys featured on various coffee house stations if they haven't been already.
The son of Crowded House/Split Enz member Neil Finn, Liam Finn is this decade's continuation of where Elliot Smith prematurely left off. While Liam's sound lacks the plagued despair of Smith, it's evident his music has been schooled with the same pop sensibilities. Full of stunning melodies, I'll Be Lightning is a treat.
Lenny Kravitz returned earlier this month with a release of his eighth studio album, It Is Time for a Love Revolution. The album is a pretty typical Lenny-style record in that it is quite retro sounding; there is a good amount of guitar riffage threaded throughout the disc.
It's that time of the year again when the Academy Awards are on the tip of every critic's tongue. This Sunday's show marks Oscar's 80th birthday, and the ol' codger should be proud of several of the field's contenders. 
I just finished watching American Idol tonight, and I must say there is a ton of talent on the mens' side. (The women sing tomorrow). While it is hard to choose a favorite at this early stage, I'm leaning toward Jason Castro (guy with the Bob Marley hair) and Aussie Michael Johns. Incidentally, they were the final two to perform tonight.
Kate Nash is one those Myspace success stories. After releasing some material onto the News Corp. owned social networking site, rumor has it that Lily Allen placed Nash into her top eight friends list. This, of course, attracted massive interest from the rest of the world.
In this remarkable election year, it is only fitting that a band sharing its name with an extinct political party make such a grand entrance into 2008. Springing forth from Athens, Georgia, The Whigs do more than its fair share of carrying the torch of that town's rich musical tradition.
