Sabali - Amadou & Mariam Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born in Bamako 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born in Mali’s capital Bamako 15 April 1958). The pair, known as “the blind couple from Mali” met at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music.
Nsokoto - The Very Best Their members come from France, Sweden and Malawi – and their sound comes from everywhere. A truly global band.
Fireflies - Owl City Trying to fill the gap the Postal Service left by never releasing a sophomore record. And not doing too bad a job.
Heart Skipped A Beat - The xx The xx’s debut album, XX, was released via Rough Trade Records. The youthful London based quartet mixes soft, conversational like vocals, with down-tempo melodies, and the result is completely mood altering. See/Hear more of The xx HERE.
Roads - Nickelus F & Portishead The gist: Nickelus F raps over Portishead songs. I've heard this same concept done badly, but most of the tracks on Nick F's R.A.R.E. (Reliving A Real Experience) work quite well.
High Hopes - Paolo Nutini I never got into Paolo's debut record but after my friend Lew sang the praises of his sophmore effort and I was fortunate enough to hear him and his band perform an acoustic version of this track and several others at my office, I really warmed to his music.
Sixteen Tons - Lipbone Redding As difficult as it is to believe at times, that’s not a trumpet or trombone you’re hearing…it’s a human voice. Lipbone is the Jazz/Blues/Soul version of a human beat-box.
Paolo Nutini performs High Hopes live @ Tropical Pizza Radio modern blue-eyed soul
It's Not My Fault (It's My Fault) - Discovery The side project of Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot frontman Wes Miles, Discovery is an interesting electronic/R&B mix that brings to mind elements of both Passion Pit and The Postal Service. I could not stop listening to this album this month and probaly could have filled my top 5 with it alone. This is my current favorite.
Blue - Plej Electro-pop-jazzy-house goodness from the Swedish Leftcoast.
Brownstone Alley - Freddy & Francine I've had Freddy & Francine's album for a couple months now and keep going back to it. This is almost always the first song I play.
Corner - Allie Moss Molly Jenson in-advertently tunred me on to this tune and subsequently Allie's album which is quite lovely. Corner is also the first track on the Dreamy v.1 compilation.
Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap I had this tune on repeat early in the month. I saw (500) Days of Summer last night and was pleasantly surprised to hear it heavily featured in the film. The Temper Trapwebsite and myspace page.
So Crazy - CHALI 2NA CHALI 2NA's long awaited solo album does not disappoint. Great beats and even better flow. One of my favorite rap artists. CHALI 2NA on myspace.
Never Change - Jay-Z I've never been a big Jay-Z fan. I like some of his songs, he just never leaves me wanting to hear a full album. For years I've been meaning to give his much hyped record, The Blueprint a proper listen, and I was surprised how much I liked it once I did. However, when you consider nearly every tune samples a classic soul artist that I love, I suppose it's not quite as surprising. This is one of my favorites from The Blueprint, which samples David Ruffin's 1973 classic, Common Man. Watch David Ruffin perform Common Man on Soul Train in the clip below.
Amarillion - Datarock Elwood turned me on to this tune on our roadtrip back from San Diego. As he said, the latest Datarock record, Red, as a whole is just OK, but this tune, chock-full of 80's references is great. Datarockwebsite and myspace page.
Re: Stacks - Bon Iver I was a little late to the Bon Iver party for some reason but after repeated recommendations from a couple My Top 5 members, I finally got the record and quickly fell in love. The dreamy melancholy of Re: Stacks makes it one of my favorites on the album. Bon Iver's website and myspace page.
David Ruffin's 1973 classic, Common Man performed on Soul Train (and later sampled in Jay-Z's Never Change).
Armando, Elwood and Mattyshack all responded in favor of Thom regardless, which prompted Armando to send this...
Update: Thom Yorke, Bon Iver Set for A “New Moon”
New Moon director Chris Weitz spoke last week at the Comic-Con Convention and confirmed that Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and Bon Iver will contribute songs on the soundtrack for the film. “I selfishly want to put songs in by artists I love. And some of the cast and crew also happen to love,” said Weitz to Hitfix.com. “I think (Bon Iver) is fantastic, He says he wrote it for the film, but who ever knows if it might just be something laying around in his cupboard.” Wetiz also added that he is hoping to get Kings of Leon on the soundtrack. New Moon opens nationwide November 20th http://www.newmoonmovie.org/2009/07/new-moon-soundtrack-thom-york-bon-iver-and-release-date/
Here is the official tracklist for the "New Moon" soundtrack:
Death Cab for Cutie, "Meet Me on the Equinox" Band of Skulls, "Friends" Thom Yorke, "Hearing Damage" Lykke Li, "Possibility" The Killers, "A White Demon Love Song" Anya Marina, "Satellite Heart" Muse, "I Belong to You (New Moon)" Bon Iver & St. Vincent, "Roslyn" Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Done All Wrong" Hurricane Bells, "Monsters" Sea Wolf, "The Violet Hour" OK Go, "Shooting the Moon" Grizzly Bear, "Slow Life" Editors, "No Sound but the Wind" Alexandre Desplat, "New Moon (The Meadow)"
Every Car You Chase (Snow Police) - Party Ben MashUps are hit and miss. If done poorly, they're messy, if done right, they can be lovely. Party Ben's mix of the Police's Every Breath You Take with Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars is a great example of a MashUp done right.
Big Easy - Raphael Saadiq Mattyshack's March Top 5 turned me on to this overlooked album from 2008, Raphael Saadiq's latest record, The Way I See It. A beautifully crafted throwback to 50/60's R&B/Motown.
Crying Blood - V.V. Brown I've been crazy about V.V. for the last few weeks. I am excited for her entire album to drop as everything i've heard so far is excellent.
It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry - Glasvegas Mattyshack had a Glasvegas tune in his top 5 back in October; i finally got the entire album and i love it. Next to the one Matty put up - Daddy's Gone - this is one of my favorites.
