The Reminder

Feist- Leslie Feist is the brains behind this incredible music. Feist was the female vocalist in Broken Social Scene and did some performing with Peaches before she injured her throat in the punk scene. Her throat injury caused her to rest her voice and focus on playing music and she developed her own sound. She has produced three albums as Feist. The first album covers many old jazzy songs and she throws in a few of her own that are unbelievable. Her second album is a collection of remakes and covers and she came into her own with her most recent album, which is featured here. I was lucky enough to get to see Feist only a month after I fell in love with her music, so I was completely starry eyed. The show was in an auditorium, so it was awkward to dance, but Feist dared her audience to come dance in the orchestra pit. Dancing in the orchestra pit meant you were only feet away from where she was performing, and everyone who ran to the pit was super excited to be there, so the dancing was wonderful and full of high energy folks. The performance was everything I would want it to be and Leslie even came out afterwards to meet her fans! I was completely star struck, but I managed to get a photograph with her and get her to sign my ticket.

Amazon Price: $11.49 (as of 07/20/2008)

Back to Black

Amy Winehouse-Poor Amy is having some trouble these days. Most famous for her song, Rehab, in which the refrain of the song infamously repeats, "You try to make me go to rehab and I say no, no, no," is staying true to her lyrics and suffering from substance abuse problems. Her music is absolutely unbelievable, her style and voice straight out of the fifties, her lyrics are strong and leave a little sting, but you're really lucky if she shows up to a live performance. I saw her at Lollapalooza this year, and she sounded great, but had no connection with the audience. Take a listen, her voice is so beautiful you'll want to encourage her to go to rehab too!

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 07/20/2008)

Begin to Hope

Regina Spektor-Regina is one of the most adorable performers out there. Her music is very in right now, and I would classify it as lullaby-in-your-face music. I love to listen to her music while I write. Her voice is so soft and gentle, most song accompanied by her playing the piano, a few on guitar, but she confronts taboo subjects in her sweet little voice. She is a tiny little red-headed Russian with the rosiest cheeks, a big gummy smile, and a sassy sense of style. I saw Regina at Lollapalooza and she was so happy to be there. I fell in love with her music even harder after seeing her perform live. She is very interactive with the audience and so appreciative of her fans.

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 07/20/2008)

Rabbit Songs

Hem-Another collection of music that can be classified under the lullaby file, though Hem is not so much in your face as in your heart. I believe that Hem is actually a band and not just a female vocalist, but Sally Ellyson's voice is so magical that I could not leave her off this section. Her voice is like a fairy and you never stop being blown away by just how gentle she can sound. I love to fall asleep to Hem. I have heard a story that the band (based in Brooklyn) was looking for a female vocalist and had been reviewing auditions for months. Sally was a busy waitress with no time to audition and sent in a recording of her singing her child to sleep. The band was instantly in love. I have had the fortune to see Hem in performance twice. Sally is the perfect combination of a siren and a mother. She is also very wonderful to her fans and comes out afterwards to sign CDs and meets her audience (so does the rest of the band).

Amazon Price: $15.98 (as of 07/20/2008)

The Milk-Eyed Mender

Joanna Newsom-Joanna has a crazy voice that takes a little getting used to... You pretty much either love her music or hate it. Her voice is very shaky-childlike and like nothing I've ever heard before. The first time I heard her, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to listen to the entire CD, but I just couldn't turn it off. I soon fell in love. Her voice is so unusual that it can become an addition. In addition, she accompanies most of her music with the harp and manages to make it hip and modern. Her lyrics are beautiful and almost fairy tale like. Recently, it sounds like she may have had some voice lessons, but either way, I love her quirky voice and style. She is very cute on stage, but a little shy. I was seated in the balcony at her show, so it was hard to get a feel of how she connected with her audience.

Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 07/20/2008)

Ash Wednesday

Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 07/20/2008)

Robbers & Cowards

I was introduced to these boys in a very special way. The Cold War Kids followed my friend's band, Elvis Perkins in Dearland at the Metro in Chicago. The only way that I had hear of The Cold War Kids before was that I knew the two bands had toured before. My buddy invited me backstage after his show and then said he wanted to check out their show. We proceeded to walk to the stage and stood side stage for their entire set. Their music was wonderful and their quirky dancing really struck my fancy. These boys are serious rock stars. After their show I casually hung out with the boys backstage and then stood with thousands of other fans the next day at their set at lolla. This band is amazing and I'm really surprised that I did not discover them sooner. Since I saw them at Lollapalooza, they have popped up all over the place. I turned on the TV the other day and their video was on the station, Fuse. I really dig their tunes and I'm trying hard to push them upon my friends. Check them out.

Amazon Price: $13.98 (as of 07/20/2008)

The Fragile Army (Bonus Dvd)

I had always heard of The Polyphonic Spree but I did not know anything about them. This was one of the shows that I felt whatever about attending and walked away with my mind blown. The band has over twenty members who rock so hard its impossible not to dance. There's a lot of head banging and flute playing going on. Every member of the band is dressed alike. Their new getup is to wear matching black military suits, but they used to all wear matching white robes. The band has a borderline cultish feeling to it (in terms of matching cloths and a strong focus on light vs dark), but I would not hesitate to purchase a ticket to their show. An incredible experience!

Amazon Price: $19.98 (as of 07/20/2008)

Arular

M.I.A. was crazy! I've never seen or heard anything like her. She combines many different genres of music to create something brand new. I am always impressed when people are able to create a completely new sound. I was taking a dancing break to get some grub during this set, so I cannot be as excited about this show as I am about the others, but this is definitely an album worth checking out. During her performance the giant screens that normally show close-ups of the performer often flashed neon lights instead (the background of her website does the same) and she climbed up the scaffolding of the stage while performing hanging many feet off the ground.

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 07/20/2008)

Soviet Kitsch

Regina Spektor-Regina is one of the most adorable performers out there. Her music is very in right now, and I would classify it as lullaby-in-your-face music. I love to listen to her music while I write. Her voice is so soft and gentle, most song accompanied by her playing the piano, a few on guitar, but she confronts taboo subjects in her sweet little voice. She is a tiny little red-headed Russian with the rosiest cheeks, a big gummy smile, and a sassy sense of style. I saw Regina at Lollapalooza and she was so happy to be there. I fell in love with her music even harder after seeing her perform live. She is very interactive with the audience and so appreciative of her fans.

Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 07/20/2008)

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Modest Mouse was not new for me, but I definitely whipped out my old CDs when I got home. I expected to just have a stroll down memory lane as I boogied to their tunes, but I really enjoyed the music. I love rediscovering good music!

Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 07/20/2008)

Sung Tongs

The Animal Collective

Yellow House

Grizzly Bear

Milk Man

Deerhoof

Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs

Andrew Bird

The Greatest

Cat Power

The Immaculate Collection

This is probably the most critical CD in my collection.

Thriller - Special Edition

by Michael Jackson

MJ before his nose fell off. Think moon walk and tigers?

Greatest Hits

The artist before he was formally known as prince.

The Essential Cyndi Lauper

Love me some Cyndi. My favorite line from any of her songs is, "True colors are beautiful like a rainbow." Very deep.

New Kids on the Block - Greatest Hits

The right stuff.