A chugging anthem that feels like a cyclone and a dark alley. The two singers talk about cutting their teeth, being in debt and getting caught up in that head-spinning machine of having strangers assuming they know things about you … Continued
Always Love offers a simple sentiment and acoustic guitars that unsurprisingly build into chunky power-pop. Caws isn’t just childishly mouthing something he’s overheard. He’s coming to terms with a voice he’s ignored. The guitars feed through with more power and … Continued
The Whigs’ Parker Gispert channels My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and takes his satin tone to a sandpaper surface. The kick-drum jabs and the cymbals sting, but the sucker punch is the wall of guitars — bright, triumphant, and yet … Continued
Inspiring, motivating lyrics, commanding vocals, and a bright, rollicking melody that keeps building momentum and energy. Skyrocket is a constant reminder to keep on rolling with the punches, despite the bumps in the road. It’s accentuated with an affirmation in … Continued
A unique interpretation of a Randy Newman song about two things well known to have been problems in Raitt’s life: drinking and drugs. The music is structured like a ’60s soul ballad Otis Redding might have sung. Raitt can’t sear … Continued
‘Glasgow’ provides the musical cornerstone of the universally acclaimed film Wild Rose and is performed by Jessie Buckley with enormous passion, sincerity and genuine vocal prowess. Jessie Buckley: https://www.last.fm/music/Jessie+Buckley
Beautifully haunting song with a great guitar riff. Perfect for putting the pedal to the metal and zooming along. The Cardigans: https://www.cardigans.com
Beautiful and warm Eddie Hinton song that’s a slice of pure uplifting classic soul music. Drive By Truckers: https://www.drivebytruckers.com
A rich love ballad that is dark, wonderful, catchy and emotional with violins and brilliant production. Richard Ashcroft: https://www.last.fm/music/Richard+Ashcroft
Catchy song that’s more techno than blink-182’s style. It’s poppy, but it’s got the right hook. +44: https://www.last.fm/music/%252B44
Surreal, haunting ballad that still manages to be a perfectly-crafted, hook-laden song. An anthem for the apocalypse. James: https://www.wearejames.com
Amazingly infectious riff in this slice of British 1990’s rock mixed with the best bits of late 1960’s psychedelic and Stones influences. The Charlatans: https://www.thecharlatans.net
Jangly Brit-pop with lush acoustic and electric guitars that are distinguishable from the easy-rolling bass, and the perfect 60’s vocal harmonies aren’t lost in a swath of distorted guitar. The Bluetones: https://bluetones.band
Terrific set of lyrics with minimalist arrangement. Sounds energized with something interesting and poignant to say. Eels: https://www.eelstheband.com
A lovely number calling up images of a late night sky hanging far away. A true campfire song for the ages. Wilco: https://wilcoworld.net
The lyrics are witty and engagingly self-deprecating and the song delivers energy. What catchy pop-punk is supposed to sound like. Bowling For Soup: https://bowlingforsoup.com
The lyrics and melody are hauntingly beautiful. Not for the faint of heart. But for the sad or the hopeless romantic of heart? Most definitely. Bright Eyes: https://www.last.fm/music/Bright+Eyes
A mix of piano and thumping, danceable hooks from some catchy synths create a bombastic and enjoyable pop-dance track. Reverend And The Makers: https://www.reverendmakers.com
Infectious upbeat punk-pop anthem that is heartfelt, nostalgic, sweet and catchy with a great melody. The Ataris: https://theataris.bandcamp.com
Great melodic singing reminiscent of Green Day with a perfect solo. Less distortion than most Sum 41 tracks. Sum 41: https://www.sum41.com
If the Runaways and AC/DC collided in a car crash, the Donnas would emerge. There’s no great instrumental prowess but there doesn’t need to be any. Three minutes, three chords. They’re in, they’re out. Next please. The Donnas: https://www.youtube.com/user/thedonnastv
Energetic tongue-in-cheek indie pop with intelligent, witty, and charming lyrics delivered with wistful vocals and a catchy hook. Miniature Tigers: https://www.miniaturetigers.com
Former drummer for Letters To Cleo and Veruca Salt finally moves to vocals and guitar in this sweet tune with crunching guitars. American Hi-Fi: https://www.americanhi-fi.com
Reggae infused with a tremendous amount of punk energy and angst. The Police: https://www.thepolice.com
Reminiscent rebellious tone with blues-punk grit, slide guitar, lo-fi speak-sung vocals and a dash of rap-rock. Cage The Elephant: https://www.cagetheelephant.com
Alt-country song from the Festus MO band that is witty, sad, decent and profound. The Bottle Rockets: https://www.bottlerocketsmusic.com
Written with Paul McCartney, the musical tension of the song comes from the arrangement of hushed verses that are models of restraint, which makes the musical surge that kicks in when Elvis sings the chorus pack all the more punch. … Continued
An addictive, quirky, fun and enjoyable style featuring acoustic guitar that’s percussion driven with great vocals, catchy rhythm and entertaining lyrics. Weezer: https://weezer.com
Homage to the classic piano and vocal songs of the Beatles. Manages to be mature and innocent at the same time. Jet: https://www.last.fm/music/Jet
Combines the melodicism and harmony of vintage 60’s pop with the general sound of 80’s jangle pop and the 00’s revival of depth and muscle. Voxtrot: https://www.voxtrot.net
Crazy catchy, joyfully profane, vaguely retro R&B song over a slinky, organ-splashed groove. Makes sexual angst sounds like hot fun on a Friday night. Lloyd: https://www.last.fm/music/Lloyd
Catchy nerd rock song with a great pop-rock chorus written for all the web developers and software programmers of the world. Jonathan Coulton: https://www.jonathancoulton.com
Whistle-enabled song with strummed guitars and sweet backing vocals that give the sense of a sunny Sunday morning stroll with a Stax boxset in your headphones. The Heavy: https://theheavy.co.uk
Has all the double entendres we know and love from Jimmy Pop and a killer disco-electronica beat to complement the lyrics. Bloodhound Gang: https://www.bloodhoundgang.com
A dense kaleidoscope of sound. Deceptively quaint in the beginning, the track drops these little climactic bombs, each one completely defying your expectations for what a band should sound like. The initial hook, with its slide-guitar groove, could have been enough … Continued
Keeps the jazz-influenced R&B sound alive, but with enough modern sound where Amy displays her vocals at their smokey, smoldering best in a song where infidelity is betrayed by a telltale carpet burn. Amy Winehouse: https://www.amywinehouse.com
An outer shell of synth and guitar twang concealing a dark core of sleaze and insinuation with Ennio Morricone-inspired guitar. The urgency of the rhythm as it lifts off – it’s dirty and futuristic, the apotheosis of American new wave. … Continued
Melancholy track masterfully constructed and executed to the point that one can’t help but become entranced by Mraz’s voice. Jason Mraz: https://jasonmraz.com
Fantastic vocals and a brilliant guitar start off the song, and thoughtful lyrics carry this bluesy ballad with a passionate chorus. Sheryl Crow: https://www.sherylcrow.com
Disturbing lyrics with a cool verse riff that switches time signatures every time it is repeated, while still sounding catchy. Toadies: https://thetoadies.com
Steady drums with powerful crunch and old school guitar riffs that sounds like they made this in the 70’s. The Black Keys: https://www.theblackkeys.com
Weird and wonderful mix of Seattle influenced alternative and punk power pop woven together with punk sensibilities, but without falling into the trap of trying too hard. The Presidents of The United States of America: https://www.last.fm/music/The+Presidents+of+the+United+States+of+America
If you don’t get hooked by this song, then check your pulse. It combines cool beats, stylish rapping and lush feminine vocals for an incredibly catchy winning formula. Luscious Jackson: https://lusciousjackson.us
With an irresistible mix of acoustic and electric guitars that complements JR Richard’s voice perfectly with string arrangements that build the stormy romance of the song, harking back to the idea that time heals all wounds. Dishwalla: https://www.dishwalla.com
Stripped down rootsy affair in the Randy Newman vein with thoughtful lyrics, tight musicianship and a solid hook. Fastball: https://www.fastballtheband.com
Quintet from Boston that plays power-pop, enhanced by a double-guitar assault to the senses. Sweet female vocals from Kay Hanley helps keep the music focused. Letters To Cleo: https://www.letterstocleo.net
With just a warm electric guitar, it’s a delicate, sunny track. A classic soul song that makes absolutely no attempt to be a classic soul song. Duffy: https://www.last.fm/music/Duffy
Blues rock cover of the John Lee Hooker classic that adds volume and tempo to the original. Get in the car, buckle up and crank this up. Big Head Todd and The Monsters: https://www.bigheadtodd.com
Clever nerd rock song that pumps you up. Science fictional, but still upbeat and fun to listen to. Jonathan Coulton: https://www.jonathancoulton.com
Great power pop song with a jagged edge that opens with an off-the-chart intro, followed up with a great hook and a scorching guitar solo. Matthew Sweet: https://www.matthewsweet.com
Begins as a better-than-average country lament and erupts into a raucous, choppy guitar riff. Wilco: https://wilcoworld.net
Energetic song with a refreshingly snotty pop-punk attitude. If Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind, and Blink 182 had a baby, it would be SR-71. SR-71: https://www.last.fm/music/SR-71
Blending bluegrass, gospel, and acoustic country sounds with Southern-accented rock & roll into a good-naturedly eclectic mixture, Big Smith makes arson and moonshine sound like a great combination. Big Smith: https://www.last.fm/music/Big+Smith
Infectious song that’s difficult to place in any particular genre, but regardless of your musical tastes, it’s hard not to tap your foot to this one. Eels: https://www.eelstheband.com
With a sound that is somewhere between Hole and the Go Go’s, Veruca Salt does not disappoint. Veruca Salt: https://verucasalt.com
Starts off with a slow, clean guitar picking riff, and then goes into the usual pop-punk sliding with power chords. Funny lyrics and very catchy. Bowling For Soup: https://bowlingforsoup.com
With their trademark style of hard rock, influenced by the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr and infused with a humorous edge, this song is indicative of the band’s distinctively naughty sense of humor. Lustra: https://www.myspace.com/lustra
Mashing rap with rock with a southern fried twist, this drunken anthem never got wide radio play but became a jukebox favorite. Rehab: https://www.last.fm/music/Rehab
A satirical look at how rock stars complain about how tough their lives are with a punchy blend of power chords, string samples, and disco beats that features Madden rapping in a Nelly-inspired flow. It’s spiked with rock power, but … Continued
The Distillers is a band that slides down into your ear drums. They look around and decide that it’s a great place to have a party. The Distillers: https://www.last.fm/music/The+Distillers
With a a caramel smooth voice, which goes together so well with the undeniable rhythm in this soulful song from the American R&B, soul and funk singer, songwriter and record producer The Mighty Hannibal. This was sampled in John Legend’s song “Who … Continued
This song is about a lover realizing that meeting their partner started their life anew. It’s melody is so infectious that it seems like it has existed for an eternity already. Bright Eyes: https://www.last.fm/music/Bright+Eyes
Raucous, upbeat, power-pop influenced, straight-to-the-point jam. The playing on the track was inspired by old Kiss records. The Dandy Warhols: https://www.dandywarhols.com
Their ’70s punk-pop sound, which includes a hint of The Ramones, a dash of The Go-Gos and a pinch of Sum 41, makes you wish you were partying with The Donnas. The Donnas: https://www.youtube.com/user/thedonnastv
High energy rock and pop brought to you by pint sized rockers. This song rocks on its own, but the fact that these kids were still in middle school when they wrote and recorded it is mind blowing. The Verbing … Continued
These Australian hedonists stick to basics – a Motown swing beat, Iggy-style yowling, and the bluntest rhymes in rock history – and welded them together into the strip-club standard of the decade. Jet: https://www.last.fm/music/Jet
JoCo’s commentary on suburban life. It tells the story of a depressing middle class family as they slink deeper and deeper into the soulless, unsatisfying existence of their bland, suburban lifestyle. Jonathon Coulton: https://www.jonathancoulton.com
Relies on the self-deprecating humor of frontman Jimmy Pop inserting mid-90’s rap slang in between a veritable web of 80’s pop culture references long before it was hip to make 80’s pop culture references. His intended effect is to make … Continued
Channels the style of Ennio Morricone to beautiful, chilling effect, with the sounds of a man-with-no-name walking into town as thunder rages in the distance and the church bell chimes behind a Spaghetti Western-tuned guitar and orchestral drum beat. This … Continued
Stapleton takes back the mournful “Whiskey and You” from Tim McGraw in a version that really feels like a bitter hangover. Chris Stapleton: https://www.chrisstapleton.com
Takes its twee roots and adds a heavy dose of indie-pop. Happy melodies, catchy choruses and thought-provoking lyrics are the makeup of this group’s music. Upbeat and poppy, lovable and mysterious, edgy and dark—all in one. And you can dance … Continued
Michael Benjamin Lerner’s voice is like an emotional car wash. No matter what Lerner is singing about, it all comes out sounding clean, winsome, and nice. “Power Lines” has the standard Telekinesis structure: A quiet acoustic verse, an explosive chorus, and … Continued
Willie Nelson and his son Lukas’ version of “Just Breathe”. The Pearl Jam single gets a soothing, touching rendition, with touches of harmonica and dueling vocals from the father and son, adding new dimensions to the original. Willie Nelson: https://willienelson.com
Roth’s vocal tone is reminiscent of Eminem’s. The accompanying music has an easy-going, reggae-like quality that undoubtedly adds to the song’s appeal among the fun-loving college crowd. Asher Roth: https://retrohash.com
Sounds more like Weezer than Weezer. Less rapping from Kid Cudi, but a nice song about the craziness celebrities have to deal with in relationships. Kid Cudi: https://datnewcudi.com
With a droning guitar line, rapped verses, almost Beck-esque drums, and creepy background noises and vocals about injury and death, this song is what describes true alternative music. Add in the weird effects on the guitar, and you have an … Continued
Sister Hazel goes “unplugged” in this live in the studio recording before a small invited audience of fans and friends. Sister Hazel: https://www.sisterhazel.com
Gabriel Kahane is an NPR Programmer’s wet dream. From a sonic standpoint, Kahane’s restlessness and ingenuity match the precociousness of his words, the album often abandoning pop’s expected patterns of build and release with a less-predictable approach that comes closer … Continued