When Coldplay first came out, I have to admit that I was skeptical, mostly because I wanted to avoid trends. Come to find out, a few years later, good music is just good music. And good music is unavoidable. I am definitely not a Coldplay skeptic any longer, regardless of the trend.

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Popularity: 12% [?]

How would you describe a sound that you have never heard before? That was my dilemma when sitting down to write this review for Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS for short). Their debut six-song EP, Welding the C:/, is flying off the shelves of HMV stores everywhere, and has been completely sold out on their official online store for some time.

USS is a two-piece group based out of Toronto, Ontario, with Ash Boo-Shultz on acoustic guitar, vocals and ehur, and Human Kebab, dubbed as the turntablist hype man extraordinaire.
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Popularity: 14% [?]

Most of the time, I don't approve of actors becoming musicians.  It's usually ill-advised (are you reading this, Scarlett Johansson?) and feels more like an indulgence than a definite career move for the actor.  I have to say that there are some notable exceptions to the rule, and after listening to Volume One by She & Him, you can count Zooey Deschanel as one of those exceptions.

She & Him is comprised of Deschanel, who you may remember from films such as Almost Famous and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and M. Ward, who enjoys a successful solo singer-songwriter career in addition to his many collaborations with artists like Jenny Lewis, Norah Jones, and Bright Eyes.  Continue Reading

Popularity: 12% [?]

Hideaway is the follow-up to The Weepies' critically acclaimed 2006 album Say I Am You.  You know it was critically acclaimed because you could barely throw a rock without hitting a TV showing a mainstream drama featuring a track from the album.  But seriously, they were slapping The Weepies all over Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl because Say I Am You is a great CD full of melty, minimalist indie-folk tunes about falling in love and being in love.  

Hideaway is another charming release from husband and wife duo Steven Tannen and Deb Talan.  That may sound patronizing, but it's not how I mean it. Continue Reading

Popularity: 11% [?]

What do get when you melt Fiona Apple and Norah Jones into one person? You get the ultra smooth, bluesy jazz stylings of Rosey and her new album, Luckiest Girl. That is the best description I can offer.

Her previous album was more acoustic/rock than jazz/blues. Tracks from her debut album made it to the silver screen in Bridget Jones' Diary and Shallow Hal. Her first tour was a supporting act for Melissa Etheridge and Meredith Brooks. Ever since that initial success, Rosey's creative path has led her back home to a rich heritage of passionate jazz.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

I stopped listening to country music about the time that they took the line “You complete me” straight out of Jerry McGuire and turned it into a soulless, chart-seeking twaddle of a country song.  I turned to alternative rock just about the time Nirvana was leaving its pulsing red handprint on the face of mainstream rock.  I remember being struck by the lyrics coming from the angst-filled musicians.  They were, at different times, poetic, tragic, poignant, and controversial.  They weren’t pandering to the mainstream, whoring out their talents with trite lyrics and unremarkable melodies; they were actually trying to say something – about the state of society, the state of mind, or the state of their own tortured souls. Continue Reading

Popularity: 8% [?]