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I was feeling put-out and crabby and decided the thing to reverse this attitude was some new music. Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen were the perfect prescription.

Amy is a smokier-voiced, world-wearied denizen of motown soul. These aren’t the lyrics of a love-sick teenager but of a woman too prone to alcohol and cigarettes bemoaning her dark moods and love lost. But the inherent sadness of some of her words is offset by the Phil Spector-ish horns and tinkly bell accents. Her voice is an agile instrument that is not an affected imitation or an over-produced pop singer's sound.

Lily is also in her early 20s, also a Brit and they share a certain ballsy bravado but instead of heading to detroit, Lily is more London club brat. Her voice has a pixie-sweet quality to it but the words belie her worldliness. She mixes in reggae and toasting elements for an originally fun sound. I envy her eye-to-eye confidence, it's definitely daring you to bring it.

I've listened to both of these on repeat and they're just what the doctor ordered for a maudlin morning of malaise!  

• Kelis - “Milkshake” (My milkshake brings all the boys in the yard...)
• Sir Mix-a-lot – “Baby’s Got Back” (those other brothers can't deny...)
  
• Nancy Sinatra - “These boots are made for walking”
• Tom Jones - “What’s New Pussycat?” (whoa-ooh whoa-ooh, woah-OOH!)
• Donovan - “Mellow Yellow”
• Snoop Dogg - “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (the oh-so clean version so my 3 year old doesn’t start busting out obscenities, also the ringtone on my phone which never fails to amuse)
• The Gourds – “Drop It Like It’s Hot” hysterical hill billy cover
• Rod Stewart - “Maggie May” (sappy but lovely)
  

Woo! I'm in the midst of that quasi time change limbo where I'm constantly calculating how much sleep I'm losing or gaining! But happy knowing there will be LIGHT after I get home tonight! On a musical note, check out this Basement Jaxx song. I needed some peppy tunes to get my sluggish blood moving and this one does it for me! What's your favorite "get me moving" song? leave a name or link in the comments! Come on! I need the pep, baby!

I have seen the future of music and it is a little birdie. I am talking about SongBird. If any of you use the web to find and listen to music, you need to step away from Itunes and jump on the bird. The builders of this gem describe it this way: "Songbird^™ is a desktop Web player, a digital jukebox and Web browser mash-up. Like Winamp, it supports extensions and skins feathers. And like Firefox^®, it is built from Mozilla^®, cross-platform and open source." The key here is open source. That means all sorts of way smart geeks are out there making it better. I just downloaded a version on 2/7 and it has great features, full list here.

So far my favorite thing is that any page that has music to download lists the songs all below the page. It is hard to envision so check it out and you’ll see what I mean. Another feature I love is that if you find a band you like you can easily search for the band all over the interweb thingy with a simple click.

I am not a salesman but I like music and I am lazy and this is a wonderful tool. I know you want the bird, so here is what you do:

Step 1 Click on the cute little bird

Step 3 Check out great sites like 3Hive and Podbop. 3Hive gives you free music legally across a ton of genres. Podbop lets you search any city and shows you what bands are playing and when possible gives you free music legally.

Step 4 Share this information with all your loved ones, semi-loved ones, associates, and co-workers. If you have website or blog link to their site. Do not share it with whiny heads because this is still in development so there are going to be hiccups, deal with it. Amy make sure and show Dave, not sure how often in checks in on us here. So there you go you, bloggies. Embrace the bird, love the bird, share the bird, and if you have the skills develop code for the bird.

Hey! Wake up! Not expecting any sparkling conversation from ya on a Monday, but you gotta at least open your eyes. Light too bright for ya? Here, let's turn that down a smidge. Maybe you need a little gentle nudge to wake up. This is one of my favorite songs by a band called Shrift. Guaranteed to gently sweep the cob webs or stress from your little sleepy brain.

“Of all the churning, random hearts under the sun,
Eventually fading into night,
These two are opening now as we lie
I touch you, wonderful, alive

Girl, if you’re a seascape, I’m a listing boat,
For the thing carries every hope
I invest in a single life
The choice is yours to be loved,
Come away from it empty of... But us”

I start to understand what they mean and then it eludes me there at the end. But it's lovely lovely lovely!

Overall? I really dig this album a lot, I’ll be listening to it over and over and over.

These are albums I discovered over the course of 2006. Some are older releases some are newer. My list, my rules, baby! For whatever reason these albums, artists and tunes drew me back again and again. Since I can and do often work with headphones on, most of these are great accompaniments to your work day. I’m horrible at listening to lyrics. Voices become just instrumental sound to me so you’re on your own for that! But I’m pretty sure that all of these artists stray away from the traditional “I love you, you broke my heart!” genre. Most of these were purchased through emusic.com or itunes and I'm sure amazon.com would be happy to oblige you with some samples and purchasing opportunities!

Cat Power – The Greatest
Why have I only downloaded three songs from this husky-voiced singer/songwriter? These songs are sparingly arranged with just the right dash of strings when appropriate but more often they are more straight-forward rock arrangements, but they’re not derivative of any particular style of music. Sometimes I find female singer/songwriters too precious (think Sarah Mclaughlin, for example) but I imagine this performer with hair in her eyes sitting at a piano like it’s a happy hour bar in a tavern somewhere she didn’t mean to end up. Her posture double dog dares someone to interrupt her revery. Try “Willie” on for size.

The Be Good Tanyas – Blue Horse
I first heard this group’s version of “Ticky tacky houses” used as a theme song on Showtime’s “Weeds”. They have dust-bowl harmonies that ring so pleasingly, accompanied with standup bass and rambling guitars or mandolin. Somehow they evoke old time country and blue grass without even really being country or bluegrass. How’s THAT possible? If you only download one of their songs, try “The Littlest Bird” - so lilting and lovely.

Bobby Bare Jr. - The Longest Meow
Mr. Bare has a voice that’s a bit whiskey soaked and wise. He’s been around the block, but often it was a block party he was moseying around. From raucous to reflective, his songs show a full spectrum of emotion and composition. I’ve always hated those albums where every song seemed just like the last, each of these is a unique gem.

Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine
Yeah, yeah, everyone says she’s a wack job, but only the most sensitive can really pull the most creativity out of their hats. I have sometimes absurdly wished for a difficult childhood from which to pull creative inspiration. This album is surprisingly light and full of experimental and quirky sounds yet held all together by Fiona’s rich and emotive voice. Try “Window” for a taste of the quirk.

Grandaddy – Sumday
I always think that grandaddy is going to be alt-country, but they’re not. They’re more of a fuzzy guitar and keyboard indie pop rock ensemble. Take me seriously when I say though that you must totally skip over the first 20 seconds of “Now It’s On” unless you want to spontaneously start stabbing yourself in the ear drum with sharp utensils. It’s a collection of the most annoying sounds you’ve ever heard. But then it turns into a light jaunt but I’m still so annoyed by that first 10 seconds, I might just break up with it. Anyways, there’s lots of fuzzy guitars and embellishments to hear swirling around your head if you listen to it with headphones, more challenging but satisfying.

Iron and Wine / Calexico – In The Reins
Dusty and hypnotic, acoustic guitars swirl with slide guitar and trumpets in a sound that is a little melancholic but beautiful. The instrumentation is clean and uncluttered and the harmonies are haunting. I’ve always had a soft spot for slide guitar and here it seems to weep.

Kim Taylor – So Black, So Bright
This album opens up with a shimmy of a brush on a snare drum and with a sparse bit of acoustic guitar, Kim’s unusual and pretty voice sparkles. So many of these albums seem to have some things in common; clean arrangements that are not overproduced like so much of today’s popular music, original and creative melodies, and just-right instrumentation.

Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s – The Dust of Retreat
You’d expect this group to have a female front person, but you’d be wrong! This is another down tempo set of songs, with dashes of violin thrown in for good measure. (honestly, I think I’m running out of steam here!) There are some lovely slide guitar elements peeking through but it’s the singer’s clear voice that pulls you through.

Shrift – Lost in a Moment
Ethereal. Sparkly! Dreamy and contagious. This disc is truly otherworldy, the singer’s voice tinkles above distant ice floes or samba beats that groove demurely in the background. The arrangements are sophisticated and beautiful. File this next to Gibel Gilberto or Sergio Mendez

Stars – Set Yourself On Fire
Tingly indie-pop with alternating male and female leads. My very favorite track is the last one “Calendar”. It sweetly aches with the sweet vocals but feels honest and hopeful.

So there you have it, some new music to chew on! Please PLEASE tell me of any new music you've found lately!