10/19/10 10/19/10

Hooray for Covers! Mad Men meets Nat King Cole

What happens when you combine an instrumental song and a bunch of ambitious musicians? Why, this mash up of RJD2's "A Beautiful Mind" with "Nature Boy", as sung by Nat King Cole, of course. Add in a music video shot live in one continuous shot, and you've got something pretty memorable.

10/15/10 10/15/10

Wow, That's A Good Song (Possibly?): Shinyribs, "Poor People's Store"

10/6/10 10/6/10

Hooray for Covers! Brooke White, "Use Somebody"

I have mixed feelings towards this song, mainly because I have mixed feelings towards the original. I kind of laughed at Brooke White's breezy piano cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" the first time I heard it, but it's been growing on me as time has gone on. What do you think?

10/1/10 10/1/10

Wow, That's A Good Song: Darren Hanlon, "Folk Insomnia"

9/30/10 9/30/10

Wow, That's a Good Song: Dan Mangan, "Road Regrets"

Apparently this is my time for Discovering Music I Shamefully Missed Out On. "Road Regrets" is a strong opener to Dan Mangan's 2009 album, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, and it just gets better from there. Also, I'm a sucker for animated videos of any sort.

9/25/10 9/25/10

Favorite of the Moment: The Baseballs

9/24/10 9/24/10

Wow, That's a Good Song: fun., "All the Pretty Girls"

Add fun.'s Aim and Ignite to the list of albums I really should have listened to earlier. Not sure how I missed out on hearing this when it was released, but I've rectified that situation now, and am fully in love.

9/9/10 9/9/10

Two Videos: Janelle MonÃ¡e and Outkast

So traffic's moving along and I'm thinking about the video for "Tightrope" and something occurs to me. MonÃ¡e's collaborators include Big Boi (of Outkast). While I'd stop short of calling the "Tightrope" video derivative, it shares certain similarities with the video for Outkast's "Hey Ya".

9/8/10 9/8/10

Hooray for Covers! Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Bad Romance"

Things I enjoy about this:A) Cover of a well-known pop songB) Joseph Gordon-LevittC) Cover of a well-known pop song that now sounds a little bit creepierD) Joseph Gordon-LevittE) A performer who is very clearly having fun with what he's doingF) Joseph Gordon-Levitt

9/3/10 9/3/10

Wow, That's a Good Song: Vandaveer, "Fistful of Swoon"

I can't describe this song as anything other than sexy. "Fistful of Swoon" slinks along, propelled forward by the rough voice of Mark Charles Heidinger and the twisting harmonies of Rose Guerin. It builds off of a simple guitar riff and just a handful of delicate piano notes, and even the video, shot in stark black and white, manages to be both sinister and alluring.

9/1/10 9/1/10

Wow, That's a Good Song: Kyle Andrews, "You Always Make Me Smile"

I dare you to watch this video and not grin. Who doesn't like a gigantic water balloon fight?

8/29/10 8/29/10