Fergie - "London Bridge"

Fergie - "London Bridge": "How scary is it that I thought of this song when I went over the actual London Bridge?"

Morrissey - "Hairdresser On Fire"

Morrissey - "Hairdresser On Fire": "I kept thinking of this song on my first full day in London, especially when I wound up in Sloane Square! It was as if all of these places I hadn't given much thought to in Morrissey songs were all coming to life for me."

David Gray - "Say Hello Wave Goodbye"

David Gray - "Say Hello Wave Goodbye": "Perhaps not quite as 'pure' as the Soft Cell original, but I thought this version was worth flagging as well. Gray translates the original's icy synths to acoustic guitar and his delivery is very different than Almond's, but it captures much of the same sadness, except blended more with melancholy than bitterness."

Soft Cell - "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye"

Soft Cell - "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye": "Deceptively simple synth-pop, but Marc Almond's lyrics and delivery are so straight-forward and confessional that they provide a depth far beyond the simple keys that back them. It's so tough and bitter on the surface, but clearly very sad at its' core."

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - "The Only Living Boy In New Cross"

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - "The Only Living Boy In New Cross": "Wow - until today, I probably hadn't heard this song in fifteen years, but I still remembered the whole thing. From the low-key piano and organ intro through the electro-Brit-thrash core of the song, they somehow blended punk and Pet Shop Boys elements into something really exciting. It seems like this should have been a bigger alternative radio hit than it was..."

Lene Lovich - "Lucky Number"

Lene Lovich - "Lucky Number": "A little wacky fun to brighten up a rainy, dreary San Francisco day. 'Ah-ooo-eeeoo-ooo!' indeed. This one's for you, Joe."

David Bowie - "Untitled No. 1"

David Bowie - "Untitled No. 1": "People often associate David Bowie with theatricality - but here, Bowie winds up presenting an understated electropop number flavored with subtle undulating instrumentation. There's a certain romantic quality about the song that, despite having a certain intangible quality, imbues it with emotional qualities generally missing from his late-'80s work that proceeded it."

Mick Jagger - "Just Another Night"

Mick Jagger - "Just Another Night": "It may play like a weak Stones demo, but Mick's attitude still comes through so strong that you can practically see him strutting around, in his jerky little way, while singing this song."

Trunk Federation - "Truck Lover"

Trunk Federation - "Truck Lover": "Off-kilter, whimsical and a little dumb at times - but still definitely catchy noise-pop. (From Alias - same label to bring you Archers of Loaf - which is why the review of this track sounds a little simiar to my recent AoL post...)"

Betty Davis - "Anti Love Song"

Betty Davis - "Anti Love Song": "I have a hard time articulating it, but sometimes I think performers wind up sounding dangerous in their songs - and this is one of them. Growling over a funk-rock beat, Betty sounds like a boiling pot of water - busting with heat and perpetually threatening to boil over the edge. She never busts out the way you might expect she would and perhaps it's because she confounds those expectations that Betty (in this song) is so 'dangerous' to me."

Archers of Loaf - "Web In Front"

Archers of Loaf - "Web In Front": "Amazingly delicious Amerindie punk rock (as it was sometimes called) from its Golden Heyday period. Infectiously catchy noise pop."