Pavement - "Stop Breathin'"

Pavement - "Stop Breathin'"

Kreidler - "She Woke Up And The World Had Changed"

Kreidler - "She Woke Up And The World Had Changed": "Sometimes, it just feels like it has."

Talking Heads - "Road To Nowhere"

Talking Heads - "Road To Nowhere": "In high school, I was the hugest Talking Heads fan ever, scribbling their song titles on the fronts of all my folders. Recently, I haven't been listening to them as much, probably because I'm always trying to listen to new music for work. Then - yesterday, for no reason at all, while I was doing laundry - this song popped back into my head and I'm so glad it did. It could be this hugely cynical song, but it winds up sounding so joyous that's its almost more of a church revival than their cover of Al Green's "Take Me To The River.""

David Bowie - "Drive In Saturday"

David Bowie - "Drive In Saturday": "Jazzy, retro sci-fi doo-wop wrapped in shiny tinsel. Is this what they'll play in heaven?"

U.N.K.L.E. - "Hold My Hand"

U.N.K.L.E. - "Hold My Hand": "I love this buzzy, piercing, straight-on rock, with the bass leading the way and the drums crisply pounding along. And is it just me or is that piano lick near the end of the song a sample of the piano from Bowie's "Be My Wife"? Right before I'm sure of the sample, the song kicks back into its guitar noise - which I love, but is frustrating to me at the same time - because it keeps me from knowing if I'm right or not."

A Fine Frenzy - "Come On, Come Out (Rhapsody Originals version)"

A Fine Frenzy - "Come On, Come Out (Rhapsody Originals version)": "My favorite version of my favorite A Fine Frenzy song. Here, all the instrumentation in the song (which is fairly prevalent on the album version) take a backseat to Alison's vocals and piano, making the song sparkle as it rolls out in this more seductive and intimate form. In fact, in this arrangement, it reminds me of some of my favorite Rachael Yamagata songs."

Mando Diao - "Song For Aberdeen (Rhapsody Originals Version)"

Mando Diao - "Song For Aberdeen (Rhapsody Originals Version)": "Mando Diao are a first-rate garage rock band - so imagine my surprise when they go acoustic and still sound equally amazing! Here, the guitars may be more subtle, but the harmonies are front and center and the keyboard leads them on a bouncing run down the lane."

Morrissey - "Alsatian Cousin"

Morrissey - "Alsatian Cousin": "Morrissey's first song on his first solo album - and he sounds like he's out for blood...in as much as he can. It's not that he's on new territory - the muscular bass is on par with 'Barbarism Begins At Home' and Morrissey's bold delivery resurfaces all the way through 'Irish Blood, English Heart' - but there's something powerful in his bitterly saucy accusations of adultery. I also love the way he delivers the line: "but on the desk is where I want you!" Poisonous but tasty!"

Syd Barrett - "Gigolo Aunt"

Syd Barrett - "Gigolo Aunt": "A strange, whimsical - but fun - pop tune, aided along by forceful bass and frolicking 60s keyboards."

Feist - "My Moon My Man"

Feist - "My Moon My Man": "I'm torn about this song. On one hand, it's very catchy, although its placement in the over-run Verizon Wireless TV ads may have helped with that somewhat. On the other hand, it gets sidetracked from true pop perfection by breathy asides and burbling noises. (Not to mention that it musically cribs from Spoon's more piano-based tunes!) I still like the song, but it feels like it's stuck on the cusp of being so much better."

Pete Krebs - "Do Your Father Proud"

Pete Krebs - "Do Your Father Proud": "Ex-Hazel frontman Pete Krebs goes solo acoustic, without sounding sparse in the slightest. Sweet-sounding, but biting at the core, this is acoustic without being folky."

Buffseeds - "Sunlight"

Buffseeds - "Sunlight": "Kind of like Placebo's Brian Molko fronting Travis, this song blends emotive, high-octave vocals with symphonic-styled Brit-rock. Pretty and touching."

Verbena - "Hot Blood"

Verbena - "Hot Blood": "Most people know Verbena from their debut Capitol Records album, where Dave Grohl (as producer) made them sound like Nirvana, so that's what people thought they were. Their real gem was the album before that, Souls for Sale, which melded dirty male-female vocals to a Stones/Stooges stomp, keeping the melodies strong while being equally as electric as those bands. Unfortunately, this record was similarly overlooked because it came out on Merge Records at a time people looked to them for indie pop and Neutral Milk Hotel, essentially making them the shard of glass in a pillow. This record is great rock'n'roll and it's begging to be rediscovered; this track is the first song on the album and is as good a starting point as any."

Prince - "Batdance"

Prince - "Batdance": "It's nice seeing Prince getting back to some sexy antics on his new album (Planet Earth), but it still doesn't compare to his days of yore. Still, as a reminder of how you can never really peg what Prince is going to do, I thought I'd bring back his lead track from his Batman soundtrack - which, though often bloated and confused, is still a great example of something it still seems like he'd never do. Too bad that the "Kiss"-like guitar riff that kicks in around the 2:46 mark is hotter than anything on the new record - and singing "I wanna bust that body!" in front of Bruce Wayne's "I'd like to!" shows a greater sense of humor too."

Me'Shell Ndegeocello - "The National Anthem"

Me'Shell Ndegeocello - "The National Anthem": "Me'Shell Ndegeocello taking on Radiohead? Awesome! Me'Shell takes the abrasive squonk of the original track and makes it simmer with a funk-rock blend, while her gentler vocals add a sexy element that one would be hard-pressed to find in the original track. Of course, her trademark excellent bass is front-and-center in the track as well. How did I miss this when it came out?"

Soulwax - "Too Many DJs"

Soulwax - "Too Many DJs": "More people know them in their DJ incarnation (billed as 2 Many DJs, ironically) or perhaps from later period work, but here's a taste of Soulwax's energetic alt-rock from the late 90s. Tasty."

Maximo Park - "Going Missing"

Maximo Park - "Going Missing": "Fabulous, jaunty Brit Rock. Also appropriate as I'm going out on vacation for a while, so I'll be...going missing. (Wocka wocka!) See you back in a bit, blog fans..."

Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks (Live from Rhapsody Rocks Austin party)"

Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks (Live from Rhapsody Rocks Austin party)": "This live take of their hipster hit bubbles with a certain exuberance, especially in contrast with the almost coolly-detached album version, in spite of this version almost being stripped down entirely to just drums, bass and vocals. Definitely worth checking out."

Maps - "Elouise"

Maps - "Elouise": "From the label that brought you M83...it's British M83 - Maps! OK, that's a bit of a crude simplification, but they are label-mates with M83 (Mute Records) and they do share similar synth-yet-shoegaze/drone qualities, just with more obviously British vocals and a touch more rock instrumentation. (In some of the vocal parts of this song, they are not unlike early Lilys.)"

Janet Jackson - "The Pleasure Principle"

Janet Jackson - "The Pleasure Principle": "It's really simple R&B pop and maybe that's why it succeeds. As opposed to later Janet songs, you can understand a lot of what she's singing and the track isn't glutted in production. If anything, quite the contrary - the percussion pops in tune to the synth bass and that's almost it, aside from some spare guitar riffs. Most importantly, she sounds like she's having fun without trying too hard and that's what makes the song fun for the listener too."