Beat Radio ~ "Dreaming Wide Awake"

It's a shame that great songs like this – which push the envelope on a genre which already pushes the envelope – don't receive the acclaim they deserve.

I know there's a whole fielding science behind which songs and bands get industry $$ behind them so they can be played on chart radio 4 times a day until the general public eventually "discovers" them, but chart radio does music in general an injustice.

The reality is that if the songs on this site were played on chart radio to the same degree, everyone would love them just as much as the songs they currently love, memorizing this track's lyrics instead of the lyrics to Somebody that I Used to Know.

Blind Melon ~ "Walk"

The retro grunge/90's sound is coming back ... you can hear it in the indie rock playlists. Bands sounding like the Pixies and late Cure are abundant now, and next it will be Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Oasis sound-alikes.

One band, looking back, that never got the credit they deserved was Blind Melon. Their front man, Shannon Hoon, was a musical genius, could sing with the angels, and, unfortunately, was a guy who did everything to the umpteenth degree... including cocaine and heroin.

So, nostalgically inspired by the bands I'm hearing who are bringing the raw and real sound of the 90's back to the indie surface, here's a post hoping that the acoustic indie will come back with it.

The Whispers - "Keep On Loving Me"

Toro Y Moi - "Blessa"

I think this song should be called "Blissa", it's pretty heavenly.

Land of the Loops - "Multi-Family Garage Sale"

Land of the Loops were a one man electronic project put together by Alan Sutherland. He made a few releases in the early 90s and then faded away. I found this song on a 7" vinyl record in 1995 at CJSR, and then picked up his 1996 album "Bundle of Joy" whose art is featured here to the right. I love the experimental playfulness of his music. It's bumpin, but not dance music. Silly, yet technically complex.

tUnE-yArDs - "Bizness"

Some music is easy, breezy, poppy and immediately catchy. Other music is challenging and difficult. Each have their own rewards. tUnE-yArDs definitely falls in the latter group, of challenging and complex musicians. Starting with the obtuse spelling, I kind of wrote them off as too hip for their own good. This track came on the random selctions and I really vibed out to it. For a white girl, this has some serious world music vibe, the horn blasts toward the end are sublime!

tUnE-yArDs is Merrill Garbus, who when performing live, creates all her percussion through live sampled loops, and then plays ukelele over top. I suspect in studio there is a lot more going on to create this much sound. This is the first single from her second album 'w h o k i l l'.

taperecorder - "Seen Straight"

Marc Francis is a friend of a friend who lives in Brooklyn NY and makes music under the alias taperecorder. This track started off as a remix of 'Can You See Straight' by the Death Set, but took on a life of it's own, becoming more than a remix of the source material. It's got a hard-electro sound, with the ephemeral vocals of Victoria Tresko aka Fair Lion floating in contrast over top.

TAPERECORDER - Seen Straight from marc francis on Vimeo.

Frankie Rose - "Night Swim"

Frankie Rose is a member of the Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts, all sweet nouveau-garage acts. She's just released her solo debut called "Interstellar" and it is fabulous. I love how new acts can take their influences and sounds and make them new again. A departure from the jangly garage 60s sounds, her album features more sounds of 80s acts like The Cure or Siouxsie and the Banshees yet sounding fresh and new. I'm currently digging this album a lot. It's got gorgeous melodies great sounds, and earned a Pitchfork 'Best New Music' designation. Look for it on Mixtape 11.

Atlas Genius ~ "Trojans"

Oh man ... 80 minutes available on Summer Guide and I'm already up to 75, and I'm well over 80 minutes on Summer Cuts (the b-track list) ... and artists tend to release their great new tunes in spring!!!

Tough, tough decisions ahead!

Here's a fantastic! song by Atlas Genius that deserves someone's playlist ... even though it got cut from both of mine!

Rock it out please!!