“Queen of Peace / Long and Lost” – Florence + The Machine WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS NUDITY A very artsy, very long video for one of the best tracks on Florence Welch’s latest album. Not sure I get the visuals,[1] but the opening song is fantastic. And rumor has it the segment for “Long and Lost” was shot in one take.…

“Summer of ’69” – Bryan Adams I heard this song yesterday and it seemed perfect for this weekend, our last one before school begins next week. A moment of nostalgia on all the fun stuff we’ve crammed into the last two months. Granted, Adams was looking back at slightly different subject matter than the girls and I will think of…

“False Hope” – Laura Marling If the year ended today, this would be in my top 10 for songs of the year. Possibly top 5.

“Cuts You Up” – Peter Murphy When seminal Goth band Bauhaus broke up in the early 80s, its members went two ways. Daniel Ash, David J, and Keith Haskins went mainstream with their new band Love and Rockets. But former lead singer Peter Murphy continued to make darker music that, while not pure Goth, certainly was aimed more at the…

A couple more Song of the Summer contenders this week. http://youtu.be/2jhRtybGYD4 “Dreams”- Beck Whooo boy! I’ve never been a huge Beck fan but this song grabbed me the first time I heard it and refuses to let go. And in typical Beck fashion, it’s just quirky enough to make it stand out. In the absence of an official video, this…

“So You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers covering The Byrds A HUGE day in music history. No longer will new albums be released on Mondays in Europe and Tuesdays in the U.S. From now on, new albums will hit the shelves (virtual and physical) on Fridays around the world. Supposedly the…

The official middle of summer – the halfway point between Memorial Day and Labor Day – isn’t for another two weeks. But, for all intents and purposes,[1] this is the middle of summer since so many kids will be back in school four or five weeks from today. Thus, we should have a good idea of what the Song of…

“Coming Home” – Leon Bridges If you haven’t heard Leon Bridges yet, you’re just in time. His singles have been thrilling the music world the last couple months and his debut album just dropped on Tuesday. I’m fascinated by how artists make choices in what aesthetics they will adopt. I assume Bridges grew up listening to old Sam Cooke and…

“Gates Of Dawn” – Heartless Bastards HB has been kicking around for a lot of years now. Each time they put out an album, I think, “That’s pretty good.” But they’ve never made my Top 10 album or songs lists to end a year. That might change this year, though.