Ridiculous electro-dance duo from Michigan. I highly recommend the song “Wolf Knife,” which is based on a true story about how the female half of the duo bought the male half of the duo a knife with a picture of a wolf on the handle for Easter one year.

I’m still giving too much love to The Mystery Jets. Lead singer with Spina Bifida, dad in band, obsessed with Phil Collins and Duran Duran – these guys are the best story of the year.

Oh, and Chaircrusher – “Weather is Happening” isn’t half-bad. Good suggestion.

Obi Best – a group headed up by Alex Lilly, who also sings backup for The Bird And The Bee. There are some sonic similarities with that band, but Obi Best has a more organic, less synthetic sound. Their song “Nothing Can Come Between Us” has been on heavy repeat on my MP3 player.

[www.myspace.com]

Rademacher – this band is actually based in Frenso, CA but regularly makes the trip to L.A. to play shows (many in strange venues). I’ve been listening to their debut album Stunts for a while now and I never seem to get tired of it.

[www.myspace.com]

Los Campesinos! who are an indie pop band from Wales. They put out a great album earlier this year called “Hold On Now, Youngster…” and are already putting out another one called “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” in October.

“Richard Coeur de Lion: Troubadors et trouvères”, performed by Alla Francesca.

Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love”

A Putumayo collection of Malian music.

A Georges Brassens collection.

[www.myspace.com]

Weather Is Happening — a Wichita band — still do my head in. Thrashy, over the top, maybe even screamo, but majestic, spacious, and brilliant, not at all like all those interchangeable hair bands you read about in Alternative Press.

[www.myspace.com]

2652 — Dutch dude who has made some straight up techno records that were brilliant, but his album Aerial is crazy good dubstep. All those indie kids who bought Burial when Pitchfork was pimping him should check this out.

[www.smallfish.co.uk]

the mantles ([www.myspace.com]) jangly garage rockers.

matt baldwin (www.americandust.net) psychedelic inst. guitar jams (acoustic and electric).

on the old vinyl hunting tip:
lambert and nuttycombe – at home. gentle folk in a hippie american nick drake kind of vibe.

chris smither – don’t it drag on. ace folk-blues on the same label (poppy) as a certain mr. van zandt.

john simon – john simon’s album. producer of the band, leonard cohen and more steps out on his own in ’70 to cut one of the best lightly psychedelic pop albums of the era.

steel pulse – handsworth revolution. forget what the ’80s and ’90s meant to this uk reggae band, their debut is simply killer militant reggae jams. no lovers rock or pop crossover here, deep, deep shit.

I’m listening to a lot of Floor lately, due to my love of Torche. Both have the “bomb string” sound going for them, but Torche pops up the vocals to a surprisingly cool effect.

i co-sign pop!

you guys need that X.O. in your life.

As for Music City rock tunes, I’ve been digging the new Ghostfinger album “The Feeler” which goes pretty far into the psychedlic yacht rock vein, and Shoot The Mountain who inhabit that strange spot in southern rock between Skynyrd, Big Star and Pylon.

Outside of our little rhinestone encrusted bubble, I’m really digging the latest Quantic album “An Announcement to Answer”, Numero’s “Don’t Stop: Recording tap” comp and Screeching Weasel’s masterpeice “My Brain Hurts”.

I also would like to mention that I’m a total dipshit for not realizing who “Chris N” was sooner…we write for the same paper, sometimes…sorta. He’s a real writer, I’m just a punk with a keyboard…

Gawddamn, I can’t wait to get out of this fucking cubicle. C’mon five o’clock

I only wish they had included “Into the Black” on the album (and skipped the Tay Zonday collaboration).

Not local — IAMX. It’s the main guy from the Sneaker Pimps. Really fucked up and over-the-top. It vaguely reminds me of “Mechanical Animals”-era Manson.