Winter In the Hamptons

Song: "Winter In the Hamptons"
Artist: Josh Rouse
Album: Nashville

Prolific singer/songwriter Josh Rouse put out this album a few years ago and it was a continuation of the breezy, melodic romp of 1972. Rouse knows how to write ear candy and this song is no exception. Plus, when I see the title, I think of that Seinfeld episode where George drives his ex-future-in-laws out to his imaginary house in the Hamptons.

Sofa Surfers

Song: "Believer"
Artist: Sofa Surfers
Album: Sofa Surfers

I reviewed this album last year and it's eclectic, electronic-influenced and just really cool. There's swirling instrumentation and melodies, all tied together nicely. A great, hip album to put on at a party.

We Are The Normal

Song: "We Are The Normal"
Artist: Goo Goo Dolls
Album: Superstar Car Wash

Long before Johnny Rzeznik was the judge on a reality show and before the Goo Goo Dolls "refined" their sound to be more radio-friendly, this band flat out rocked. They had a raw punk sound with pop sensibilities, something I wish they would revert back to at some point, if only for one album. This song from this album released in the early 90s is still one of the Goo Goo Dolls' best. Rzeznik and company even made strings sound cool here.

Nebraska

Song: "Dressed Up Like Nebraska"
Artist: Josh Rouse
Album: Dressed Up Like Nebraska

A friend of mine turned me on to Josh Rouse a few years back with this record. The dude writes hooky, breezy folk/pop that's as timeless as anything you'll ever hear. And he's prolific as hell. Check him out, especially this album.

Heart In Pieces

Song: "Heart In Pieces"
Artist: Chicago
Album: Chicago 19

There have been many incarnations of the band Chicago over the years. But when they released Chicago 19 in the late 80s, the signature horns accented some walls of guitars and Phil Collins-esque drum hits as well as many layers of harmonies (think Asia). This song was the opener on that record, and I'm writing this because it's not only a great rock song, but it's got a killer guitar solo in the middle. Check it out if you have the chance.

Opus 21

Song: "Opus 21"
Artist: Dustin O'Halloran
Album: Piano Solos Vol. 2

You want to get into classical music but don't want to start with anything too hardcore? Try Dustin O'Halloran's Piano Solos Vol. 2. It's not over the top, and in fact is the kind of thing you might hear in a hipster coffeehouse or bookstore.

Umbrellas

Song: "Boston White"
Artist: Umbrellas
Album: Illuminaire

In honor of the Red Sox going to the World Series, here is a song with Boston in the title from brooding alt-pop band Umbrellas. This album from last year is worth checking out if you haven't heard these guys yet.

Perfect To Stay

Song: "Perfect To Stay"
Artist: Collective Soul
Album: Youth

If you were a fan of this band in the 90s, you may have blinked and missed their latest effort, which came out in 2004 on Collective Soul's own label. But it's as good as anything they ever put out and this song, especially, is worthy of regular rotation in my player.

Sade

Song: "No Ordinary Love"
Artist: Sade
Album: Love Deluxe

I have always been a fan of Sade, but when I saw her live for the first time I couldn't help but, um, marvel, at how sexy she is. Anyway, her smooth, sultry voice and jazzy pop songs are timeless, and this is one of her best.

MSB

Song: "How Can You Call This Love"
Artist: Michael Stanley Band
Album: You Can't Fight Fashion

Anyone in Cleveland knows who Michael Stanley is, and he still fills up concert halls anywhere within a 100 mile radius. But the band only had mild success with a major label debut in the early 80s. This song is from the early days, and it will give you a glimpse into how great they were and should have become. It's got all sorts of cheesy 80s sounds and textures, and on this particular track Kevin Raleigh is the lead singer....but still, I absolutely love this song and so much of the band's early catalog.

Stein Drunk Dial

Song: "Stein Drunk Dial"
Artist: Mike Stein
Album: The Drunken Librarian

Not everything in my iTunes is music. In fact, this mp3 is one of my all-time favorites, and it's of my friend Mike Stein drunk dialing me a few years ago. In very slurred speech, Mr. Stein said something like "Farley, I don't know what time it is there, but as far as what time it is here, it's f--king DRUNK time!" Then he goes on to ramble words I, nor anyone else including Stein, can understand at all. Classic, classic, stuff.

Moments and Memories

Song: "Moments and Memories"
Artist: Mike Farley
Album: Moments and Memories

I'm going to take a moment here to pimp myself, because my new acoustic album is being released today. It's called Moments and Memories and you can pick it up, or individual songs, on iTunes. If you do check it out, please let me know what you think!

Feel

Song: "Feel"
Artist: Stereophonics
Album: Language Sex Violence Other?

I'm quite sure I've written about these guys before, but maybe not about this album. It's one of the best rock albums I've heard in the last ten years, as this British band just oozes "cool." This is a slower tempo track but most of the rest of the album rocks really hard.

Wire Daisies

Song: "Everyman"
Artist: Wire Daisies
Album: Everyman EP

This British band features the former lead singer of the band Tag, who released one album in 1992 and then vanished. If you dug that Tag record as I did, you'll love her new band Wire Daisies, and in particular this song. I wish I could remember this singer's name, and I'm too lazy to look it up right now.

The Sundays

Song: "Homeward"
Artist: The Sundays
Album: Static & Silence

Have you ever gone through your music collection and realized that you have a gem that you often forget about? That's the case with The Sundays' Static & Silence for me. I've heard their other efforts, but this one is light years better than any of them, and it's positively riveting. The Sundays are a female fronted British alt-pop band, and the songs on this record are just melancholy, melodic, and awesome.

Sick Cycle Carousel

Song: "Sick Cycle Carousel"
Artist: Lifehouse
Album: No Name Face

Many think the band Lifehouse are a sellout, since they got really commercial sounding with their second and third albums after their debut, No Name Face. I'm here to tell you their fourth album, Who We Are, is a return to a darker, more introspective sound, but it still doesn't match the magic of No Name Face. This album is one of the great modern rock records of the last decade.

Stalemate

Song: "Stalemate"
Artist: Nada Surf
Album: High/Low

Indie rock band Nada Surf went a bit lo-fi with their latest, and in my opinion, best album with The Weight Is a Gift. But after hearing and loving that effort, I went back through their catalog and ordered a bunch of songs, including this mid-tempo rocker. Great stuff.

Peter Searcy

Song: "Invent"
Artist: Peter Searcy
Album: Could You Please and Thank You

I first heard this guy at South By Southwest around the year 2000, and picked up this album. It still has regular rotation in my iTunes, and Searcy has since signed with Toucan Cove, releasing a new album (which is also really good) in 2007. He's more of a rocker than a singer/songwriter, and his edgy pop music is well worth checking out.

Jason White

Song: "Red Ragtop"
Artist: Jason White
Album: Shades of Gray

Many of you might recognize this song from when Tim McGraw cut it. But Jason White first released this on his own album, which is really awesome. Still, I'm sure White is loving the royalty checks he's likely still getting from McGraw's cut.

Butch

Song: "Take Tomorrow (One Day at a Time)"
Artist: Butch Walker
Album: Left of Self-Centered

I don't think I've said lately that Butch Walker is the freaking MAN. This album, his first solo effort after leaving Marvelous 3, is still Butch's best work as an artist, producer or whatever. And this song, somewhat of a ballad, is brilliant both lyrically and musically.

Sponge

Song: "Live Here Without You"
Artist: Sponge
Album: New Pop Sunday

This is one of those albums that I listen to and remember things about that time in my life...it was the early summer of 1999, and I had lots to be optimistic about. So this is a feel-good record for me, one that balances rock and pop and alternative edge all at the same time.

Steely Dan

Song: "Kid Charlemagne"
Artist: Steely Dan
Album: The Royal Scam

Steely Dan is like the musical equivalent of comfort food. Hearing their jazzy seventies flavored pop is instantly relaxing, at least to me. This is one of their mid-level hits and one of their best--funky, and with some great guitar work.

National Product

Song: "By All Means"
Artist: National Product
Album: Luna

This band is kind of new on the circuit, and they are like a combo of today's alternative/pop/punk and a bit of hair metal sound thrown in. The thing is, it really, really works because the band is solid, the singer is awesome and their songs are melodic and powerful.