Session Victim - “Good Intentions” - 2012, Duo from Germany, and they are HUGE over there in the house music world. I first heard them on a remix of a Khruangbin recording.

TV On the Radio - “Second Song” - 2011, These guys hit the indie rock scene hard in the early 2000s. Their sound has developed immensely since then, and this song is a great example of this, as it is on their 5th album. Their lead singer, Tunde Adebimpe, has one of my favorite voices in modern music.

Hailu Mergia, Dahlak Band - “Sintayehu” - 2016, Hailu is is an Ethiopian keyboard and accordionist that started performing in the 70s. In the 80s he immigrated to the US and issued homemade solo releases while working as a taxi driver in Washington DC. In 1981, his group became the first modern Ethiopian group to tour the US. It wasn’t until 2010 that he was truly discovered by the Awesome Tapes from Africa label, who reissued his work in 2013. In 2018 he released his comeback album, Lala Belu, which reached the Top 20 on Billboard’s Jazz Album chart.

Los Porcos - “Porc Noise Complaint” - 2015, Los Porcos is a modern disco-funk band comprised of ex-members of British band Wu Lyf. The EP this song comes off of is one of my favorite finds in the last few months. I chose this song in particular because it features the MOST EPIC PIG SNORT ever used in music (maybe the only one?).

Idris Muhammad - “Could Heaven Ever Be Like This” - 1977, Idris is a drummer that got his career started in 1954. He backed some of the greatest musicians to ever live - Art Neville, Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Pharoah Sanders, and many others, and has over 500 recording credits. He is a legend in the New Orleans music scene, where he grew up with four siblings, who were all also drummers. He is one of the most sampled drummers in modern music. This song was sampled by Jamie XX, and Drake.

Nirvana - “Plateau” - 1994, Before their legendary MTV Unplugged performance, Nirvana was known for their raucous, incredibly loud music and performances. They, with the help of early grunge bands like Pearl Jam, successfully destroyed the hair metal scene of the 80s. Their Unplugged performance was special, though. It showed what immense depth the band was actually capable of. This song is actually a cover of the Meat Puppets, which Kurt referenced as a big contemporary influence at the time, even though they opened for Nirvana often.

Television - “Marquee Moon” - 1977, Televeision was a proto-punk band from the 70s, that was heavy in the CBGB scene, constantly swapping band members with the likes of The New York Dolls, Blondie, and Patti Smith. They were openers for most of these bands on tour, but never really took off themselves.

Stereolab - “Les Yper-Sound” - 1996, Off one of my favorite albums of all time, Emperor Tomato Ketchup. I first heard of Stereolab from my French professor in college, who played French music for us during class. The band sings in both French and English, and this is one of the English songs. The band has been sampled by hip hop greats J Dilla and Tyler, the Creator.

Tapes n’ Tapes - “Headshock” - 2008, This is another one of those musician’s musician bands. They are compared to the Pixies, Pavement, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

Brainstory - “Mnemophobia” - 2019, Every once in awhile, I turn my car on, and before I can plug my phone in, there is actually a good song on XM radio. That is how I found Brainstory. This band is kind of all over the place, going from psych rock to R&B/Jazz on the same album. The band mates met in music school studying jazz.

Steve Itterly - “Coraline” - 2017, My dude Steve again. Another awesome folky PNW tune.

Leonard Cohen - “Chelsea Hotel #2” - 1974, Leonard is probably best known for his song “Hallelujah” which has been covered by literally everyone on the planet. However, if you know Leonard’s music, you certainly know this song. The girl he is singing about is allegedly Janis Joplin for those that didn’t know that.

Allah-Las - “No Werewolf” - 2014, Allah-Las have a really cool garage rock meets western and surf sound. This song is an instrumental that really leans into the western and surf.

The Nude Party - “Records” - 2018, I think the chorus of this song is great for a breakup song. “I don’t need your love, I just need my records.” It reminds me of the Ben Folds song “Song for the Dumped” chorus, “Give me my money back, and don’t forget to gimme back my black t-shirt.” This tune has a laid back groove accented by steel guitar.

Masego - “Navajo” - 2017, Masego is relatively new on the scene, his debut album was released in 2018. He is a R&B/hip hop singer that draws influences from his parents who were both pastors - his African American mother directed the church choir growing up, and his Jamaican father who was also in the Air Force and taught him Jamaican roots music.

Pharoah Sanders - “Love is Everywhere” - 1973, Pharoah was a jazz saxophonist that played a huge in John Coltrane’s groups in the 60s, but has released 30 records as a solo musician. He has been described as, “probably the best tenor sax player in the world.” He plays spiritual jazz and this song is a great example of his work.

Marvin Gaye - “Got To Give It Up - Pt 1” - 1977, I have to assume everyone knows Marvin Gaye, but this song is a pretty far cry from, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”. It was recorded as a request from his record label the he perform disco music. It actually topped three Billboard charts on it’s release.

Ofege - “It’s Not Easy” - 1973, Ofege is a Nigerian rock band that was formed when the members were only 16 years old. They took a ton of influence from the great American guitar players of the time - Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page - which is evident by the extended guitar solos that appear throughout the album. Although they were massive in Nigeria by 1978, they saw little fame outside the country.

Labi Siffre - “I Got The…” - 1975, Labi is a British songwriter and poet. He has been sampled extensively by the modern hip hop scene. This particular song you will absolutely recognize the back half, since it is the basis of the song, “Slim Shady,” by Eminem.

Canned Heat - “Poor Moon” - 1969, Woodstock greats Canned Heat is actually still going strong 57 years and 40 albums later. Shout out to my brother in law because honestly I hadn’t listened to too much Canned Heat in my life and this song is great.