The Best of September

This has been a really good month for music, with a ton of albums being released and with some good stuff floating around out there. Here's the best of what I found this month -

You Can't Always Get What You Want - Band from TV

The Band from TV is just as it sounds, a band from TV. It's a collection of actors from various TV shows who've come together, including Hugh Laurie (House MD) and Greg Grunsberg (Heroes, Alias), among others. One of their first tracks released was for the House, MD Soundtrack, a cover of the Rolling Stones song, You Can't Always Get What You Want, one of the trademark songs from House, MD. It's a fun cover, with a bit of a different take than the original.

Eh Hee - Dave Matthews

This song is weird. Just plain weird, and really different from everything that Dave Matthews has done thus far. It's got a weird beat, lyrics and video. And it's pretty cool, once you get over how odd it is.

State of Massachusetts - Dropkick Murphys

This is the latest from the Dropkick Murphys, which sounds like one of their Irish rock songs, with a kickass beat and an interesting story with their lyrics.

Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder

One of the main tracks from the soundtrack Into the Wild, this is a cover of somebody's (I can't remember what the original artist was), and it's one of those songs that just struck me while I was driving. Good lyrics, and when the chorus kicks in, I'm good.

Beautiful - Elvis Costello

I've been trying to find this for a while, ever since it was used in a House, MD episode, Elvis Costello's cover of Christina Agulara's Beautiful. It's got a good beat and overall, a much better cover than the original.

Let It Die - Foo Fighters

Just off of Echoes, Silence and Grace, the Foo Fighters are back (review coming soon) and this is one of the cooler songs off the album, starting off really slowly, but building over the whole song.

Home - Foo Fighters

This is one of the softer Foo Fighters songs off the album, and it really goes to show that these guys can do more than just fast rock. Dave Gohl's voice with the piano is just fantastic here.

Pagen Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine

This is one of my favorite favorites of the month. It starts off stripped of sound before opening up about 20 seconds into the song, with amazing drum and guitar work, as well as Sam Beam's fantastic voice. I love this song.

Carousel - Iron & Wine

I also love this one. It's got some amazing guitar work and vocals and has a delicate and relaxed sound to it. One of the best off of the album The Shepherd's Dog.

In Our Nature - José González

José González is back with In Our Nature, and the title track has a fantastic sound and off beat tone to his acoustic guitar and drum work.

Teardrop - José González

This is a cover of Massive Attack's song, and like Heartbeats before in Veneer, González shows what he can do with an electronic song, although the result isn't as dramatic as it was with Heartbeats. No matter, this song is just amazing as is.

White Bird - KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall is back with Drastic Fantastic. While not as good as her earlier album, White Bird is one of the stronger songs on the album, with a nice laid back sound and really good vocal work on her part.

Hopeless - KT Tunstall

This is another one of the stronger songs off of Drastic Fantastic, with a nice beat and good KT Tunstall sound. The vocals and drumwork are flawless here.

Love Song - Sara Bareilles

This is the lead single off of newcomer Sara Bareille's album Little Voice. She's got a good sound with the piano and a strong voice here, and some fantastic lyrics.

Many The Miles - Sara Bareilles

This is another fantastic song off of Little Voice, with fantastic piano and vocals, with a good opener that eases nicely into the chorus here, with a nice blend of soul, R&B and rock.

Buttons - Sia

Sia's best known (at least to me) for her collaborations with Zero 7. I like her work with them just fine, but it wasn't until this song that I really listened to her. This song's quirky pop sound is really cool, and distinctive.

Hype - Buy

Cover and Original

This week's Cover and Original is from two well known indie artists from the same label, Sub Pop Records. Back in 2004, The Postal Service released their first (and thus far, only) record, Give Up, with the track We Will Become Silhouettes. The video was directed by Jared Hess, who directed the somewhat over-rated movie Napoleon Dynamite. Like that movie, it's got it's own quirky feel to it that really fits with this song. Later, in 2006, The Shins covered the song (I think as a demo). They really give it their own acoustic sound, speeding it up, stripping away the electronic sound. The lead vocals here really suit the song well, and the song really fits as one of their own. They certainly make it sound that way.

We Will Become Silhouettes - The Postal Service
We Will Become Silhouettes (The Postal Service) - The Shins

As a bonus, there's another C&O that I wanted to share. For background, has anyone heard of the cult show Veronica Mars? Teenage detective drama that was on the WB and later, CW, starring Kristan Bell as the title character. Absolutely fantastic show, and one with an absolutely fantastic soundtrack to go along with it, one that's hundreds of indie, alternative rock, rock, classic rock and electronic songs. There's a complete list here. (Link to Veronica Mars Music Blog). Apparently, the creator, Rob Thomas (not the lead singer of Matchbox Twenty), is a huge fan of Spoon, because their songs are used a lot, and in one episode, Britt Daniels, the lead singer of Spoon has his own cameo during a Kereoke scene, where he sings Elvis Costello's song Veronica. I was able to rip a little of the audio from the scene, but only 30 seconds of it, as dialog kicks in for the rest of the scene.

Veronica - Elvis Costello
Veronica (Elvis Costello) - Britt Daniels

Hype - Buy