We've been having a streak of gorgeous weather out here, like, honest to god perfect days of mid 70's (that's the low 20's to all you right-thinking non-americans) temperatures with good breezes and lots of blue sky. It's been quite refreshing considering that we only had about 3 days without rain for the second half of December and the first 2/3 of January.

With school starting again and the seasonal shift I've been listening to my ipod more and have been downloading new music which I thought I'd share:

1. [ Sam and Dave - Soul Man ]
2. [ Sam and Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin' ]
3. [ Sam and Dave - Knock on Wood ]
4. [ Marvin Gaye - Got to Give it Up (Part 1) ]
5. [ Al Green - Here I Am (Come and Take Me) ]
6. [ Al Green - Let's Stay Together ]
7. [ Al Green - Love and Happiness ]
8. [ Stevie Wonder - Uptight (Everything's Alright) ]
9. [ Otis Day - Shout (You Make Me Wanna) ]
10. [ Otis Redding - The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) ]
11. [ Otis Redding - Tramp ]

I've also been seeking out new indie bands, two of my newfound favorites being The New Pornographers and Kubb (who hackthis pimped earlier today).

Artist: The New Pornographers
What they Sound Like: they're a little indie rock and a lot pop, they're very upbeat. I believe the group is a mix of solo musicians including Neko Case, they're all pretty talented. They're definitely fun and don't seem to take themselves too seriously.
Sample song: Twin Cinema
Album: Twin Cinema -- zip, 67mb

Artist: Kubb
What they Sound Like: hackthis said this about them: Apparently, Gary from Snow Patrol and Guy from Elbow have had a baby, and they've named him Harry. Harry has a band called Kubb, which, apparently, is setting things on fire at the HMVs in the UK
Sample song: Wicked Soul
Album: Mother -- zip, 58mb

Lastly, some hip-hop because I've been vaguely meaning to post about this. I love hip-hop, you know the kind, the kind with good smart lyrics that mean something and don't offend my incredibly low tolerance for sexist, homophobic, obnoxiousness. Kanye West is pretty solidly in my 'good' column; I respect him as a person and I admire that he's been standing up for what he believes. I also think he's a pretty entertaining guy. He's been getting a ton of publicity this year (speaking out against homophobia, Bush, and dressing up like Jesus will do that for you.) Kanye performed Gold Digger with Jamie Foxx on the Grammies last night (or was it two nights ago?) I've got a sort of mid to low quality version of the performance up if anyone wants to see it:

[ Kanye West and Jamie Foxx - Gold Digger - 2006 Grammies ] -- mpeg, 20mb

I can't help but see the parallels between him and one of my favorite rappers: Nas. (Nas got crucified along with Puff Daddy in a video a few years ago and there was a huge scandal then too.) Nas is from Brooklyn, and he raps about Queensbridge, he's also married to Kelis (of My Milkshake fame) He's also smart and principled; he raps about black history and growing up in New York and hip-hop history and politics and I love him a lot. Here are some of my favorite songs of his:

[ Nas - Rule ] 'Cause, everybody wants a shot, in this land of opportunity/Look at what this country's got/There shouldn't be nobody homeless/How can the president fix other problems when he ain't fixed home yet/The earth wasn't made for one man to rule alone
[ Nas - Get Down ]
[ Nas - I Can ] If the truth is told, the youth can grow/Then learn to survive until they gain control/Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes/Read more learn more, change the globe
[ Nas - Revolutionary Warfare ]
[ Nas - American Way ] Talkin 'bout Rap the Vote, you ain't thought about/The black vote mean nothin, who you gonna elect/Satan or Satan? In the hood nothin is changin, uh/We ain't got no choices who to choose
[ Nas - These Are Our Heros ]
[ Nas - One Mic ]

eta: !!! I almost forgot! All you popslashers: I'm really hoping one of you has the NSYNC Atlantis concert and could upload it for me. I love, love, love my mp3 of the Tim McGraw Stand By Me/Fire and Rain/Lean On Me medley [ mp3 ] and I would kill to actually see them sing it on video. Anyone able to help? found! and posted in the next entry thank you digital_diva!