Cee Lo Green feat. Lauriana Mae - Only You

Cee Lo Green has a brand new single ready called "Only You", not to be confused with either the Platters or Yazoo songs of the same name. It's a catchy pop song that is a duet with the upstart singer Lauriana Mae, who has quite the voice, perfectly complimenting Cee Lo's own set of pipes. It's supposedly the first song from a forthcoming, as yet untitled, album.

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She & Him return with Volume 3

May 13 sees the release of Volume 3, the fourth (!) album by She & Him, the duo comprising Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, whose day jobs are actress and singer/songwriter respectively. Zooey Deschanel is also a brilliant songwriter as proven on previous albums Volume 1 and Volume 2. The duo's third album was the 2011 release A Very She & Him Christmas that consisted of covers throughout. Volume 3 however is 14 songs long, 11 of them being Deschanel originals, three of them covers. See the full track list and additional info below.

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Prefab Sprout - Life's A Miracle

Prefab Sprout is one of my all time favourite bands. Paddy McAloon's songwriting skills are simply exquisite, and his celebration of all things beautiful is always a joy to experience. "Life's A Miracle" is taken from the 1997 album Andromeda Heights which unjustly didn't fare well at all. It's a simple song with a simple message: Enjoy life and every moment of it while you can and be sure to tell someone you love them. As he sings, "if the dead could speak I know what they would say to you and me, 'don't waste another day'". The song in itself is of course absolutely brilliant as you'd expect from these quarters. I really, really wish Paddy could release a new album soon.

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Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill

One of the most consistently interesting and original artists in pop music history, Kate Bush struck gold with her 1985 album Hounds Of Love. Having enjoyed a few hits in the past, not least her 1978 debut single "Wuthering Heights", she had by this time released four slightly "difficult" albums and decided not to do concerts. Then after three years of silence she unleashed her Hounds Of Love, spearheaded by the absolutely divine "Running Up That Hill" that became a worldwide hit, eventually turning the album into a worldwide phenomenon. And then, poof... she was gone again, returning four years later with the not extremely successful This Sensual World. But in 1985 and 1986, she owned it. The world that is. Here you go then, "Running Up That Hill".

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Ms Mr - Fantasy

I loved last year's single "Hurricane" by mysterious act Ms Mr, a duo consisting of a female singer (Ms) and a male producer (Mr). The clip below features their brand new single "Fantasy" in which some pictures of the duo are shown. They look surprisingly normal, and what could have been a mystery act like Residents or Kiss (once upon a time, that is) is reduced to a certain kind of normalcy. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good song, so I hope you enjoy it.

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Sigur Rós teasing new album

Icelandic group Sigur Rós are speeding up the frequency of their releases, quite remarkably so. It took four years between their last two albums, but their seventh studio album will be released sometime this year, just one year on from their last record Valtari which was released last May. So far it goes by the name #SR7, but whether this will be the actual album title is not known. The band, that has been reduced to a trio following the departure of keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson, has put out a video teaser for the album on their website with bits of a song that is probably "Brennisteinn" which they debuted last year at a gig in Iceland. It's a heavy, dark piece of music that veers off quite a bit from what they usually do, the most brutal sounding music they have made since the 1997 debut Von.

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Elvis Costello and The Roots make collaborative album

Since becoming house band for TV show Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2009, The Roots have backed an enormous array of artists, ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Mariah Carey, and beyond. Elvis Costello has been on the show three times backed by the renowned R&B/hip hop outfit, and they liked each other so much they have now recorded an entire album together. It will be released sometime this year, according to Billboard.com.

Read the full story here.

R.E.M. - Recovering My Religion

Now this is weird. Someone has, God knows how, tweaked R.E.M.'s classic 1991 hit "Losing My Religion" from minor to major. It's totally unnecessary, but somehow interesting. I will probably never listen to this again, but you should give it a spin just to have experienced it.

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Savoy - Velvet

Savoy was Paal Waaktaar-Savoy's side project when he wasn't part of a-ha, where he teamed up with his wife Lauren Savoy and drummer Frode Unneland. "Velvet" is their debut single and most famous song and featured on the album Mary Is Coming (1996). It was later recorded in a fine version by a-ha for their 2000 album Minor Earth Major Sky.

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Sirkus Eliassen - Verden skulle gå under

Endelig er videoen til "Verden skulle gå under" klar. Sirkus Eliassen slapp denne post-dommedagslåta før jul i anledning Mayakalenderen som tikket ubønnhørlig mot det som ikke ble verdens undergang 21. desember 2012. Meldingen i låta er klar: Lev i dag, i tilfelle verden går under i morgen, eller for den saks skyld, du selv går under i morgen. Det er dumt med alt du har ugjort. "Verden skulle gå under" er muligens ikke så umiddelbar som fjorårets store hitsingle "Æ vil bare dans", men den er jaggu bra for det. Videoen er også kul, spilt inn med et utvalg "dyr", om bord på Noas Sjark. Nok en kanonlåt fra Sirkus Eliassen, og jeg er spent på debutalbumet, ja...

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Larkin Poe & Thom Hell - I Belong To Love

American folk duo Larkin Poe (featuring sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell from now disbanded The Lovell Sisters) toured Europe last summer, and made a collaborative album with Norwegian singer/songwriter Thom Hell and Sola Akingbola from Jamiroquai. The forthcoming album will be named Sound Of The Ocean Sound after the studio Ocean Sound Recordings on the island of Giske where the band visited the annual festival Sommerfesten på Giske. That's where they recorded the beautiful ballad "I Belong To Love" and other songs from what I guess will be a very nice album. This song sounds very promising at least.

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Asbjørn Ribe og De - Det er nok sant at vi lo av deg, Trond

Asbjørn Ribe har bakgrunn fra Number Seven Deli og Jim Stärk, og har gitt ut tre tidligere soloplater, to engelskspråklige under navnet Ornand Altenburg, og en norskspråklig som Asbjørn Ribe. "Det er nok sant at vi lo av deg, Trond" er en av mange strålende sanger fra hans nyss utkomne fjerde plate, 1400 Ski, kreditert Asbjørn Ribe og De. Det er en selvransakende liten sak der jeg-personen medgir at det var litt kronglete å ta nyfrelste Trond (15) - som over natten begynner å bruke uttrykk som "nådens kraft" og "syndens åk" - alvorlig, og ikke kan annet enn å le. Jeg ser heller ikke bort fra at Trond er en virkelig person. Asbjørn Ribe er utflyttet fra tjukkeste bibelbeltet - fra Birkeland utenfor Kristiansand - der Tronds historie slett ikke er uvanlig.

Som artist er Ribe å anse som en musikalsk tvillingsjel til Randy Newman, Laura Nyro og andre amerikanske pianister, mens han lyrisk er en velformulert ordsmed som evner å reflektere over både livets og kjærlighetens mysterier - på deilig skarrende sørlandsdialekt. "Det er nok sant at vi lo av deg, Trond" er simpelthen en strålende låt, og det skal sies at den har godt selskap på albumet 1400 Ski. Det kan trygt anbefales.

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Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Singing The Dolphin Through

"Singing The Dolphin Through" is a song written by Mike Heron of The Incredible String Band, but the famous version belongs to Manfred Mann's Earth Band. They recorded an eight minute plus version for their 1976 album The Roaring Silence, and it's beautiful from start to finish. Enjoy!

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The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get

Skapunk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones scored a huge hit in 1997 with the immensely catchy "The Impression That I Get", a pop song to rival anything with a killer guitar and some seriously cool horn action. This is a song that works on every level, and it's also a killer party track. And it is after all Saturday, so what better day to hear this? Have fun, is what I'll say!

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Jackie Leven - Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

"Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" is a poem written by Robert Frost in 1922, and the late Jackie Leven put it to music for his 2001 album Creatures Of Light And Dark. Is it beautiful? You bet! This is an extraordinary pairing of words and melody, and Leven's voice is its usual self, full of warmth and wonder. He is missed.

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Talk Talk - Life's What You Make It

The Colour Of Spring (1986) is Talk Talk's transitional album, the one that builds a bridge across from their faux popstardom from The Party's Over (1982) and It's My Life (1984) to the introvert and experimental albums Spirit Of Eden (1988) and Laughing Stock (1991). With the latter two albums the band, fronted by the ever more mysterious Mark Hollis, veered away from the mainstream, whereas on The Colour Of Spring they visited the best of both worlds, creating a kind of pop music that was highly original and at the same time catchy as hell. "Life's What You Make It" may  be the most accessible song on the album, a masterpiece with a fantastic music video to boot, directed as always by the master Tim Pope. Now this is what I call a classic!

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Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love

Sometimes the only solution is Bee Gees. Brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb wrote "How Deep Is Your Love" for Yvonne Elliman, but eventually opted to record it themselves for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977. It is simply one of THOSE ballads, the ones that are both timeless and faultless, smooth as silk and intoxicating as the finest wine. Just perfect.

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Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Jubilee Street

"I got a foetus on a leash" is the kind of songline you don't hear everyday. It takes Nick Cave to come up with a picture like that, and he's done so in "Jubilee Street", the second song to be put online from the forthcoming Bad Seeds album Push The Sky Away. "Jubilee Street" sounds eerie and haunted, and considered together with first single "We No Who U R", I think the new album could be very unpleasant-sounding. These are songs that really bring a chill down your spine. In other words, it's classic Cave.

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New Billy Bragg track for free download

"Handyman Blues" is the surprising new Billy Bragg single, in every way a domestically themed song about struggling with hanging up curtains or understanding how a screwdriver actually works. This is far removed from Bragg's politically themed songs that have made him famous in the first place. It's a great song nevertheless, a little ditty that reminds me a bit about Nick Lowe. Bragg gives the song away for free via his website as a taster for his new album Tooth & Nail that is to be released on March 18. The Joe Henry-produced album features a version of Woody Guthrie's "I Ain't Got No Home" and 11 Bragg originals, two of them co-written with Henry, and with song titles like "There Will Be A Reckoning" and "No One Knows Nothing Anymore" the album should be sounding like Bragg as we know him no matter the odd song about the puzzles of changing a lightbulb. By following the link below you can download "Handyman Blues" for free and also watch a short video of Bragg presenting the album, playing parts of this and another unnamed song. Sounds great.

Free download

Johnny Marr - Upstarts

Fantastic! Johnny Marr's upcoming solo debut The Messenger appears to be better and better as new songs surface. The first "official" single from the album is called "Upstarts", a fabulous pop song with some incredibly cool riffing, was put on the web two days ago, following a revealing interview in The Guardian, that I posted here last Friday. "Upstarts" is nothing short of great fun and shows that Marr certainly hasn't lost his songwriting skills. Also, it shows that he is a pretty good singer.

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The Blue Nile - Tinseltown In The Rain

Glasgow's The Blue Nile has made some of the most wondrously brilliant pop music that's ever been recorded, but the band has never been in much of a rush. After their 1984 debut album A Walk Across The Rooftops they have released a further three albums, and it goes so slow that singer Paul Buchanan released his first solo album last year, eight years after the last The Blue Nile album. "Tinseltown In The Rain" may be their most famous song, and it first appeared on the debut album. This version however was recorded live at the TV show Later... with Jools Holland when the band appeared there in 1996 to promote third album Peace At Last. Terrific stuff. A Walk Across The Rooftops and its follow-up album Hats were re-released late last year as highly recommended deluxe editions featuring extra discs worth of material.

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HIT ALERT! Lindstrøm & Todd Terje - Lanzarote

Norwegian disco stalwarts Lindstrøm and Todd Terje have joined forces on the track "Lanzarote", a feelgood dance track in the same vein as Todd Terje's monstrously catchy "Inspector Norse" from last year. The song started its life two years ago, while the two of them rehearsed for a gig in Oslo together with fellow DJ diskJokke, and has evolved into the brand new single that was released yesterday. By following the link below you'll hear the original Lindstrøm and Todd Terje track, and also a remix done by diskJokke, both of them absolutely excellent.

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Aztec Camera - Sunset

"Sunset" is the final track off Aztec Camera's final album, 1995's Frestonia. Roddy Frame, who basically IS Aztec Camera, has subsequently released three albums under his own name, though. But being the final Aztec Camera track released, "Sunset" is a very fitting one, an astonishingly beautiful melancholy pop song, in many ways typical of Roddy Frame's songwriting, not to mention that it's sung by his trademark voice, with all its warmth and sincerity. Throw in a melody to make you swoon, with a very well-played organ and a sweeping string section, and you have a fantastic song.

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Boz Scaggs returns - hear first new recording in five years

Legendary singer/songwriter Boz Scaggs' latest record, the slightly disappointing Speak Low, was released in 2008. In the last few years he has performed with the super group The Dukes Of September together with Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald, but has recently also found the time to record a new album called Memphis that is scheduled for a March 5th release. Apparently it's a collection of covers, including "Rainy Night In Georgia", "Corrina, Corrina" and first single "Mixed Up Shook Up Girl", a Willy DeVille song off the 1977 Mink DeVille debut album. Great recording with a beautiful, very soulful sound, it bodes very well for the album to follow. By following the link below you can hear the single and read an interview with Scaggs, courtesy of Rolling Stone.

Listen and read interview

Genesis - Mama

Not the most conventional of hit singles, "Mama" nevertheless became Genesis' biggest hit to date when it was released in 1983. It's basically about a young man's obsession with a prostitute, set to a heavy drum machine and a minimalistic synthesizer theme with some heavy guitar riffing thrown in. Not to mention Phil Collins' maniacal laugh, that was inspired by the Grandmaster Flash song "The Message". "Mama" is a fabulous song, one of Genesis' very best.

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Listen to "lost" New Order album now

Lost Sirens is a collection of outtakes from the recording of New Order's last album, 2005's Waiting For The Sirens' Call. The album is released next Monday, and features eight songs that were initially intended for release shortly after the Sirens' Call album. These are the final New Order recordings featuring bassist Peter Hook that seems to have permanently left the band. New Order may record some new music this year, but in the foreseeable future, Lost Sirens is the closest thing. The song "Hellbent" was included on the joint Joy Division/New Order compilation Total from 2011, whereas the rest are previously unreleased. You can stream the entire album by following the link below.

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Justin Timberlake is back! Here's the brand new "Suit & Tie" featuring Jay-Z

Woohoo! Justin Timberlake returns to the music business with a new song today, "Suit & Tie", and a new album sometime later this year called The 20/20 Experience. He's been doing a countdown on his website these last three days, and this morning the countdown was finished to reveal the brand new single "Suit & Tie", featuring Jay-Z. The song is a breezy-sounding summer song that comes like a gift from the heavens on this very cold winter day. It's around 15 degrees below zero (Celsius, that is) here in Oslo, and this song simply sounds like a giant ray of sunshine. It also has to be said that it bodes very well for the album, Justin Timberlake's third solo album and his first since 2006's FutureSex/LoveSounds.

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America - Ventura Highway

There being winter and a very cold one at that, I felt like hearing some sunny-sounding music, and what better then than a piece of America? This institution of American West Coast pleasantness had a string of wonderful hit singles in the early 1970's, "Ventura Highway" from 1972 among them. It's a delicate, easy on the ear pop song, that has aged very well, and it does give a bit of warmth on a cold winter day, doesn't it?

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Chris Isaak - Blue Spanish Sky

"It's a big blue Spanish sky/Lay on my back and watch clouds roll by/I've got the time to wonder why/She left me"

So begins Chris Isaak's utterly sad song "Blue Spanish Sky" from his third album, 1989's Heart Shaped World. The subject matter is familiar territory for Isaak who sings the saddest songs this side of Roy Orbison, but the actual song itself is slower and more introverted than what he's usually up to. Isaak's big blue Spanish sky has room for a wonderful nylon stringed guitar, a haunted trumpet and his wailing voice, leaving only beautiful pain behind. This is one of those lonesome ballads that are just so full of despair that it's fascinating, a true classic.

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Justin Timberlake returns?

After less than two weeks in, 2013 gears up to be one hell of a year for music. Last Monday saw the return of David Bowie after a ten year long abscence, and now Justin Timberlake seems about to return to the limelight as well, counting down to something that seems unmistakably like new music. Although Timberlake is no match for Bowie's credentials, his two solo albums are both really good. On Timberlake's website there's a teaser video where he talks about how hard it is to produce something that he is truly comfortable with followed by a clock counting down to 6AM Monday morning. That may well be the time some new music from the former boyband star, whose latest solo album FutureSex/LoveSounds was released in 2006.

Watch the teaser

To shorten the wait, here's the wonderful "What Goes Around... Comes Around" from the last album:

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Morten Abel - Lost

Morten Abel, one of Norway's most prolific pop stars the last 20 years or so, is finally back with new material after a close to seven year hiatus. He's been playing with his former bands Mods and The September When in the meantime, but his last solo record was released in 2006. "Lost" is the first single off Abel's forthcoming sixth solo album to be released this summer (?), and as is normal with Abel, he likes to make himself seen and heard. The song in itself is a catchy pop song albeit a bit strange, sounding as it does like a cross between T. Rex, Talk Talk and early Pink Floyd, but the real kicker is the music video. You may describe it as controversial, as it starts with Abel commiting suicide by hanging, and going on to "rise from the dead" wearing the noose around his neck while performing the song. What can I say? I love it, but I'm sure that won't go for everyone. No matter, it's good to have him back.

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Johnny Marr interviewed by The Guardian

Former The Smiths guitartist and songwriter Johnny Marr is finally about to release his first proper solo album, The Messenger, 26 years after the most iconic indie rock group in the history of pop music disbanded. British newspaper The Guardian's Dave Simpson has interviewed Marr, not only about his new record which will be released towards the end of February, but also about his relationship with his former bandmates and the David Cameron controversy that prompted Marr to tell the British prime minister off in a tweet, forbidding him to like The Smiths. Also, by following the link, you can listen to two songs from the upcoming album, both absolutely gorgeous, the title track and "New Town Velocity". The Messenger is one of my most eagerly awaited albums right now.

Interview and songs

First listen - new Tom Waits/Keith Richards track

Son Of Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys is the upcoming sequel to the 2006 compilation Rogue's Gallery. Among the artists present on the new two-disc compilation are Tom Waits and Keith Richards who collaborate on "Shenandoah" which you can listen to by following the link below, as well as luminaries like Dr. John, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith & Johnny Depp, Michael Stipe & Courtney Love (!) and Marc Almond.

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David Bowie - Where Are We Now?

Wow, this morning I received the news that David Bowie, yes, none other, the one and only David Bowie, finally returns to the recording business after ten years of silence since his 2003 album Reality. Today is his 66th birthday, so I guess the timing is not coincidental. The first song from the forthcoming album The Next Day, due in March, was released today as well, and is a ballad called "Where Are We Now?", that takes us back to Bowie's Berlin trilogy of albums (Low, "Heroes" and Lodger). After listening to it four or five times, it's slowly getting to me, and I think at this moment that I really like it. It's good to have David Bowie back anyway, so that fact is in itself cause for celebration. Cheers, David!

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Frida & The Coolants - Fool Fool Fool

Alright, everyone, here's an injection of adrenaline for the dark, cold and dreary month that is known as January. Swedish band Frida & The Coolants is about to release the debut album Wild Hearted Diamond, from which the joyful pop/soul/rockabilly tune "Fool Fool Fool" was released in November. Frida, whose full name is Frida Snell, has actually had a former solo career when she released the album Black Trillum some years ago, but returned to her domestic life shortly after. Now she's back in front of The Coolants featuring members of Willy Clay Band, and if this first single is anything to judge by, it could be a hell of an album.

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Pet Shop Boys - This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave

"This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave" is a 1990 Pet Shop Boys classic, the second song on the duo's mindbogglingly great album Behavoiur. The live clip you'll see here is taken from a 1991 performance in Liverpool, released as a video titled Performance two years later. Fabulous stuff, and yes, it is quite a performance. And you know what? Every time I hear a song by Pet Shop Boys, it truly makes me a happier person.

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Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - We No Who U R

The French-based, Argentine filmmaker Gaspar Noé has completed the music video for Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds' latest single, "We No Who U R", the first song from the upcoming album Push The Sky Away. It's an eerie video, that tracks a silhouette through a nocturnal forest, and perfectly complements the haunting song. Yes, I'm looking forward to the album.

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Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again

"Never Let Me Down Again" is Depeche Mode at their industrial-sounding best. It was the second single to precede their 1987 album Music For The Masses (the first was "Strangelove"), and as pretty much always has been the case with Depeche Mode, the song also carries a killer melody. Come to think of it, what an incredible singles band Depeche Mode was - and to a certain extent still is. I'm looking forward to their new album, due in March, but for now "Never Let Me Down Again" works its own magic, shortening the wait.

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U2 - One

"One" is undoubtedly among U2's most well-loved songs, and for good reason. It's one of the band's very best. It was included on the 1991 album Achtung Baby and was actually the song that became the breakthrough of the recording of the album in Berlin. U2 was apparently on the verge of breaking up, when they found inspiration in a chord progression that guitarist The Edge composed. The final result was magical.

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Scissor Sisters - Sex And Violence

Scissor Sisters is the quintessential modern, gay glam-disco group, and have so far released four albums with loads of great songs spread across them. Imagine say, four songs from each, and you'll have the party soundtrack for the ages. "Sex And Violence" is a killer dance track, lifted from third album Night Work (2010), and deeply mysterious as it is, was not released as a single.

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John Cougar - Jack & Diane

In 1982 John Mellencamp called himself John Cougar and got his commercial breakthrough with "Jack & Diane", a perfect little love story set to song, that not only resonated with America, but with audiences throughout the world. 31 years on, the song is as beautiful as ever.

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Kings Of Convenience - Misread

I love the music of acoustic Norwegian pop/folk duo Kings Of Convenience. Their records remind me of summer - or at least spring - with their light and pleasant sound, and Erling Øye's breezy vocals. "Misread" is one of the highlights from the pair's second album, 2004's brilliantly titled Riot On An Empty Street. Blissful and sweet, speaking of summer now that we need it the most.

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