I am officially obsessed with the new Rilo Kiley album, Under The Blacklight. After each listen, I come back with a new favorite song, I just can't decide! My first love on this album was "Breakin' Up" - an upbeat melody and tempo but it's totally heartbreaking at the same time. "Are we breakin' up? Did my heart break enough?" My next favorite is "Dejalo" with Latino beats that remind me of Gloria Estefan (in a good way, if that's possible) and great lines like "I got a tail if you wanna chase it." Jenny Lewis's voice is pristine and innocent, devilish and fun. This is a great album to play really loud and dance around your room. Rock it! -SuperD

Labels: indiepop, JennyLewis, rhapsody, RiloKiley

Stevie Wonder | 08.27.07 | concord, ca
the legend of legends. the master of music. the godfather of gospelrock. he wrote the songs in the key of life. he's a talking book. if you start to look back, just every band you ever liked was influenced by stevie in some way. from kiedis to kanye, mariah to michael, he's the musician's musician. i am beside myself with fulfillingness that i got to sing his songs with him tonight. hafty said one he heard "love's in need of love today," he knew it was gonna be on. almost three hours straight. practically every song he ran through is a classic. who else could you go see on tour today that has more than thirty top ten hits? [check the charts] the bumpin-est parties you ever went to had stevie funkin up the soundtrack. boogie on reggae woman! sir duke! i wish!

when he dropped into "signed, sealed, delivered" the place just exploded - people of all ages and races were dancing in the aisles. when his all grown up daughter aisha morris came to sit with him for "isn't she lovely," tears were shed - by stevie and anyone who remembers her voice from the original version. he is so tapped in musically, i mean he has no sight and lost his sense of smell in a car accident in 1973, but his hearing and voice are perfect.

everything stevie does is right in rhythm, from instructing the band to counting off the songs to simply the way he talks. he dropped in and out of covered classics like "billie jean" and "heard it through the grapevine" and he had us turn the mother out, p-funk style. a whole lotta rhythm was indeed goin down. you could indeed feel it all over. and if you listen deeper, the lessons are simple, and they're based in love: "his parents give him love and affection, to keep him strong, movin in the right direction." if you ever get the chance, do yourself a favor and tap it to the wisdom of stevland morris for a few hours. it'll set you so right, it's never wrong. - TK

Labels: concord, fulfillingness, legend, rhapsody, steviewonder, wondersummersnight

New Pornographers | Challengers
This Vancouver supergroup's third album, Twin Cinema got me interested in their smileyindiepop sound, I listened to that album a lot back in 2005. The new record, Challengers, has got me hooked, line and many singers. The hooks are there, the harmonies are always gorgeous, and a heaping dose of strings and keyboards hold together the collectively written songs. I've been listening to "All the Old Showstoppers" pretty much non-stop this week. Did you know that Neko Case and Dan Bejar from Destroyer were in the New Pornographers, as well as AC Newman and Todd Fancey? Of course you did. That's why I knew I liked you. - TK

Labels: indiepop, matador, newpornographers, rhapsody

Bedouin Soundclash | Street Gospels
Bedouin Soundclash bring the most reverent respect of reggae roots to the Warped Tour people, and even if Street Gospels leans on heavier punk influences ("Gunships," "Walls Fall Down"), the opening "Until We Burn in the Sun" starts things off right with a hearty, dub-influenced groove. The production of Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer only makes this Kingston quality stronger. If for only the name, the relaxed "Nico on the Night Train" is another favorite. - Nate C.

Labels: BedouinSoundclash, dub, rhapsody, side1dummy

Flight Of The Conchords | The Distant Future
The year's funniest TV show results in 2007's best EP. What makes the Flight of the Conchords so special is that Jemaine and Brett are dead-on with their parodies, but their songs actually stand up on their own. This pairs three of the New Zealand duo's studio creations with three live renditions. The brilliant, Prince-worthy "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" is here, as is the inquisitive "If You're Into It." The Mick Jagger parody "Business Time" is so painfully true-to-life that it may result in a catastrophic rise in the global divorce rate. - Nick D.

Labels: Brett, Britt, Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine, Murray, New Zealand, rhapsody, SubPop