My music of summer

With 10,000 songs shuffling all the time (thank you, Airtunes) its hard to pick out the standout tracks for me right now, but there are a few records I must give a big shout-out to. Run, don't walk to get these on your iPod.

#1 Money Mark – Brand New Tomorrow

Money Mark, a Beastie Boys collaborator, is an enigma to me, but he sure makes sweet sounding discs. MM's Brand New Tomorrow is a beautiful pop record that stops you cold with great, well-played songs.
Here's a Quicktime video of Money Mark's Pick Up the Pieces.

#2 Kaiser Chiefs – Yours Truly, Angry Mob

In my opinion the Kaiser Chiefs own Brit Pop today in the way The Kinks did 40 years ago.
Here's their video for the killer song Ruby on YouTube.

#3 The White Stripes – Icky Thump

This summer The White Stripes put the Icky back in Thump™! If you thought summer was a time to retire to the garden and sip juice, then spice it up with screaming guitar feedback and buy this record.
Here's the title track video on YouTube, Icky Thump.

#4 Any Trouble – Where Are All The Nice Girls

This is not a new record, only a new discovery. Any Trouble (who've recently re-formed to promote the re-release of Where Are All the Nice Girls) were one act from the famous Stiff Records heyday that didn't take off back during the New Wave period. I only just found out about the on eMusic, where I downloaded it (DRM-free) for next to nothing. Imagine that Nick Lowe or Joe Jackson never got heard until today. The freshness of this very catchy power pop record is remarkable.