The Disco Biscuits - Float Like A Butterfly

Full Track on imeem. <-- What's this?

The Disco Biscuits' music has been decribed in many ways: a crazy-quilt mixture of rock, techno, jazz, soul, blues, and classical or "trance fusion". Either way, it's some pretty cool jam-band music. Guitarist/lead vocalist Jon Gutwillig has declared that the goal of the group is to create the wildest -- or craziest -- music of all time. I would say that they are well on their way.

Their music is written with a complete live show mentality and you can hear it Float Like A Butterfly, off their Señor Boombox release.

Euge Groove - Mr. Groove

Full Track on imeem. <-- What's this?


Euge Groove's real name is Steven Eugene Grove. In an XM Radio interview in 2006, he admitted that his Mother-in-Law conceived the idea creating his stage name by modifying his real name.

He played for 4 years with the funk powerhouse group Tower of Power and has records for and toured with Joe Cocker, the Eurythmics, the Gap Band, Huey Lewis and the News, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville, Eros Ramazotti, and Richard Marx, just to name a few.

He was finally recognized and given a contract in 2000 after he had over 100,000 downloads of his home mixed songs downloaded from his website.

Mr. Groove is off his latest album Born 2 Groove.

Badly Drawn Boy - Something To Talk About

Full Track on imeem. <-- What's this?

Badly Drawn Boy, whose real name is Damon Gough, chose his stage name from the title character in the show Sam and his Magic Ball, which he saw on TV at a party 1995. Before he thought of using this name he made some business cards, each one unique, with a printed picture of a drawing by his nephew, and a small collage by Gough. This was then laminated and given out to friends and people at clubs in Blackburn and Manchester.

Badly Drawn Boy did the entire soundtrack for the movie About A Boy which includes the track Something To Talk About. It's a great soundtrack with several instrumental tracks.

Jane Monheit - Something Cool

Full Track on imeem. <-- What's this?

When Jane Monheit was only 20, she was the first runner-up in the 1998 Theolonius Monk Institute vocal competition. The judges couldn't exactly place her sound, but knew she had incredible talent. By 2000 she was one of the highest-touted female talents in jazz.

She has an awesome voice that I could easily listen to all day. She has excellent range and is great at using the small vocal nuances and inflections that just bring a song to life.

Something Cool is a remake of the classic June Christy tune, but Monheit makes it uniquely her own. This track is off her latest album, The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me, which she recorded while pregnant with her first child.

Phil Roy - Day To Day Thing

Full Track on imeem. <-- What's this?

Phil Roy is another one of those great songwriters who also records his own material. He has written songs for Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, The Neville Brothers, and Wyclef Jean. Day to Day Thing is quirky funky tune off his 2007 release, The Great Longing.

In 2004, Roy's record label terminated his contract and his marriage collapsed. In response to these setbacks, Roy began his "I'm Not Leaving the House" tour in November 2005. Operating out of his townhouse in Philadelphia with a table for sixteen, Roy provides home-cooked food and original songs for his diners on a monthly basis.

Willy Porter - Cool Water

Full Track on imeem. <-- What's this?

I first saw Willy Porter in the mid-90's when he opened for Tori Amos. He did a one man opening act and I was so impressed I bought his CD in the lobby on my way out. Cool Water, off his debut album Dog Eared Dream, is a great track that shows his songwriting skills.

Porter was originally a viola player (you can hear lots of sting sections in his songs) who put down the bow and grabbed a pick after hearing Leo Kottke's album 6 & 12 String Guitar.

Bishop Allen - Rain

Full Track on imeem. <-- What's this?

Bishop Allen takes their name from Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge, MA, the street where founding members Justin Rice and Christian Rudder used to reside after graduating from Harvard. In 2006, Bishop Allen recorded and released an EP every month of the year. Each record was titled for the month of its release (January, February, and so on), and, with the exception of August, which was a 14-song live disc, each contained four new studio songs.

Rain a very pop influenced tune off their latest release with the great name Grrr...

All Saints - Pure Shores

Full track on imeem. <-- What's this?

All Saints takes their name from the studio on All Saints Road, in London's Ladbroke Grove where they began writing and recording. Pure Shores, off their second album, Saints and Sinners, is a good pop tune with excellent vocal harmony. The song was also featured on the soundtrack of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, The Beach. After a 5 year hiatus, they reformed and released Studio 1 in 2006, but were not able to capture the success level of their earlier releases.

New IMEEM limits prevents full streaming

I use an embedded IMEEM player to stream the music you hear on Hoi Polloi Music. Recently, they have limited the embedded player to a 0:30 minute preview of several songs. Per their FAQ "When you find a song on imeem that is a 30-second preview, it means that the artist or record label that has registered the song in our database has not approved full-length streaming for our users. Consistent with copyright fair use principles, the song will be streamed to you as a 30-second preview."

This has affected many songs in previous posts that had previously streamed the full song. I understand this restriction, but it does create issues on my site. However, there is an option, I will begin to post a link to the full song on IMEEM which will play the full track. I will try to find the full track, but this will still allow you to hear the full song and gives a backup in case they change a song in the future. You can sign up at www.imeem.com for free to listen.

Thank you for your support.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Stomping Grounds

Bela Fleck has been one of my favorite musicians for a long time. Since seeing him for the first time in the late 80's, I have been a huge fan. He puts on an incredible live performance.

Stomping Ground is an excellent song that showcases his unparalleled banjo-picking ability and Victor Wooten's incredible fretless bass talent. The track is off, Live Art, his great anthology of live performances (where is shines brightest). Jazz greats like Branford Marsalis, Chick Corea, and Bruce Hornsby all join in on various tracks.

Tony Joe White - Polk Salad Annie

Tony Joe White has been around a long time, writing such songs as Rainy Night In Georgia (recorded by Brook Benson) and Willie and Laura Mae Jones (recorded by Dusty Springfield). Polk Salad Annie off the album, Black and White, was his first and highest charting hit, reaching Number 8.

White has gained new found success recently and is featured in the live album Live From Austin, TX album from Austin City Limits.

To show the respect he has from his fellow musicians, in 2006, he released the album, Uncovered, which featured collaborations with Mark Knopfler, Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, Waylon Jennings and J. J. Cale.

Martina Topely Bird - Need One

Martina Topley Bird first began as the primary collaborator with Tricky, the London-based Rap/Electronic musician. When she decided to break out on her own, the result was the well reviewed trip-hop album, Quixotic. The album included the somewhat pop oriented song, Need One, that features Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age.

Ryan Farish - Walk With You

Ryan Farish makes some beautiful electronic smooth jazz music. It's not music that will make you say immediately "Wow, what is that." It's more like that music that makes you listen more closely after about one to two minutes and say to yourself, "That's really cool, who is that?"

Walk With You off his From The Sky album is a very nice tune that I kick on when I need to slow down and block out the world for about three minutes.

Down To The Bone - Gotta Get Back To You

Down To The Bone describes themselves as a funk/soul/jazz band. Hailing from England, DTTB is unique in that the leader, Stuart Wade, does not play any instruments at all. Instead, Wade uses a dictaphone to hum tunes into, which are then recorded by the band (whose members constantly change).

Gotta Get Back To You is a funky tune off the eclectic album, Spread Love Like Wildfire. Whenever I hear this tune, a Starsky and Hutch car chase scene pops into my head. But that my be just me.

Ray LaMontagne - Three More Days

Ray LaMontagne has one of the perfect smokey, husky, gritty blues voices. Just listening to him sing congers up the smoke filed, low ceiling bar, dim lights and a cold beer in hand. Flashbacks go through my head.
Three More Days is an awesome song displaying LaMontagne's songwriting ability. The track is off his sophomore album, Till The Sun Turns Black, which is a more subdued and subtle album than his debut release, Trouble, but still and exceptional listen.

Wayman Tisdale - Get Down On It

Let me first say, Wayman we'll miss you. Wayman Tisdale passed away on May 15th, at the age of 44, after a battle with cancer. After an All-American college career playing basketball at Oklahoma, Olympic gold medal and 13 years in the NBA, he began his second career as a jazz bassist.

He began playing bass at an early age in the church where his father was the pastor. He was completely self taught and could not read music. He even got Coach Tubbs to move the Sunday practice to evenings to accommodate Tisdale's bass playing in church.

Tisdale jazzes up a cover of Kool and the Gang's Get Down On It from his 2006 release Way Up! The album features a host of jazz stars like Jeff Lorber, Bob James, George Duke, Ricky Peterson, Kirk Whalum, Jonathan Butler, Dave Koz and Mel Brown.

We'll miss your jazz funk and your great smile. Keep playing on big man.

Macy Gray - Relating To A Psychopath

Macy Gray has one of those unique voices. When you hear a song by her, you know it's her distinctive raspy voice. Relating to a Psychopath is fun song off her second album, The Id. The album was not as successful as her debut album, but does have a few good tracks like this one and Sweet Baby featuring Erykah Badu.

Jem - Maybe I'm Amazed

I always love when an artist takes a song and re-records it with their own style. Jem does this beautifully with the Paul McCartney classic, Maybe I'm Amazed. She recorded it for the television show The OC and it was included on one the shows soundtracks, The O.C. Mix 2.

Michael Franti & Spearhead - Sometimes

Micheal Franti is the leader of the politically and socially-charged group Spearhead. He expands the music's boundaries as he draws on funk and soul-driven beats. Through his music, Franti tackles a range of issues through absolute honesty.

Sometimes, off the Stay Human album, is an awesome song with a great funk beat, solid bass and excellent lyrics. The album is unique because Franti recorded it with a backdrop of a radio phone-in show detailing a death-row case.

KJ Denhert - Silence Was Deafening

KJ Denhert is a unique artist, singer, guitarist and songwriter. She is hard to pigeon-hole and calls her music Urban Folk and Jazz. Her voice is powerful, her lyrics full of intelligent insight, and her musicianship is impeccable. Silence Was Deafening off her Girl Like Me album is a great song. I like every track on the album and it's been on my standard rotation since I got it.

Paolo Nutini - New Shoes

New Shoes off the These Streets album is a fun song with a great hook from Scotsman, Paolo Nutini (yes, even with an Italian name). He has quite a varied musical taste, stating "I skip from Djhango Reinhart to Cab Calloway to Canned Heat. It's a bit of a random mish mash." This album reflects this diversity, but makes for a very good listen.

Animal Liberation Orchestra - Monday

Animal Liberation Orchestra hails from Santa Barbara, CA and have a great California jam band sound when playing live.

Monday is off Roses and Clovers, their second album released on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. It's a great mix of tunes and worth of a listen in it's entirety.

Eva Cassidy - Time is a Healer

Eva Cassidy had a powerful voice and could go from a sweet sound to a powerful soul sound. She was relatively unknown before her untimely death in 1996 due to melanoma. In 2000, her recording of Over the Rainbow was played on the popular BBC Radio 2 show 'Wake Up to Wogan' and her popularity soared.

Time is a Healer, written by the talented songwriter, Diane Scanlon, is off her Eva By Heart album really and shows off her musical ability.

Sekou Bunch - Take Five / In Three

Sekou Bunch is a jazz bassist who has some very good grooves. Sometimes compared with Wayman Tisdale, Bunch stand on his own. He takes this Brubeck classic, and makes it uniquely his own. The Next Level, which contains Take Five / In Three is an excellent jazz album and Bunch has help from some jazz heavyweights like Boney James and Stanley Clarke.

Useless trivia: Bunch was the first eliminated contestant from Survivor: Cook Islands in 2006.

The Freddy Jones Band - Waitress

The Freddy Jones band has a great Chicago roots rock blues sound that is a bit like the Allman Brothers or Little Feat. Despite the name, no member of the band is actually named Freddy Jones.

Waitress is a live cut off their 1997 release North Avenue Wake Up Call. In 2009, they released Time Well Wasted with an excellent live version.

Eric Hutchinson - OK, It's Alright With Me

Eric Hutchinson was originally signed to Madonna's Maverick label. But, when it went shut down, Hutchinson reverted to releasing his own material on his MySpace page. When uberblogger Perez Hilton blogged about Hutchinson's stuff, he shot up to the top ten downloads on ITunes.

OK, It's Alright With Me off this third album/major label debut, Sounds Like This, is a good catchy tune.

Spoon - The Underdog

The Austin, Texas indie band Spoon has a unique sound that changes with each release as they continue to explore their musical depths. The Underdog is off their latest album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (great name, huh?) and has a bit of a darker feel than their previous releases.

Coldplay - Rainy Day

Coldplay has been a fixture on the charts for the last several years. For their latest album, they tapped Brian Eno as the producer and the result was Viva La Vida. Rainy Day is off the 2nd CD of the Viva La Vida/Prospekt's March, a release of the original Viva La Vida with several songs that did not make the original release.

The Like - Once Things Look Up

The Like is an all-girl trio from Los Angeles whose sound is along the lines of The Sundays. The children of musicians and producers, they formed in 2001 when they were still in their teens. In 2005, they were signed a contract and released their first full-length album, Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?. Once Things Look Up is a good tune with mature lyrics for such a young group.

Marc Broussard - Lonely Night In Georgia

Marc Broussard is the son of Boogie Kings guitarist, Ted Broussard and the apple does not fall far at all from that tree. He is blessed with an awesome guff raspy blues voice ala John Hiatt and Dr. John. Lonely Night In Georgia is a great blues track off his sophomore release, Carencro (named after his hometown in Louisiana).

Snow Patrol - On/Off

Snow Patrol is Scottish band that formed in 1997. They only recently gained popularity in the US after their 2006 release, Open Eyes. Lead singer, Gary Lightbody, is the main songwriter of the group and writes good lyrics to go with the a solid indie-pop sound. In/Out off their 2nd album, When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up, is an excellent introduction to the group.

Colin Hay - My Brilliant Feat

Colin Hay is the former frontman for the successful 80's Australian Men At Work. He has continued to release solo material since Men at Work broke up. He's never had near the success of the early Men At Work releases, but still has fun writing songs, touring and doing small bit parts in movies and TV shows.

My Brilliant Feat off his sixth solo album, Going Somewhere, is a perfect example of his solo material and is a nice tune.