Music Recommendations

I recently bought 11 cds from my music club membership. I had listened to enough tracks from the cds to make me feel comfortable about buying 11 cds – but then, I was also able to buy them for $8 each as opposed to $17.98 plus tax so that’s a bonus. Having now listened to the cds for the past few weeks, there are three that stand head and shoulders above the rest, and I recommend you go out immediately and purchase them.

First up is Gavin DeGraw’s Chariot, which is getting all kinds of airplay with the hit single “I Don’t Wanna Be” (sung by Bo Bice on AI4 as well). I already liked several tracks including “Nice To Meet You Anyway”, “Overrated” and “More Than Anyone”, but each and every track on this cd is fantastic and I really like DeGraw’s voice. If I listen to it much more I think it’ll end up being my favorite cd of 2005 – it’s a struggle to get out of the car when I’m done driving to whatever destination I reach. His songs are too good to cut off midway through. I’m not a fan of big concerts, but I’d probably go to a show featuring this guy.

Next up is Chantal Kreviazuk’s What If It All Means Something. I love this woman. She’s a mix between Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan and this cd has interesting melodies mixing with alternatively fun or intimate lyrics. You may have heard a couple of her songs, such as “In This Life” or “Time” but I really like the melody of “Morning Light”. Her vocals alternate between spot-on gorgeous to rough at the edges, showing a versatility that I quite like.

The last one is Nellie McKay’s Get Away From Me. I had never seen the cover of the cd close-up before so I was surprised to find that the strong alto singer I had been listening to is NOT some woman in her 30s but a 19-yr-old with some real talent. Her songs alternative between hip 1950s jazzy rap to torch songs like none you’ve ever heard. Her lyrics can be curse laden, but she has such amazing energy that you can’t help but love her. My favorite song is “It’s a Pose” which screams Doris Day meets jive meets Eminem. Love her.