As a founding member and primary singer/songwriter of The Jayhawks, Mark Olson often sang behind the beat, letting the music dictate which direction his voice would travel, but on his newest album to date, Many Colored Kite his voice leads the inspiring sounds that create this beautiful collection of songs.

With stellar songs like “Bad Jesus,” “Red Rats,” and my personal favorite, “Dirty Sexy Pig,” the album should have been titled kick your ass and leave you begging for more because that is exactly what it does. In the age of poppy crap rock Sweet Cyanide has written the blueprint for a modern rock music masterpiece.

When Justin Currie performed at New York City’s famed Joe’s Pub in mid-June the place was packed with people of all ages expecting to hear tunes from the group he co-founded in Scotland during the mid 80’s called Del Amitri. Songs like “Kiss This Thing Goodbye,” “Just Like A Man,” and “Always The Last To Know” gained notoriety because of Currie’s ability to combine uplifting tunes and darker lyrical themes

Linfinity are a New York City based group of musicians who helped form a band around enigmatic front man Dylan Von Wagner. The initial impetus behind the endeavor could best be described as a spark, or the clicking on of a light bulb.

Although “Bad Things” is the song that took off, Red Revelations is filled with heavy music that grabs at the soul with unbelievable precision. “Burn For You,” is a riveting song that emphasizes how hot the feeling can be when two people are madly in love.

New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) incorporates sampling and live instrumentation, while its more personal lyrics focus on themes of romance and relationships. Badu has described its sound as “very analog”. Recording during 2006 to 2009, a portion of the album was recorded at New York City’s Electric Lady Studios.

Head First is Goldfrapp’s most powerful trip to date, a speedy rush of synth optimism, euphoria, fantasy and romance. With life affirming lyrics and stellar production it lifts off at full tilt and takes us on a journey to the heart of 2010.

The year was 1990, and the location was Hertfordshire, England, the same location where some of rock’s most historic events took place: Led Zeppelin’s final British show & Queen’s final performance headed by Freddie Mercury. Approximately 120,000 people descended upon Knebworth Park for the massive all-star concert benefiting the Nordof-Robbins Music Charity Centre and the Brit School for Performing Arts.

Music of Ireland traces the origins of Irish music, and features exclusive interviews with U2’s Bono and Adam Clayton, Michael Flatley and Bill Whelan of Riverdance, Live Aid and Band Aid founder Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats, Sinéad O’Connor, Pete Seeger, The Chieftains’ Paddy Moloney, former Celtic Woman Órla Fallon, Black 47’s Larry Kirwan, six-time Academy Award-nominated director Jim Sheridan, the late Liam Clancy in his final U.S.

Taken from a storming 2 hour set at [Burning Man's] Opulent Temple in the Black Rock Desert this past summer, Carl Cox released his debut Global Underground mix album, ‘Black Rock Desert,’ on January 25th, 2010.

The Cold War Kids’ boss Nathan Willett had more than enough of his own toxic-guitar to go around on the band’s latest EP, Behave Yourself, a slight dip in consistency from 2006’s Robbers & Cowards and 2008’s Loyalty to Loyalty.

Maura Kennedy, one-half of the folk-pop mavens, The Kennedys, released her first solo album on Planned Effervescence Recordings on January 19, 2010. Parade of Echoes is a thirteen-song soliloquy to the light and dark sides of pop, cast in the brilliant sheen of her carillon harmonies and bell-like lead vocals.

Vampire Weekend is back with their sophomore album, Contra. The four-piece indie rock band met at Columbia University before producing their debut album in 2008. The band has said that their influences are drawn from popular African music and western classical music. Give one of their songs a listen and you’ll quickly realize how true this is – and indeed, how great it sounds.

It was the Adelita Bar. “There were a bunch of young, really pretty girls and I realized it was basically a brothel,” explains Rick. “I chatted with one girl, questioning why she was living this life? And I wrote a song about it. The band name emerged from the sad stories behind the ‘Way’ they lived at the Adelita—Adelitas Way.

A 15-strong-track album of flammable-fresh at-home and in-club orientated music, it will again bring F&P’s name to the very epicentre of the dance scene. Filo & Peri have brought some of the world’s finest (and previously undiscovered) singers and songwriters into the spotlight.

“Sparkle Lane is a street in England where my grandmother lived,” Rogers explains. “The concrete was mixed with pieces of broken glass, so when I was a kid and I’d go to my grandmother’s house in the evening, the street would always look like it was sparkling. That’s how life felt to me as a kid.”

“I’m really confident with what we’ve put together with II,” Raekwon states. “It’s another classic. I challenged myself and I didn’t try to repeat myself or topics. I just had to make sure I captured the feeling that the first one had and gave to the listener.”

McCready said, “I’d sum it up as kind of a tight, concise, rock ‘n’ roll record with kind of pop or maybe new wave elements to it… It’s a really quick record, but I like that element to it. I like the sparseness of the songs and the way that Brendan pulled us together and made us play as good as we could.”

After months, if not years of Internet speculation and rumor, the man many call The God MC, Rakim Allah released his long awaited new album The Seventh Seal on November 17, 2009. Guest artists include Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Maino, Tracey Horton, IQ, Styles P, and others, including Destiny Griffin, Rakim’s own daughter.

On September 15, British progressive rock band Muse is getting released their 5th studio album entitled The Resistance. In an effort to bolster opening day sales the band opened up for U2 on the east coast leg of their 360 degrees tour. You can also her the album’s first single, “Uprising” during certain highlights on ESPN’s Sportscenter.

UnRated NYC caught bassist Geoff Council, drummer Jeff Olson, guitarist Andrew Burns, and lead vocalist/guitarist Jason Brody on stage at The Suffolk in late October performing tracks off their self-titled EP to a group of enthusiastic concert goers.

On their newest album, Love 2 Air shows us how to welcome life from a different vantage point. Recorded at their new studio in Paris, Love 2 is a musical adventure that deconstructs the way our brain manipulates time.

In the classic song “How High”, Redman says “I get it on like Smif-N-Wess, who cliques the best.” He answers the question on the BO2 intro with “talk that greasy, on and off tv, even pigs love the bosshogg’s cd, what you find hard, I do it easy, I could see why the next guy want to be me.”

From the banshee screams that complete 1971’s “Echoes” to the squealing pig noises of 1977’s “Pigs (Three Different Kinds)” drummer Nick Mason, bassist Roger Waters, keyboardist Richard Wright, and guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour, created some of the most unique music the world has ever known

They take songs that are legendary, like Led Zeppelin’s famous “Immigrant Song,” add a twisted beat that swallows you whole, and BANG! you’ve got a sick mix that even your Pops can appreciate. That is exactly what Streetlab’s Bootleg Remixes (Vol.1) gives listeners.

Perfecto Vegas, is an unambiguous return to his roots in electronic groove – and a clear reminder that this turntable genius is still one of the best spinners in the world. After his recent stints in pop music collaborations, the world famous DJ was inspired by his weekly spot at Las Vegas’ Rain Nightclub to truly get back to his beginnings as a club/trance electronic mixer.