Schoolboy Q and Lissie and Kid Cudi

 Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness (download)


 covered by Lissie:

 
Lissie - Pursuit of Happiness (download)

who was then sampled on a beat used by Schoolboy Q:


 Schoolboy Q - Hands on the Wheel (feat. A$AP Rocky)

*note: Schoolboy Q and A$AP are great. Check them out.

The 2012 Good Music Alert spotify playlist

Spotify users, I am maintaining a playlist of good stuff I come across - it will be updated through the year. Get it here.

Jon Lemmon - Exodus I

 

Jon Lemmon - Exodus I (download)

Jon Lemmon is a guy from New Zealand who just put out some music for the world to hear. Exodus I is electro pop with some nice falsetto sliding harmonies and piano. It's catchy! And judging him solely from his bandcamp page, he seems like a good guy. I mean one of his songs is entitled ""the trance song" (demo that i really wanna turn into a super club banger) ". How can you not root for a guy like that when he's able to put out quality music? He has a lot of stuff available for free download - check him out.

Jon Lemmon on bandcamp
Jon Lemmon on facebook

The Great Outdoors - Land of My Deceased

The Great Outdoors - Land of My Deceased (download)

The Great Outdoors are a band from Canada who not only have a difficult name to google to begin with, but also fall behind in google results to two other bands also called the Great Outdoors. And I think they use multiple lead singers, which didn't make tracking them down any easier. Land of My Deceased is a sweet, breezy folk tune with a high-hat beat, nice lead vocals (from the singer I prefer), and a trumpet. It comes from their 2007 release "Food, Booze, and Entertainment", (which is not what you would expect the title of the album this song is on to be.)

The Great Outdoors on DDG Records
DDG Records on Facebook, which gives a few updates on The Great Outdoors

Band on the way up: Auditorium

Auditorium's Sunday made my favorite songs of 2011, and they have a new release coming out that sounds promising. Former opera singer Spencer Berger did all the recording (and his voice and arrangements are amazing), but he put together a live band and is slowly starting to tour a bit. I think they'll be a good one to catch in a small venue on their way up:



Auditorium - Sex Offenders (download)


Auditorium on Facebook
Read more about Auditorium in this recent show preview.

Some favorite finds of 2012

Oh how I am a sucker for music of the American West:
Graham Weber - Lander, WY (download)
Graham Weber's official site


And girl groups:

Bleached - Searching through the Past (download)
Bleached on facebook


And acoustic guitar mixed with drum machines:

Motopony - Wait for me (download)
Motopony on facebook

Funkadelic Covered and Sampled by Indie Rock

Funkadelic - Can You Get to That

sampled by Sleigh Bells:



Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill

and covered by Stone Darling


stone darling - can you get to that


George Clinton's official site
Sleigh Bells on Facebook
Stone Darling on Facebook