Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus

Listen to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Sorry I'm a bit late posting today (or should I say yesterday). Haven't been feeling too great lately so don't be surprised if my posts are a bit late this week. The amount of jazz I listen to is a bit lacking, but so far everything I've heard has been astounding. I don't think there's anything more relaxing than kicking back to some Charles Mingus. Listening to Mingus Ah Um relaxes the soul, all I need to do now is find the perfect drink to go with it. Please post your suggestions in the comments section!

Never Take Friendship Personal by Anberlin

Listen to The Feel Good Drag

I caught the last minute of The Feel Good Drag at a Rogers Video. I quickly wrote down "feel good drag" on my phone before I forgot the title and was able to enjoy that song to the fullest on youtube at home. I had forgotten about the song until recently and decided to check out the entire album. If you enjoyed The Feel Good Drag, it might be worth checking out Never Take Friendship Personal considering it's pretty decent overall. I think you might agree with me that The Feel Good Drag is the best track on the album.

Riot by Paramore

Listen to That's What You Get

Thank you Mihoshi for the recommendation, I think the only Paramore song I've heard was That's What You Get on Rock Band 2. While the album wasn't that bad, there weren't any memorable tracks that stuck with me after listening to it. To be honest, That's What You Get was probably one of my least played songs on Rock Band 2. I might give another one of their albums a shot to see if I find something more enjoyable. In the meantime – if anyone has any Paramore recommendations, please leave it in the comments section!

I'll Sleep When I Die by El-P

Listen to The Overly Dramatic Truth

Thanks for the recommendation Panda but unfortunately, tonight I went through another phase of "I'm not in the mood to listen to this right now." I should really just find something else and listen to the album when I feel up to it. That being said, I went through with it and decided to listen to I'll Sleep When I Die. The heavy beats and loud lyrics were too much to handle after being stuffed from a Mandarin buffet. Regardless, it felt like something I could get used to (the music, not a regular basis of Mandarin buffets). This album will get another listen from me on a better day.

(Around &) Around Again by Wintergreen

Listen to Can't Sit Still

For the love of God don't follow the instructions in that music video. Well, they're fake so, knock yourselves out. I just played an hour of Counterstrike with Wintergreen's (Around &) Around Again rocking in the background. Every track on the album was golden. As much as I love Can't Sit Still, there are many tracks on this album that rival it for my favourite track. If you enjoyed Can't Sit Still, I would imagine you'll enjoy the entire album as much as I did. I'm going to have to get my hands on their EP now. Fun fact: Keith Schofield directed this music video and the music video for Hard 'n' Phirm's Pi.

Horses and Grass by Hard 'n' Phirm

Listen to Pi

I would imagine some of you have already run into the Pi song by Hard 'n' Phirm. Like Flight of the Conchords and The Lonely Island, Hard 'n' Phirm manages to create great sounding music as well as provide a laugh or two (or twenty, thirty...). Horses and Grass is entertaining from the beginning to the end, with mini clips throughout the album. For example, about ten minutes into the album it says, "If you put Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in your oven at the start of this album, they're done now!" I know I put the Pi song for a track, but Radiohead fans have to check out the song Rodeohead by clicking here.

My Name is Skrillex by Skrillex

Listen to With You Friends
Download My Name is Skrillex EP

My Name is Skrillex is a six track EP that's free to download on the above link. I do enjoy the electronic music the EP features, but I don't think it is for everyone – you'll really have to check it out and give me your opinion in the comment section below. I'm curious what people's tastes are when it comes to electronic. I think the safe bet is that everyone who likes electronic can appreciate Daft Punk. Skrillex (Sonny Moore) was the frontman for the band From First to Last (who yet another person recommended to me but I have yet to check out). Leaving the band he pursued a solo career and I like what I'm hearing.

With Love and Squalor by We Are Scientists

Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

My brother told me about this band after he saw them play at his University during frosh week. He gave me Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt to listen to and I really enjoyed the song. I didn't explore any other songs by them at the time, but having recently getting Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt stuck in my head – I figured why not. I might have to give this album another listen, it felt that I didn't care for the songs on the second half of the CD (This isn't the first time that's happened to me). I'm sure they'll eventually grow on me, but for now the first half of the album is pretty stellar.

Self Vol 1 by Mountain Brothers

Listen to Paperchase

I heard a little bit of Paperchase on a Drunken Tiger remix I found about ten years ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to find out who the artist was until a year ago. Mountain Brothers were one of the first Asian American hip hop groups (they sing in English), releasing Self Vol 1 in 1999. Their songs contain a relaxed but catchy beat, all of which are filled with witty lyrics. Their flow is so consistent – all songs on the album are enjoyable. If you want to throw on a hip hop album to chill to, Self Vol 1 is perfect.

Freshmen Adjustment by Kanye West

Listen to Home

I thought I had heard everything there was to Kanye, I'm glad I was wrong. I remember there were a bunch of references in Last Call (On the album The College Dropout) to songs I've never heard of. All of these songs were on the mixtape Freshmen Adjustment, along with older versions of songs on his albums like Hey Mama, Homecoming (called Home on the mixtape), All Falls Down and Through the Wire. It's quite entertaining to hear the original and compare it to songs on the College Trilogy. Maybe I should say tetralogy – Good Ass Job is scheduled to be released September 14th, 2010.

Robot Hive/Exodus by Clutch

Truth be told, Michael actually recommended this album for me to listen to about a year ago. Motivated by the blog, I finally got around to listening to it a few times. After listening to Robot Hive/Exodus once, I really wasn't sure what to think. It was clear that I loved it instrumentally, but I didn't know how I felt about the lyrics and vocals. Neil Fallon's deep voice does work well accompanied by the hard rock. The first band that it reminded me of was Queens of the Stone Age; maybe it's better to say Queens of the Stone Age on crack. I chuckled at their song 10001110101 as it reminded me of the binary solo in The Humans are Dead by Flight of the Conchords. Not too sure if michael agrees with me, but if you enjoyed QotSA and don't mind listening to something a little heavier – be sure to give Robot Hive/Exodus by Clutch a listen.

Eyelid Movies by Phantogram

Listen to Mouthful of Diamonds

As soon as I started listening to this album (Mouthful of Diamonds is the first track), I had to look Phantogram up and find out just what genre I was listening to. Electronic rock describes it perfectly and the two go together quite well. Think of it as a rock band with electronic added to it. Fans of either genre should check Phantogram out however, I think rock fans would appreciate this band more. The synergy of the rock and electronic sounds amazing on every track in Eyelid Movies. Now that I think about it, Bloc Party`s third album was electronic rock but I ended up only liking one track on the CD. Maybe I`m a bit biased because I really enjoyed Bloc Party`s first two albums but I digress, be sure to check out Eyelid Movies by Phantogram. Big up to Anton for introducing me to them.

Recovery by Eminem

Listen to Space Bound

I was pleased to see that Bakakim recommended Recovery. Having only heard Not Afraid and Space Bound, I was keen on listening to all of Eminem's latest album. There is no denying that Eminem is a musical genius; I started listening to his music just over ten years ago and over the decade, Eminem never ceases to please. Well to be honest I wasn't too keen on his last album (Relapse), but Recovery makes up for it. The song No Love (feat. Lil Wayne) samples Haddaway's What is Love? I never thought I'd see someone use that song in rap but, it's actually a pretty decent track. There's not much else to say other than if you like any of Eminem's music – definitely pick up this album.

The American Jewels by Marina and the Diamonds

Listen to Are You Satisfied

Do you like La Roux? How about Little Boots? (If you haven't heard of either of these artists, check out the songs Tigerlily by La Roux and Ghosts by Little Boots). Marina and the Diamonds was recommended to me because I like both of those artists and I was pleasantly surprised with the number of songs I enjoyed on The American Jewels. The album starts off with Are You Satisfied, a very catchy song that really shows off the range of Marina's voice, think of it as a preview of what's to come. I can't help but think of 80's pop when I listen to this album and I love 80's pop. Fans of La Roux, Little Boots and maybe Lady Gaga (not too familiar with her stuff) should give this album a listen for it is worth every penny.