Aaliyah feat. Timbaland - Are You That Somebody

I think this song was my first exposure to the late Aaliyah. I remember listening to it in my best friend’s room back in elementary school. It was on a compilation album of the hits of the year, and this was one of my favorite tracks on it.
Note: HD music video.

Aaliyah feat. Timbaland - Are You That Somebody:

Adam Hurst - Sparrow

Came across this whilst YouTube surfing. Of course it’s got that cello I love.
Note: And HD!

Adam Hurst - Sparrow:

Cassandra Steen - Es ist Wahr

I’ve posted music by this German artist before, but upon listening to the album this song is on many times, I found this song to be the one I was drawn to replay the most.

Cassandra Steen - Es ist Wahr [It is True]:

SID - 隣人

Good ol’ SID, with their jazzy Japanese rock and Mao’s unique vocals. This song of theirs is among the most replayed in my collection. I think someone should choreograph a dance to it.

SID A.K.A. シド - 隣人 [Rinjin - Neighbor]:

Bertie Blackman - Byrds of Prey

This Australian artist’s music reminds me of that of The Good Natured. I found her via YouTube surfing.

Bertie Blackman - Byrds of Prey:

Black Eyed Peas - Bebot

Did you know American party jam group Black Eyed Peas have a song in Tagalog? I was embarrassingly excited when I first learned that. Evidently one of the rappers in the group, Apl.de.ap, is half-Filipino and proud of his heritage, so he made this song with the group. And I guess it was so important to them they made TWO music videos for it. I like how in the videos the rest of the group is reppin’ the Pinoy pride and they’re not even Filipino.
Note: HD is here!

Black Eyed Peas - Bebot [Baby]:

Maria Mena - Eyesore

I find that, generally, this Norwegian artist’s music is very beautiful in melody, instrumentation, and vocalization, but sometimes her lyrics seem overly literal or otherwise off-putting to me. But I’m trying to ignore that to appreciate the rest more. This song is pretty strong lyrics-wise, though. It’s about anorexia nervosa. Heavy stuff.

Maria Mena - Eyesore:

Muse - Unintended

Finally gettin’ some Muse up in heah. I like quite a few of their songs, but I heard this one the other day and felt like posting it.
Note: And in hi-def!

Muse - Unintended:

Niyaz - دلربا

I heard this Iranian artist first through a cover of a famous English-language song. Their songs seem to cover a good range of languages, from English to Farsi to Urdu. This song has a title in Farsi, but the lyrics are in Urdu and from an Urdu poem. Sounds cool, no?

Niyaz A.K.A. دلربا - نياز [Dilruba - Enchanting]:

Murs - H-U-S-T-L-E

I used to always listen to this hip hop track back when I was first getting into underground hip hop. It’s pretty entertaining in content as well as catchy in sound. It’s a mildly humorous autobiographical account of how the artist scraped by without resorting to peddling drugs. There is profanity.
Note: It’s available in HD!

Murs - H-U-S-T-L-E:

Corrinne May - Scars (Stronger for Life)

I heard this song in an AMV, though I'd heard of this Singaporean artist before. I’ve only heard a few songs by her, and they were all in a pretty style similar to this song. I also noticed some religious undertones in her lyrics.

Corrinne May - Scars (Stronger for Life):

Elliott Yamin - Wait for You

I never watched the TV show American Idol, but I heard this guy was a contestant on it. He didn't win, but it appears he got a career out of it anyway, since I heard of him when I saw his music video for this song playing on TV and was like, "Who is this dude? He has a GREAT voice!" Then this song was all over the radio. I should probably look into more music by him…
Storytime: A few years ago, someone I had fallen out of contact with back in middle school sent me a message, seemingly out of nowhere, confessing a rather personal story about how he was in love with his best friend, who had a GF, and how his best friend had posted this song on his blog as a dedication to him… It was so dramatic that I now associate this song with that story.
Note: Song’s in HD!

Elliott Yamin - Wait for You:

Ane Brun - True Colors

Cyndi Lauper is the original singer of this song, but her version makes my ears bleed. Fortunately, I came across this lovely cover by Norwegian singer Ane Brun first (in a commercial... sad, I know) and couldn't stop replaying it. It's SO PRETTY.
Random: I discovered there's a mini-album of a bunch of Korean artists covering this song. Yes. Every track is a cover of the song in each artist's respective style. I have no idea why they did that.  I suspect they are not aware of the song's "It Gets Better"esque connotations.
Note: I found it in hi def!!

Ane Brun - True Colors:

The Yellow Monkey - メロメ

My friend who's a fan of this Japanese band burned a CD for me that contained this song. I thought it was nice, so here ya go!

The Yellow Monkey - メロメ [Merome]:

Celine Dion - That's the Way It Is

Apparently a lot of people hate Celine Dion. I don't really get it, and I don't really care--she has an amazing voice. This song used to be on the radio, I think.  ¡Me gusta!
Note: HD!

Celine Dion - That's the Way It Is:

Ludwig van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, 1st Movement

This is one of my favorite classical piano pieces. It’s so simple, yet so pretty.
Note: Enjoy it in HD!

Ludwig van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, 1st Movement:

Dixie Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice

This song both responded to the exile of this group, my longtime favorite country artist, from the country music community after they made a statement criticizing then-president Bush, and signalled their transition into the pop music world. Their music style still sounds the same to me, it’s just that their songs started being played on pop radio stations instead of country music ones (because country music stations were boycotting them, and the pop music world embraces their Bush-criticizing ways). Worked for me, since I actually quite like this song and probably wouldn’t have heard it if it weren’t on non-country radio stations. Plus, the subject matter of the song is clearly about that whole fiasco—and their refusal to apologize for their comments despite being exiled and expressing their disgust with how people responded.
Note: I think my first exposure to this song occurred when I saw the MV on television. I loved the visuals in it and for a while became obsessed with the pretty, so I’m including it here along with the song in HD.

Dixie Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice:


And the prettiful MV::

Blue Scholars - The Distance

I can’t remember where I first heard of this two-man hip hop group based in Seattle, but I do remember that this was the first song by them I heard. The song is about the immigrant experience in the United States. It’s quite poetic!
Note: HD!

Blue Scholars - The Distance:

Nina Simone - Feeling Good

This cover of the song is pretty famous, so I’ve heard it many times throughout my life, but I always assumed the singer was male. It wasn’t until sometime within the past few years that I learned that the singer was female. Clearly, she has a unique vocal quality.
Note: HD available!

Nina Simone - Feeling Good:

Orange Range - Asterisk

Howwwwwwww did I forget this song for so long? I scared one of my Japanese-speaking friends one time by singing the first few lines of this song. It’s so fun! I learned it because it was the first opening theme of the anime series Bleach, which I watched the first 11 episodes of.

Orange Range - Asterisk:

Lissie - When I’m Alone

I found out about this artist through WTF Should I Listen to Now?. This is the first song I heard by her, and out of the handful of songs I’ve heard by her thus far it’s the only one I actually like.

Lissie - When I’m Alone:

Staind - Fade

Another song from one of my most often-played albums, Break the Cycle. I used to listen to this album sooooo much, and this was one of my favorite songs from it.
Note: Shweeeeeet, found in super HD!

Staind - Fade:

MISSTER - Bomb Bomb Bomb

...That's it, I'm moving to Taiwan. Not gonna lie; this androgynous girl group's appeal to me has a lot more to do with their appearance than their music (though the music doesn't hurt either). This is almost certainly a gimmick group, but it obviously is working on me, because their style reduces me to a squealing pile of flail. Evidently this is a cover of a Korean song "Boom Boom Boom" by SHU-I.
Note:  English subs, oh yeahhhhh!

MISSTER - Bomb Bomb Bomb:

Woodkid - Iron

My friend sent me this music video not long ago, probably due to its epicness. It sounds pretty cool, though the Engrish takes away from the cool factor a bit. Then again, Engrish has never stopped me before. I guess it’s from the video game Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.
Note: Video included in HD, and it’s the official music video, because it looks awesome.

Woodkid - Iron:

Marina & the Diamonds - Fear & Loathing

When I heard music by this artist a while ago, I didn’t care for her sound. But I heard this song on the British soap opera Hollyoaks the other day and thought it was nice. Also, note that she, like Florence + the Machine, has a stage name that deceptively appends a band-sounding title to the singer’s first name, giving the impression that it consists of a band of people when in fact it’s just one talented woman. Man, UK female artists are owning lately…
Note: There is HD!

Marina & the Diamonds - Fear & Loathing:

Disturbed - Shout 2000

It’s time for this band again! Years ago I became addicted to this song, which was originally by Tears for Fears under the title “Shout,” and I made my father listen to it repeatedly in his car.
Note: Rock out in HD!

Disturbed - Shout 2000:

Nelly Furtado - Turn Off the Light

This artist, as far as I know, is still pretty well-known and still makin’ hits, although this song was popular when I was a youngun’. By accident, I ended up memorizing this song just by hearing it so many times on the radio.

Nelly Furtado - Turn Off the Light:

Chemistry - Floatin’

I probably discovered this Japanese R&B duo through an mp3 rotation site years ago. I really like their voices, although I find myself wishing their songs were more interesting.
Note:  HD!

Chemistry - Floatin’:

Lykke Li - Tonight

OK, I’ve heard a few songs by this artist and never really cared for them—in fact, the style somewhat bothers me. But I heard this song in a fanvideo and the chorus hasn’t left my mind since.

Lykke Li - Tonight:

Rufus Wainwright - Little Sister

For me, the main appeal of this song is in the lyrics. They consist of a boy (suggested by the lyrics and instrumentation to be Mozart) singing to his little sister about how she won’t become famous based on talent alone like he will, because she’s female, and he will still go down in history as more famous than her for the same reason. It’s a commentary on the gender double standard in the entertainment biz, at any stage in history.

Rufus Wainwright - Little Sister: