K. Will - 꿈

This song is from a Korean drama series that I haven’t seen called A Love to Kill. I think I found this through an mp3 rotation site years ago.
Note: You can listen in HD, and with a Spanish translation of the lyrics!

K. Will - 꿈 [Kkum - Dream]:

Mélissa M. feat. Khaled - Benthi

I found this song through YouTube last year. I like it ‘cause it’s French R&B meets Algerian rai.

Mélissa M. feat. Khaled - Benthi [Daughter]:

Chevelle - The Clincher

I feel like I should have listened to this American artist more, because the number of songs I’ve listened to by them is not proportional to how much I’ve enjoyed the ones I have heard.  This song gives me energy!

Chevelle - The Clincher:

Heidi Mollenhauer - God Help the Outcasts

This is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite Disney movies, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This holds true from the time I was little up until now. Such a pretty song! And I like the meaning too. It kinda sums up the message of the film as a whole.

Heidi Mollenhauer - God Help the Outcasts:

Here’s the scene from the movie:

Mr. Lif - The Sun

This is one of my favorite songs by this hip hop artist. I even wrote about it in my honors thesis. It’s one of those motivational “don’t lose hope/give up” type songs, because music can lend you strength.
Note: I didn’t really wanna use the official music video, but it has HD.

Mr. Lif - The Sun:

Andra - Femeia

This is a Romanian singer I found on YouTube. She has a darn good voice, and everything I’ve heard by her so far is catchy.
Note: HD video!

Andra - Femeia [Woman]:

Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið

Discovered this song and Icelandic artist through YouTube surfing. I’m including the official MV in this one, because it’s beautiful.
Note: Watch in HD!

Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið [The Light]:

F.I.R. - 荼靡時代

I’ve listened to quite a few songs by this Taiwanese artist—like 3 or 4 albums’ worth—and this is one of my favorite songs by them. I like the cinematic, classical feel.

F.I.R. - 荼靡時代 [Tu Mi Shi Dai - Tumi Age]:

CKY - Knee Deep

My friend is a fan of this artist and always wore clothes with their emblem, but I didn't go out of my way to listen to them. He sent me a few songs by them years ago, and at some point I realized that a song I had been listening to on the Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack was by them.
Note: Although the song I originally wanted to post wasn’t even available in decent quality, this song has HD.

CKY - Knee Deep:

Toya - I Do!!

This song was my jam back in the day. I don’t know why, I just really liked it. Strangely, I had trouble finding it in decent quality on the Internet in later years.
Note:  Holllllly crap, I found this song in HD!

Toya - I Do!!:

South Border - Wherever You Are

I wanted to include a Tagalog song by this artist, but this is the song I’ve heard by them that I’ve liked most so far. It’s also, I think, the first song I heard by them as well. It sounds like it should be on the soundtrack of some 1990s Disney movie. :-P
Note: I found it in HD!

South Border - Wherever You Are:

Kenza Farah - J’essaie Encore

Here’s another artist I found when I was cruising YouTube for French pop music. I’m not obsessed with her music or anything, but it’s to my liking. This is the first song I came across by her, and I liked its aggressive hip hop stylings. I just found out this singer is originally from Algeria, which is interesting because she reminded me a little of Zaho, another artist I found while searching for French music who turned out to be from Algeria.
Note: The video has CHINESE SUBTITLES for the French lyrics! How cool is that?! (My apologies if you neither understand French nor read Chinese.)

Kenza Farah - J’essaie Encore [I’m Still Trying]:

Xzibit - X

DAAAAAAAAANG, I remember seeing the music video for this back when I was like 12 on channel 8 MVs after school, hosted by Chuey! And I remember finding the combination of this artist's voice and the Dre beat intimidating... but for some reason I liked it.  West Coast represent.  The music video stayed in my brain for all these years, and I still find Snoop's rambling endorsement at the end amusing.  The lyrics are definitely explicit and have profanity.

Xzibit - X:

Madonna - To Have and Not to Hold

I heard this song in an AMV for the very good anime mini-series Please Save My Earth (which is actually how I discovered the show, too). Between a video I saw recently and the Lady Gaga feud, it has come to my attention lately that this famous artist is, well, kind of a jerk. Which made me feel good about never liking her singing much. However, I found the album this song is on, Ray of Light, much more to my liking than her other work in its downbeat trip hoppiness.
Note: HD listening here!

Madonna - To Have and Not to Hold:

Caravan Palace - Dragons

I heard about this French artist on Tumblr, but heard this song when someone posted in on Facebook. It’s awesome!

Caravan Palace - Dragons:

Mariska - Murha

This is the only song I’ve heard by this Finnish hip hop artist, but it’s enough to intrigue me. (I looked up the lyrics translation and it’s about a guy breaking her heart, but it sounds more ominous than that.)

Mariska - Murha [Murder]:

Jhameel - White Lie

I heard about this artist last year on Tumblr. I looked up his bio and we seem to have a lot of things in common, including our age, university, appreciation for androgyny, and linguistic interests.
Note: HD!

Jhameel - White Lie:

Maaya Sakamoto - Hemisphere

This was the closing theme to one of my favorite anime series, RahXephon. The composer is Yoko Kanno, BTW, who often uses this singer/voice actress as a vocalist in her music. (I haven’t tagged her this time, though; I think it’s beginning to seem unfair how often I post music by this composer.)
Note: HD listening enabled! (For some reason, another song called “Ongaku” is also included at the end of the video.  It's quite nice too.)

Maaya Sakamoto A.K.A. 坂本 真綾 - Hemisphere:

James Horner feat. Cathy Cavadini - Dreams to Dream

I FOUND IT I FOUND IT I FOUND IT!! This song is from the animated film An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, which was a part of my childhood, especially the scene with this song. I thought it was soooo pretty and could remember the animation, but not the song… then I found this version of the song (which, IMO, is much prettier than the “professional” recordings of it) and it came flooding back!

James Horner feat. Cathy Cavadini - Dreams to Dream:

Alina Grosu - Прости меня, моя любовь

I found this while clicking around for Ukrainian/Russian music on YouTube.  Whoa, this seems to be the first Ukrainian artist I've posted!
Note: You can listen in HD!

Alina Grosu A.K.A. Алина Гросу - Прости меня, моя любовь [Prosti Myenya, Moya Lyubov’ - Forgive Me, My Love]:

K-os - Hallelujah

This hip hop artist occasionally dips into reggae (as with last time I posted a song by him) and other styles, and this song is a nice, somber example of that.

K-os - Hallelujah:

Son Seung Yeon - 미운오리새끼

This is one of the few songs in a massive K-pop playlist someone sent me that I actually liked. I’d never heard of this singer before. Nice, strong voice and thankfully not trying to sound like a little girl. She was the winner of South Korea’s version of the competition reality show The Voice, and it sounds like that win was well-deserved.

Son Seung Yeon A.K.A. 손승연 - 미운오리새끼 [Miun Orisaeggi - Ugly Duckling]:

Armchair Cynics - Ablaze

I just realized I hadn’t posted a song by this artist even though I meant to quite some time ago. Oops. I discovered this Canadian band through an AMV for the anime series Canaan.

Armchair Cynics - Ablaze:

Within Temptation - Ice Queen

‘Tis another song by this Dutch artist. I very much like the lead singer’s high notes!
Note: HD available!

Within Temptation - Ice Queen:

Taku Iwasaki - Flame

This instrumental piece is from the soundtrack of the anime series Witch Hunter Robin. I always thought it sounded really cool.

Taku Iwasaki A.K.A. 岩崎 琢 - Flame:

Janelle Monáe - Come Alive

This is the first time I’m posting something other than a music video by this artist. This track made me realize that her voice is not only very good, it’s kind of insane. That sustained shriek! Geeze!
Note: Listen in HD!

Janelle Monáe - Come Alive:

Placebo - Song to Say Goodbye

Hey, wanna be depressed? Then watch this MV! But really, I like it a lot. The song itself is, I believe, about the narrator/lead singer losing his friend to drug addiction. That in itself is quite a downer, but compound that with the video and this whole thing fills me with a profound sadness. (Which is good, because that means it’s doing its job as art!)
Note: But first, just the song in HD.

Placebo - Song to Say Goodbye:


Now the MV:


Holy crap, I didn't know there was an extended version of the video until just now! I'm posting that too.

Vienna Teng - Blue Caravan

Here’s a downbeat tune from this American artist. I had an album of hers, Dreaming Through the Noise, and this track in particular always stuck in my head. I like the instrumental aspect of it.
Note: HD, su-weet!

Vienna Teng - Blue Caravan:

Saeed Asayesh - نازی

I don’t love this song, but I don’t hate it either. I’m posting it because I had a housemate who used to play this song an obscene number of times (somehow I always end up living with people who play one song obsessively for months on end), to the point where a bunch of us in the house knew the lyrics despite not knowing Farsi. It basically became his theme song.

Saeed Asayesh - نازی [Nazi - My Dear]:

The Pierces - Sticks and Stones

This will be the second song I’m posting by this Alabamian sister duo, but this time it’s more uptempo. But the real appeal of this song for me lies in the music video, which probably won’t appeal to you if you find horror movies too frightening to watch.  It was my first exposure to this artist, and it impressed me with its macabre style.

The Pierces - Sticks and Stones:


Here’s the MV! It’s not exactly for the faint of heart, though.: