Paper Aeroplanes - Painkiller

I heard this song yesterday when I was watching an episode of the Scottish TV series Lip Service that used it as background music. So pretty! I think I’ve seen this Welsh artist’s name around, but never went out of my way to listen to them before.
Note: And you can listen to its prettiness in HD!

Paper Aeroplanes - Painkiller:

Khalil Fong - 女人

I loooove this singer’s smooth tone. This is one of my favorite tracks by him, but considering how much I like his music, I really should have posted more songs of his by now.

Khalil Fong A.K.A. 方大同 - 女人 [Nü Ren - Women]:

Lyubov’ Fomyenko - Знаешь сам

I came across this on YouTube and liked it. The end!

Lyubov’ Fomyenko A.K.A. Любовь Фоменко - Знаешь сам [Znayesh’ Sam - You Know Yourself]:

Tom Odell - Can't Pretend

I recently first heard this song through a TV show—Brothers & Sisters, I think—but it seems like many people were introduced to this song through an AMV that I haven’t seen. (Quite coincidental, since I didn’t know that until just now and it keeps with the theme of the past few days!)
Note: HD quality again!

Tom Odell - Can't Pretend:

Faylan - Mind as Judgment

This is the opening theme song of one of my favorite anime series, Canaan. In some ways it sounds like a very stereotypical anime theme song, which I usually don’t care for, but for some reason I like it. Again, it seemed apt to post now because I just completed my weekend at an anime convention.
Note: HD quality available!

Faylan - Mind as Judgment:

Eyedea - Weird Side

What is wrong with me? WHY haven’t I already posted this song?! I love this song. I’ve spent the last few days nerding it up at an anime convention so right now seems like an appropriate time to post this hip hop song. It’s about being somewhat of a societal outcast and owning it, which is a theme I think a lot of anime convention attendees can relate to. There is some profanity.
Note: You can listen in HD, FUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Eyedea - Weird Side:

Elisa Toffoli - Ancora Qui

When I recently watched the latest Quentin Tarantino movie, Django Unchained, this song played in the film’s soundtrack and as a result I was convinced to look up the soundtrack information after the film. Evidently this track was composed by the famous Ennio Morricone.
Note: The video provides HD quality in addition to an English translation of the lyrics.

Elisa Toffoli - Ancora Qui [Still Here]:

Muse - Madness

I heard this song playing in a store the other day and really liked it, so I took out my phone and started typing the lyrics so I could look up the song later. My guess that it was a Muse song was confirmed when I did so, and a day or 2 later I heard the song again on the radio in the car. Nice to hear Muse getting some radio play!
Note: This is the official lyric video, and it has HD.

Muse - Madness:

Marysa - Avec Toi

It’s really hard to find information about this artist, and in order to find ANY info about this artist I had to navigate websites in French, which isn’t that easy for me since I don’t know the language. I don’t remember how I first came across this artist, but her music has led me to looking up some information on the genres of kizomba and zouk, of which I previously hadn’t heard (although I've probably heard music that .

Marysa - Avec Toi:

Yo Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile - Attaboy

My mother has been eager to get her hands on music by this musical collaboration group ever since it came out, and for this year’s Mother’s Day I gave her their album The Goat Rodeo Sessions. This is the first track on the album and it especially appealed to me because of its Celtic stylings. The only member of the group I was already familiar with was, of course, the legendary cellist Yo Yo Ma, but the selling point of this group is that they combine elements of different genres including bluegrass and classical.

Yo Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile - Attaboy:

Vanessa Amorosi - Perfect

I heard about this artist when she was ranked near the top of a list of Australia’s best 50 singers. I looked up her music and found this song, the end of which demonstrates to me why she was placed on that list.
Note: HD is available, hurray!

Vanessa Amorosi - Perfect:

Hyori & Eric - Anymotion

No Korean music video is complete without a storyline. I love how Hyori is auditioning with her own song... and fails. That must suck. The rapper in this song is from the boyband Shinhwa, whom I’ve already posted music by. He grew up in the U.S., so it’s weird that his English raps make so little sense. Also, this MV is, like... unapologetically racist. Black guys are all thieves and rapists, white people and Asian people are cool, Latino people don't exist.
Note: But hey, at least you can watch it in HD!

Hyori A.K.A. 이효리 & Eric - Anymotion:

Deadmau5 & Imogen Heap - Telemiscommunications

I came across this song while YouTube surfing, but I already was a fan of the vocalist of this song (as evidenced by the multiple other songs I’ve posted by her). The song seems to be about the problems that can arise in long-distance relationships.
Note: Another HD listening opportunity, hurrrrrrray!

Deadmau5 & Imogen Heap - Telemiscommunications:


If you wanna see the official music video, which is kinda cool and artsy, you can watch it here:

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold

Ironically, I heard about this Australian artist while I was in Korea. First I saw his name credited on one of the songs on Adam Lambert’s latest album, and heard his vocals on the track (not knowing for sure that they were his), and not long afterward I encountered some local girls who discussed Western music with me and brought up this artist. They were shocked when I said I had never actually listened to his music. Now that I’m back in the U.S., I’ve been watching the singing competition show The Voice, where some of the contestants performed this song and I found it to my liking, so I finally went out of my way to look up his work.
Note: You can listen in super HD!

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold:

Metric - Help I’m Alive

For years, people have been sending me/recommending me music by this Canadian artist. Personally, I’ve never really gotten the appeal, so I don’t typically go out of my way to listen to them, but they’re all right. This song in particular is one I’ve heard many a time, because it’s been used in trailers and such, and then it gets stuck in my head.

Metric - Help I’m Alive:

Gackt - 星の砂

Since he's immensely famous, I knew who this artist was for quite a while before I started listening to his music.  I was pretty reluctant to get into his music because at first I couldn't get over his singing style that made it sound like he perpetually had a cold. This is the first ballad of his that I actually liked, which I heard when I gave him another chance by acquiring it from an mp3 rotation site. What sold me on this song, though, was not impressive technique but rather that the emotion felt almost palpable.

Gackt - 星の砂 [Hoshi no Suna - Stardust]:

The Bangles - Manic Monday

This song is kind of like Rebecca Black’s “Friday” in that it's a famous song about a day of the week, except it’s about having to go to work instead of getting to party, and its corniness is excusable because it’s from the 1980s.
Note: HD quality!

The Bangles - Manic Monday:

Oddisee feat. Toine - Different Now

I came across this song by hip hop artists I hadn’t listened to before while YouTube surfing. It’s a conversation between two friends reflecting on how they, and the world, have changed over the course of their lives. There is some profanity.
Note: The video is the MV with HD.

Oddisee feat. Toine - Different Now:

Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This

This artist is the most successful singers to graduate from the singing competition show American Idol. I didn’t watch the show, so this song was my first exposure to the winning singer’s great talent.  I somehow came across it on the Internet with my dial-up connection.  Since then, she’s enjoyed the popularity of many more of her singles and is still pumping out hits.
Note: You can listen in HD (which I couldn’t do when I first heard it)!

Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This:

B'z - Love Phantom

I heard of this aritst years ago because a friend of mine is a fan and burned some of their music for me, but I heard this particular song much more recently when another friend sang it in karaoke. But really, in case you’ve never heard of this Japanese duo before, check out their stats—their career is no joke.
Note: It’s old school-sounding, but you can still listen to it in hi-def!

B'z - Love Phantom:

Zaho - Dima (Arabic Version)

Augh! This is but one of many songs from this artist’s album of the same name as this song’s title that makes me feel like there should be an awesome hip hop dance choreographed to it.  I was a bit confused as to why this song is called the Arabic version, since it sounds almost the same as the original French version, but I guess it's titled such because the chorus is in Arabic in this one.
Note: You can enjoy it in HD!

Zaho - Dima (Arabic Version):

Aloe Blacc - If I

I just came across this randomly on YouTube, and found it quite nice. I might have to look into more of this artist’s work later.

Aloe Blacc - If I:

Sarah McLachlan - World on Fire

This song has one of the better music videos I’ve seen. It’s kind of the main feature for me, so I’m including it here, obviously. Leave it to Sarah McLachlan.

Sarah McLachlan - World on Fire:

Otep - Perfectly Flawed

I think I heard this in a fanvideo, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I heard it pretty recently, and seems to be an anti-suicide song.

Otep - Perfectly Flawed:

Calle 13 feat. Maria Rita, Susana Baca, and Totó la Momposina - Latinoamérica

I came across this track on YouTube and am glad I did. If it’s not evident enough from the title, this song is about Latin American culture and taking pride in it. The main artist for this song appears to be a pretty prominent hip hop group in Latin America, and I found it interesting that the song features multiple singers as well, each from a different Latin American country. It’s cool how inclusive it is that way! (Calle 13 is Puerto Rican, Maria Rita is Brazilian, Susana Baca is Peruvian, and Totó la Momposina is Colombian.)

Calle 13 feat. Maria Rita, Susana Baca, and Totó la Momposina - Latinoamérica:

Hej Matematik - Party i Provinsen

I'm not sure why I liked this artist any more than the other club-sounding Danish artists. Maybe it's because the first video (and all the subsequent ones) I saw of them had them wearing suits. I haven’t been impressed by the vocals in any of their songs I’ve heard, but at least this song is kinda catchy. The video I found also has an English translation of the lyrics.

Hej Matematik - Party i Provinsen [Party in the Province]:

OLIVIA - Collecting Sparkles

I hadn’t listened to music by this Japanese artist in quite a few years, so I decided yesterday I would refamiliarize myself with her music (including by listening to songs by her I hadn’t heard). This track was in the “songs I hadn’t heard before” category, and one of the better ones I listened to yesterday.

OLIVIA - Collecting Sparkles:

K-Ci & Jo Jo - All My Life

I saw a contestant on the singing show The Voice perform this song earlier this week, and it reminded me of how much I like this song. I can’t believe I forgot about it until now!
Note: HD is available!

K-Ci & Jo Jo - All My Life:

Ramata Diakité - Saba

Even though it’s less production-heavy than I’m used to, I found this song highly groove-worthy. Unfortunately, this artist died a few years ago, so R.I.P. to her. This style of music from a particular region of West Africa is credited as being the origin of modern American blues, so that’s kinda cool. Also note that I do NOT know Bambara so I don’t know for myself what the English translation of the title is. The only translation for the titular word that I came across in my amateur search was the one I used here, but if anyone happens to know better please let me know so I can correct it.

Ramata Diakité - Saba [Three]:

Back-On - Chain

This song was the opening theme for the anime series Air Gear, but I didn’t even know that until just now—I found this artist through a recommendation on a music forum, I think.

Back-On - Chain:

Shontelle - Impossible

I don’t remember how I heard this song originally (maybe on the radio?  Someone singing it at karaoke?  I don't know!), but recently I heard a male cover of it (AGAIN on Hollyoaks) and although that version seemed to draw a lot of people in, it reminded me of how I liked this version. I didn’t even know this artist was from Barbados until I looked up her info just now; that's interesting because her singing style reminded me of that of Rihanna, who's also Barbadian.

Shontelle - Impossible: