MUSIC: "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)"

"I'll take off my halo if you take off your wings,
You don't have to be invincible 'cause I sure ain't no saint,
You'll always be by angel no matter what you do,
'Cause you take me to heaven just by being you."

With these poignant words, the chorus on country duo Steel Magnolia's hit single, "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)", reaches beautifully lyrical heights. The voices of the two singers, real life couple Meghan Linsey and Joshua Scott Jones, blend perfectly and with such true emotion, you can't help but believe every honky tonk note in the country ballad. Here's hoping their forthcoming studio album has as much grit and emotion as this one song does! Head over to iTunes and download it today!

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "What I'd Give"

Words can not express how deeping saddened and disappointed I was in Sugarland's lead-off single from their upcoming fourth studio album. (So disappointed I won't even mention the title of that barely-country Jamaica-ska infused mess of a wannabe hip-hop song.)

That being said, the band offered a contest to fans to create a video for one of their favorite Sugarland songs. The winner chose the tune "What I'd Give" off their third album Love On The Inside. The song is beautiful and the videographer did an amazing job of tying together footage of the country duo to really capture the essence of the song.

I think I'll just bookmark this video and play it when, or if, Jennifer and Cristian decide to release another travesty of a single...ah, the good ole days!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (Part II)

This Is Somewhere Grace Potter & The Noctural's second studio album, from 2007, picks up where their previous work left off. With colorful lyrics, a deep soul-inspired groove, and equally slick guitar licks, the album delivers in all the ways you hope an album would.

The catchy and deceivingly sad "Ah Mary" kicks off the record with toe-tapping gusto while the jumpy, "Mr. Columbus" will have you dancing around your living room just for the heck of it. The entire CD, though, is filled with Potter's incredible vocal stylings and there is no doubt that she is a soul singer who feels every blue note.

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (Part I)

Who would think that a white girl from Vermont could sing such exhaustingly passionate soul music? Well, maybe Joss Stone. Please take some time out of your busy schedule today to get to know Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. I was recently introduced to this group from upper New England when they forcedly uploaded Grace and her band to my computer; its been on repeat ever since.

Her 2005 album, Nothing But The Water is rockin' soul music at its most raw and real. Songs like "Ragged Company", and the titular "Nothing But The Water" (both Parts I and II are equally fantastic) leave your foot tapping and your heart seeping some kind of deep emotion all over everthing. Another highlight of this album is "2:22" a song about love gone wrong, but not too wrong. Listen closely and you'll be in for a surprise ending!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: Justin Townes Earle

Named after the late country singer Townes Van Zandt and the son of country rocker Steve Earle, Nashville native Justin Townes Earle seemed destined to be a star. His funky acoustic style, coupled with a preternatural songwriting ability and pleasant folk voice, make for a commendable musical effort.

The 28 year-old's third album in two years, Harlem River Blues, debuts tomorrow, but be sure to check out his "earlier" material, including 2009's "Midnight At The Movies" and 2008's "The Good Life". Like an old pair of jeans that you forget about how much you love them until you slip then on, Earle's music is vintage and contemporary all at once; each song makes you want to sing along until you realize you don't know the lyrics.

While the parts of his name already have household recognition, hopefully it won't be long before they collectively do. This is an up-and-coming artist worthy of your ear.

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: "Painkillers"

A girl from Tennessee moves to Los Angeles at the age of 16, lives at one point with Lisa-Marie Presley, and sings with a reggae band. Later she stars in the hit Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" for a couple years before packing up and moving to England. Now, at the still young age of 22, Lauren Pritchard is releasing an album due in October called "Wasted In Jackson" with "Painkillers" as her debut single.

As a songwriter, Pritchard has a talent for crafting a song as a storyteller would. Her vocals are equally impressive, combining a raw tender coffee-house texture with the pipes of a rocker. A promising debut for an artist who seems to clearly have paid her dues!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: "Club Can't Handle Me"

The fusion of two guys who have separately dominated the club scene seems only appropriate that their collaboration be this cocky. R&B singer Flo Rida and club kid David Guetta "Club Can't Handle Me" join forces for this hot track from the Step Up 3D movie, out last month. The song is high on energy and just about as high on life as you can get! Also, I've never wanted to get down in a laundromat as much as I do now after seeing the video!

Buzzy

MUSIC: "You've Got A Friend"

This song is great on so many levels! First is that it is a rap song with a positive message and nothing explicitly inappropriate, which lately in the mainstream rap world seems to be a rarity. Second, the group, known as Far*East Movement (or FM for short) is a group of Asian-American MC's. People of Asian decent make up a large and growing portion of the US population and are yet severely under-represented in pop-culture.

The single, "You've Got A Friend", featuring Lil' Rob and Baby Bash, extolls the benefits of not only being a lover but a friend at the same time. This is the Los Angeles-based group's first real mainstream single, however, many people may recognize them from the soundtrack to The Fast & the Furious. Although simple and sweet, this song will become an earworm if you're not careful! Either way, its not a bad one to have on the brain if it does.

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: 100 Miles From Memphis

Its not new for artists to venture away from their genres and test the waters in another's pond. Sheryl Crow has had many mutations in her career and explored everything from pop to rock to folk, which makes this morphing to blues less extraordinary. Regardless, it is a genre shift that suits her. Actually, it is a genre that sounds like she was flavoring all her previous works with all along.

Playing homage to the South's other big music draw - other than country and southern rock - Crow works her way through a series of soul-inspired tunes on her newest record, 100 Miles From Memphis. Stand-outs include the titular song and the emotional "Sideways". The song "Sign Your Name", featuring backing vocals by Tennessee-native Justin Timberlake, also makes a nice attempt to sound authentically "Memphis." A bonus track recording of the Jackson 5 song "I Want You Back", in tribute to Michael Jackson himself, will also have you tapping your toes, although the version is nearly identical to the original.

If only other artists could make the change to other genres of music this seamlessly.

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: The Imagine Project

Many people outside of the music business don't know Herbie Hancock. For those of you in this boat, let me introduce you to him. The man is a genius. He has a collection of Grammy awards and is pretty much deified in the jazz community. He has worked in front of the crowd (as a mutli-talented instrumentalist) and behind the scenes (as a producer).

His most recent series of projects has been to record with a variety of artists, usually on a particular theme. The best part is how Hancock brings people together in these recordings that you would not expect to 1) record jazz and 2) sing together. If this all sounds intriguing to you, then check out The Imagine Project featuring songs of hope and peace by an international and diverse recording community. Relying heavily on African instrumentation and voices, much of the album fuses American jazz grooves with African beats and sounds.

Not to say that that is the whole album though. A unlikely duet, "Don't Give Up", between pop bad-girl P!nk and R&B pianist John Legend is all class and quality. Likewise the Juanes performed "La Tierra" and the James Morrison version of "A Change Is Gonna Come" will have you hitting the repeat button.

Play this in the background the next time you have people over or even quietly at your office and you will have an audio conversation piece. This is a must-own album if I ever heard one.

Buzzy

MUSIC: From A Table Away

The name may not be familiar, but Sunny Sweeney is no stranger to the country music scene. Her debut album, Heartbreaker's Hall Of Fame, released back in 2007 was a hit with critics but failed to chart or really get any radio attention. Her debut single, "From A Table Away" off her untitled forthcoming album is doing the opposite, currently at #46 on Billboard's Country Chart.

The song is about a woman who sees the married man she's been seeing at a restaurant with his wife. In the course of the affair, as suspected, he's seemingly been telling her that he is miserable and will leave his wife for this mistress. The events that unfold across the room tell a different story, however.

And I heard you tell her you still love her,
So it doesn't matter what you say,
I saw it all,
From a table away.

It isn't a vengeful song - a route many country artists may have choosen to take - but one of quiet acceptance. The idea that anyone who engages in infidelity can't be as honest and pious as they seem and shouldn't be trusted in either relationship.

You can download the song for free, along with several others by going to www.people.com/free and entering the code into your iTunes account. In the meantime, before the full album drops, check out Sweeney's previous and underappreciated CD. I know I will!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: The Baseball's "Umbrella" cover

Who could have imagined the versatility of one very popular pop song from 1997 would be covered countless times in just as many genres by amateurs and established artists alike? Rihanna's 1997 hit, feating Jay-Z, "Umbrella" achieved her three #1 spots on different Billboard charts, as well as being named triple platinum in the US. The single has done other artists well also, including an acoustic folky recording by Marie Digby and a punk version by the band Vanilla Sky. It has not, however, gone back in time yet...until now.

In 2009, Germany band, The Baseballs, recorded a classic rock 'n' roll-inspired version of the song that could have easily come from your parent's collection of 45's from their teenage years. Combining stock footage from the early 60's with new black and white videography, the video might actually cause someone to question the origins of the song!

Sergio del Limonar

MUSIC: "Please Don't Go"

Put "Please Don't Go" on your next party playlist and not only will everyone be up and dancing but you'll have everyone asking "who is this?!?" Backed by a catchy but not annoying electro-beat, the smooth-voiced artist in question is 22-year old singer-songwriter Mike Posner and hopefully he will have the success he seems to be headed toward. If that happens, everyone will remember the first time they heard of him. Be sure to check out his debut album, 31 Minutes to Take Off, available next week!

Buzzy

MUSIC: Sam & Ruby

She is from Ghana. He hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are based in Nashville. Together they make the folk-pop duo Sam & Ruby.

Released almost a year ago in 2009, their debut album The Here and the Now is perfect blend of folk harmonies, pop hooks, and R&B soulfulness. "More" is a beautiful coming-to-terms break-up song with both parts of the duo singing "Don't be mad about it, just be sad about it. I need more than you have to give." Literally every track on this album contains carefully crafted lyrics and gorgeous vocal arrangements. The horn-infused "Sarah" is the story of telling a friend that the man she is dating is actually married and her reaction while the title track begins with the line "come sit with me on the porch where we last had a fight, tell me its going to be alright" and continues by expressing the fact that relationships are hard but are worth the work.

The stand-out track, however, is "The Suitcase Song" which could be open to interpretation but on a very surface level is the personified story of the way we treat our luggage. In it Ruby sings:

"Remember when I fell down the stairs when you were rushing down that long flight of concrete squares.
You brushed my dirt off and checked to see if you had hurt me more than you thought but how hurt could I be?"

This is the perfect album for anyone who has ever tapped their toe to the stylings of Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, Colbie Caillat, Matt Nathanson, Ben Harper, Sara Bareilles, or Jason Mraz. It sounds nothing like any of them but if you like one you will love the other!

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "The House Rules"

Just in time for the rowdy weekend ahead, do yourself a favor and download country new-comer Christian Kane's "The House Rules". Off his self-titled EP, the barn-raising party anthem is just what you need to have playing on repeat before going out or blasting through the speakers at the bar at closing time. Above a screaming guitar and rocking harmonica, Kane implores the crowd to just come in have a good time, checking their attitudes and problems at the door. Sounds like a plan to me!

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: Big City Blues

Keith Gattis has been in the country music business for awhile now. His first self-titled album debuted in 1996 and scored the bluesy singer-songwriter a spot on the country music charts. His second album, Big City Blues, released in 2005, is a inspiring second effort overflowing with toe-tapping, gritty, soulful country music at its best. Perfectly fusing Nashville's Broadway with its Printer's Alley a couple of blocks away, his sophomore effort will not disappoint.

Some of the standout tracks include the titular track, "Big City Blues", and smooth as whisky ballad "The Bottom". My personal favorite, however, is the instrumentally sparse and haunting "Somebody Told Me" in which Gattis speaks to a soon-to-be ex-lover, imploring her with "somebody told me you're sick of your man."

Fellow Nashville artist Miranda Lambert has said she used Gattis as inspiration while recording her hit album, Revolution. It's obviously paying off for Lambert, so why not check out an under-appreciated talent for yourself!

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "Black Sheep"

I know absolutely nothing of Maureen Murphy except that she has a stunning voice and her song "Black Sheep" off the three-song EP, Won't Wait Around, is bordering on an obsessive amount of repeat plays. The soulful and honest nature of the lyrics in the story-teller-like song is as uplifting and exciting as it is heartbreaking. The single is on iTunes but you can see a live performance Murphy did at Nashville's Lightning 100 radio station.

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: Traveling Like the Light

A few months ago, iTunes generously offered up a single called "Shark In The Water" by pop new-comer V.V. Brown. I found myself over-playing it and asking others if they'd heard it. (No one ever had.) Well, V.V.'s album, Traveling Like the Light is now available and it is just as great as the single I so love!

If you're not convinced to just run out and buy this album, then let me try and entice you. First off, she's British, and if there is anything we have learned, music-wise, in the past couple years, its that the Brits know a thing or two about good pop music. (See: Joss Stone, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Duffy, James Morrison, etc.) Second, this song is good pop-dance music, meaning minimal synths and other artificial noise-makers. Thirdly, download the joyous flashback doo-wop inspired "L.O.V.E." and "Crazy Amazing" and tell me you hate it. I dare you.

Can you tell that I love this thing!?! As a bonus, it is on sale on iTunes for $6.99 right now! Even they want you to experience the greatness!

Buzzy

MUSIC: "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" video

Forget about the over-played summer anthem "Crazy" from a few years ago, Gnarls Barkley should be best known for creating ZONINO!-worthy videos as well as great pop music. The pop duo of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green did it again with the last single off their sophomore album from 2008. "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" does such an amazing job of conveying what heartbreak feels (and could look) like, I see no reason for anyone else to write a heartbreak song ever again! If more artists put this kind of creativity into the visual representations of their music, perhaps MTV would still be relevant...

Buzzy

MUSIC: "Astronomy"

A friend of mine recently was bemoaning the state of pop music today; something I can totally relate to. If it doesn't come from a lady with a lobster on her face or from some Disney-created pop tart with a terrible voice, people won't listen. Its a shame really. So I asked my friend what prompted this specific rant and he ordered me to "listen!" to what was being played on our bar's electronic juke box. He said, "I don't understand why Blue Öyster Cult never achieved the fame of Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd." I didn't want to admit that I wasn't familiar with the band that was allegedly playing, but that would have only made his point, I guess.

Anyways, I checked them out and I do believe he is right; they are a great and under-appreciated band. Check out "Astronomy" from their 1974 album, Secret Treaties.

Buzzy