So I’m completely lifting this idea from Othurme’s post yesterday. He didn’t tag me with this meme, but he did name check me in reference to the Billy Mann song.

I decided to up the stakes a bit by posting ten songs by male artists that I’m totally digging at the moment. This is a mix of some older stuff as well as a few artists I’ve just been turned on to. Since I’ve been told recently that my website lacks a “theme” but there might be some sort of a hint that I’m into music, I hope this appeases the masses for a while. Oh, and if you’re interested, the iTunes links will take you to the albums where you can find these songs.

1. “Have It All” – Jeremy Kay. This song was featured on an episode of Scrubs last year. I may have already mentioned in an earlier post somewhere that I have a disturbing crush on Zach Braff. I don’t know what it is, besides his great taste in music and slightly goofy but endearing charm, and those super bright white teeth… anyway, I immediately bought this album on iTunes and Can. Not. Stop listening to this song. I love how each verse does something different instrumentally. The bass line is bouncy and makes this song completely groove. The whole album is good, if you’re wondering.

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2. “Last Request” – Paolo Nutini. This is another recent discovery, though I can’t recall at the moment exactly where I heard about him. He’s got such an interesting tone to his voice. I’ve heard him described as the next James Blunt, however, I prefer Paolo’s voice to James’s pinched nasally delivery. Paolo’s style is a bit more rough-edged and not nearly as produced as James. It’s a great peek into a relationship that is over, but needs one last moment of intimacy for closure. I’ve probably listened to this song thirty times this week.

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3. “Nothing Left to Lose” – Mat Kearney. This song is being used on some commercial for a tv show. Don’t ask me which one, I don’t remember. (An atrocious memory is a symptom of my CFS.) If you happen to know, drop me a note or leave me a comment would you? Mat’s voice sounds very much like the guy from The Push Stars, who in turn sounds a lot like Adam Duritz from the Counting Crows. But I can’t really say that Mat sounds like the Counting Crows… This song has a soaring chorus that will have you testing your falsetto on, “Good morning we’ll seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…”

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4. “Overkill” – Men At Work. Yeah, it’s an old song. It’s also one that most people never think about when Men At Work gets discussed. People were all about “Down Under” and it’s Vegemite reference, but this was my favorite MAW song. The sax line is the complete hook to this song, as its chorus is sort of hard to recognize. I was reminded of this song a couple of weeks ago on a rerun of Scrubs. Yes, I am aware that I have a problem.

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5. “Such A Way” – Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. I bought this cd last year on one of our trips to Tower Records where UMB and I would hit all the listening stations and just pick up anything that we sort of liked. I was trying to keep them in business for a while, but I guess my $250 shopping trips every month weren’t sufficient to support an entire chain. Go figure. Anyway, this disc lived on my iPod without much attention for a while, as I had purchased it at the same time as The Low Millions and couldn’t bring myself to listen to anything else for a while. About six months later, I got tickets to see one of my favorite groups, The Pat McGee Band, and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers were the opening act. They put on an INCREDIBLE show, and apparently my brain soaked up more of the disc subconsciously than I realized because I could sing along with almost everything on the disc. This song does a great job of evoking a pretty strong emotion without coming across as completely cheesy.

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6. “Space Heater” – Geggy Tah. Another fairly old song that I discovered by accident while on a Limewire downloading spree a few years ago. Who knows what I was actually searching for to come up with a band called Geggy Tah. This song is quirky with some unusual sound effects throughout with a catchy melody… and the nonsensical lyrics make you pay attention and try to come up with some interpretation for lines like, “it looked like a motorcycle coming at you through a glazed-glass shower door.” The album, Into the Oh, is an eccentric mix of electronic pop. If you like this song, you’ll love the album. I’m looking directly at you, Bianca.

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7. “Nikki Don’t Stop” – The Low Millions. One of the sexiest songs to come out in the past 5 years. Adam Cohen (son of Leonard Cohen) put together an album called Ex-Girlfriends about, well, his ex-girlfriends. Nikki was apparently the seductive sex kitten that turned into a tiger behind closed doors. I think we’ve all had one of those relationships that was so intense and physical that it was doomed to burn out spectacularly leaving you sweaty, exhausted, and somewhat relieved that it’s over. This song is exactly like that. Exactly. Four minutes and thirty-three seconds of HOT.

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8. “The Not So Pretty Princess” – Jude. I briefly dated* a guy named Robbie several years ago who turned me on to Jude. I was somewhat familiar with him from the song “I Know” that he had on the “City of Angels” soundtrack. I wasn’t a big fan of that song, but was pleasantly surprised that the rest of his material was very cool. I love the sentiment of this song, that even though this girl isn’t that pretty, he loves her and it makes her beautiful, and it manages to get that across with a minimum of cheddar.

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9. “Hey Kwanongoma!” – The Ark. I will be the first to admit I have no real clue what this song is about. What I know is that this song will infect your brain and you will spend hours singing it and humming it and wondering just what the hell you are saying. Every single part of this song is a hook, from the muted guitar arpeggio to the tympani hits to the crazy group sing-along chorus. It is totally impossible to listen to this song and be in a bad mood. I love songs that have the ability to alter your mood. For me, it’s better than sex or drugs. This song is like a hit of ecstasy with a xanax chaser. I’m guessing.

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10. “Gather” – Glen Phillips. For those of you following along at home, you should already know that Toad the Wet Sprocket is my favorite band, and by that same token, the lead singer and primary songwriter, Glen Phillips is way at the top of my list of favorites. This song is almost too cool for me. I feel like I need to be a better dresser and more socially conscious person to listen to it. I haven’t heard his interpretation of this song directly, but I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that it was inspired by the events of 9/11. The lines “Let us be humble tonight, in these deaths show us the light, give us strength to lay down the mighty…” and “Oh God won’t you hear my cry, don’t want to see another innocent die on either side” are quite poignant. The song features this cool tribal rhythm in the background and a round over the second verse that makes me think of “Babylon” from Don McLean’s “American Pie” album.

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Give them a listen and let me know what you think. If you are feeling particularly adventurous I’d love to hear the songs you’re totally digging right now.

* We saw a lot of each other for a few months, but never had sex. Apparently I was the only one who knew we were dating.