kalatva.

This little Santa Cruz trio needs to be better known by all. They have great talent in such a simple form, with guitar, banjo, and double bass. Their music is a modern version of folky bluegrass, so have a listen. The first is one of their most popular songs, Old Number Seven, and the second is another of my favourites, called The Plank.

Old Number Seven

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The Plank

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Old stuff, but still not very well-known. Pere Ubu play experimental rock, they call it “Avant Garage”. Some of it’s very experimental, and some of it sounds like surf rock. Their experiments range from mild to bizarre, sometimes sounding along the lines of Captain Beefheart or Frank Zappa. Off of their first album, The Modern Dance, here’s the song Street Waves.

Street Waves

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I’m a huge AC/DC fan, so finding this was amusing and strange at the same time. Paris Derniere does a lot of covers of popular songs, and they do a cover of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell that’s really pretty good. It doesn’t have the same kick and power as AC/DC’s song because it’s a soft and melodic version, but it’s just interesting to see it done because I never would have imagined an AC/DC song in such a different light.

Highway to Hell

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Xavier Rudd has a really beautiful, delicate style in his music. He’s amazing at slide guitar, and plays the didgeridoo and a whole slew of other instruments too in a many of his songs. He does a beautiful cover of Jimi Hendrix’s The Wind Cries Mary. Here are two of his original songs too, one is more his classic gentle style (”White Moth”) and the other is a more reggae-style upbeat song of his that I really love (”Twist”).

The Wind Cries Mary

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Twist

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White Moth

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This British band plays one of the prettiest electronic pieces I’ve ever heard. I’m not typically a great lover of electronic music, and it’s not too often that I find an electronic song that I really enjoy, but this one breaks the mold! It’s a nice mix between electronic sound and some pure vocals, which works really well.

Daydream In Blue

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