Yael Naïm

I must admit I first took notice of Yael Naïm last night when I saw the MacBook Air commercial (and subsequently fell in love with both the computer and the song). Then I realized I had actually heard her voice before on the Readymade FC album Babilonia, which I bought on a whim in Paris over two years ago. I think I bought it because Feist was a collaborator on one of the songs. And, just for fun, some trivia about Yael (courtesy of Wikipedia):

1. Naim was born in Paris in 1978 to Jewish-Tunisian parents.
2. At the age of four, she moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel, where she learned Hebrew and trained as a pianist.
3. She served in Israel Defence Forces as a soloist in Israel Air Force Orchestra.
4. The songs on her self-titled album are in French, English, and Hebrew.
5. The album entered the French album chart at No. 11 the week after its release.

Yael Naïm - New Soul (used in the MacBook Air commercial)
Yael Naïm - Toxic (Britney Spears cover)
Readymade FC feat. Yael Naïm - The Only One
Readymade FC feat. Yael Naïm - Slide

RIYL: Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sia, Cat Power

My Fifty Favorite Songs of 2007

THIS IS JUST A LIST - THE LINKS ARE DEAD

Without further ado, I present to you:

"My Fifty Favorite Songs of 2007: A Hi-Fi Heart Mixtape"
(in alphabetical order, with absolutely no pressure from hipster trends, and with a dash of country songs thrown in just 'cause this is Nashville!)

Adele - Hometown Glory

Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)

Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights of Thunder

Aqualung - Something To Believe In

Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running

Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You

Basia Bulat - Snakes & Ladders

Bishop Allen - Rain

Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

Brooke Waggoner - Wonder-Dummied

De Novo Dahl - Shout

Delta Spirit - Strange Vine

The Everybodyfields - Aeroplane

Feist - 1234

Fergie - Clumsy

Gabrielle - Love Me Like You Do

GoodBooks - Passchendaele

Groove Armada - Song 4 Mutya

Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am

Jack Penate - Spit at Stars

Joshua James - The Soul and the Sea

Kate Nash - Mouthwash

Kate Walsh - Your Song

Kelly Clarkson - Sober

Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love

Los Campesinos - You! Me! Dancing!

Mandy Moore - Nothing That You Are

Mark Ronson (Feat. Amy Winehouse) - Valerie

Miranda Lambert - Dry Town

Noah and the Whale - Rocks and Daggers

Paramore - Crushcrushcrush

Patty Griffin - Heavenly Day

Radiohead - All I Need

Robyn - With Every Heartbeat

Rogue Wave - Chicago x 12

Ryan Adams - Everybody Knows

Sara Bareilles - Love Song

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles - The Day We Met

Sigur Ros - Hljomalind

The Silver Seas - This Country Life

Spoon - The Underdog

Sugababes - About You Now

Sugarland - Stay

Taylor Swift - Our Song

Tegan & Sara - The Con

Those Dancing Days - Those Dancing Days

Travis - My Eyes

Wilco - Either Way

Yelle - Ce Jeu

Zookeeper - Ballad of my Friends

New Releases - 1.22.08

So there were a TON of new releases yesterday. I tried to sift through them all, but The Yellow Stereo did a far more thorough job than I ever could. So I'll be lazy and just link to it.

The only addition I have for you:

Rooney - Forever Young (Youth Group cover)
(from the "I Should've Been After You" EP)

And, in case you care, my most highly recommended albums released from yesterday are:

Cat Power - Jukebox (more covers!)
Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces (acoustic goodness)
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (fun dance/rock)
Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning (acoustic GREATness)
Jack Penate - Matinee (domestic arrival!)
Steve Poltz - Traveling (acoustic cleverness)
Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause - The Rustic Contemporary Sounds of... (rocking rootsiness)
Bodies of Water - Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink (California throwback sounds)
The Whitsundays - The Whitsundays (quiet prettiness)
Hey Willpower - P.D.A. (indie Mika-meets-JT)

New Releases - 1.22.08

So there were a TON of new releases yesterday. I tried to sift through them all, but The Yellow Stereo did a far more thorough job than I ever could. So I'll be lazy and just link to it.

The only addition I have for you:

Rooney - Forever Young (Alphaville cover)
(from the "I Should've Been After You" EP)

And, in case you care, my most highly recommended albums released from yesterday are:

Cat Power - Jukebox (more covers!)
Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces (acoustic goodness)
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (fun dance/rock)
Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning (acoustic GREATness)
Jack Penate - Matinee (domestic arrival!)
Steve Poltz - Traveling (acoustic cleverness)
Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause - The Rustic Contemporary Sounds of... (rocking rootsiness)
Bodies of Water - Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink (California throwback sounds)
The Whitsundays - The Whitsundays (quiet prettiness)
Hey Willpower - P.D.A. (indie Mika-meets-JT)

New Releases - 1.15.08

[Cover Songs Edition!]

Band of Horses guitar player and North Carolinian Tyler Ramsey released his second solo album this week. It is a quiet, melacholy affair with lovely finger-style acoustic guitar picking, reminiscent of Leo Kottke.

Tyler Ramsey - These Days (Jackson Browne cover)


The Battle of Land and Sea is the dreamy sounding duo of Sarah O'Shura and Joshua Canny. After first listen, it's impossible not to think of Mazzy Star. Trivia: O'Shura recorded several songs while in the nude, but she won't tell which ones.

The Battle of Land and Sea - Harden My Heart (Quarterflash cover)

This duet with Canadian songbirds Anne Murray and Nelly Furtado is dreadful, amusing, and fun all at once. Anne Murray's voice was never truly great, and it's teetering on unlistenable at this point, but still - Useful for kitsch factor alone!

Anne Murray with Nelly Furtado - Daydream Believer (Monkees cover)

Other honorable mentions for 1.15.08:

Magnetic Fields - Distortion (title-says-it-all)
The Eels - Meet The Eels: Essential Eels 1996-2006, Vol. 1 (nice introduction)
The Eels - Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities & Unreleased 1996-2007 (serious fans only)
The Steeldrivers - The Steeldrivers ("rhythm'n'bluegrass")

New Releases - 1.8.08

For those of us that weren't alive in '69-'71, I'm happy to say that we now have a chance to hear (and see) some of the best performances from The Johnny Cash TV Show. This duet with Joni Mitchell is particularly wonderful.

Joni Mitchell & Johnny Cash - Girl From North Country

"My Declaration" was the song that introduced me to Tom Baxter back in 2004. He is often compared to Jeff Buckley, but I find Tom's music to be much more accessible. Short of paying $30 for an import CD, it's pretty much impossible to buy his music in the US. A travesty!

Tom Baxter - Better

This is (Willie) Wisely's fourth album, and it features lovely and melodic singer/songwriter pop. He has a famous friend in Jenna Fischer (Pam of "The Office"), who appears in his video for "Through Any Window". It's like if Badly Drawn Boy made an album full 70s AOR.

Wisely - California

Other honorable mentions for 1.8.08:

Sia - Some People Have Real Problems (smooth/soulful pop)
Kate Nash - Made of Bricks (US release, finally!)
Marah - Angels of Destruction (bluesy roots-rock)
Amanda Shaw - Pretty Runs Out (New Orleans fiddler)