I've watched with great sadness while Amy Winehouse seems to destroy her life, but have only listened to her music in passing.  Just enough to know that she is an exceptionally talented person.  With my free iTunes downloads from my trusty Visa card I decided to give Back to Black and shot and see what all the hype is about.First, this album could have been made sometime in the 60s in Motown or on

I believe this is the debut album by Polar Bear.  Regardless, it is a superb example of one might call experimental rock or more likely avant garde jazz.  eMusic tags it as alternative, but just about everything eMusic offers can be tagged alternative.  I digress...If you are new to these genres, quite frankly most people are, then this is a pretty nice introduction.  Definitely outside, but also

Acid House Kings is not a name one would associate with a twee band, but they are about as twee as it gets.  Mondays Are Like Tuesdays And Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays is one of this month's downloads and is really quite a nice album very much in the Belle & Sebastian, Kings of Convenience, Monkey Swallows the Universe mold.  I am a big fan of twee, so I'm pretty happy with this download.  The

My friends at eMusic have once again made my day.  Here's a list of recent downloads that I hope to get to write about soon.Acid House Kings - Mondays Are Like Tuesdays And Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays - Twee pop if there ever was such a thingArmy Navy - Army NavyBennie Maupin Quartet - Early Reflections - More great jazzDaestro - Keeper's - On the more experimental sideJames Blackshaw - Litany of

Oh wow!  I sure didn't expect this.  Knee-Deep in The North Sea is among the best jazz albums I've heard in many years. Who knew steel drums could blend into a traditional small jazz ensemble this way. No kidding - steel drums.  Traditional in many ways, but revolutionary in others. Definitely worth your dime and a wonderful introduction to jazz if you're trying to approach the genre.  So who is

As I prepare for a major overhaul of the music room, my main stereo system is in pieces all over the basement.  For fun, I hooked by Benchmark DAC to the output of my trusty Mac and pulled the headphone out through my etymotic headphones.  Although the Mac is a high-end computing device, it is not so much a high-end music device.  At least using the rig I have.The results are astonishing.  I hear

What to do with Balmorhea's Process?  Quite a nice album stuck somewhere between new age and classical.  The form is very much that of modern, classical music, but the instrumentation will definitely keep it off the KANU airwaves.  Some of the tracks definitely have the sound of a small, classical ensemble like a string quartet.  But, others use environmental sounds and instrumentation more common

What to do with White Shoes & the Couples Company's self-titled debut - twee pop from the only Indonesian band in my collection.  Sounds much like The Aluminum Group, but even twee-er if that's even possible.  Much of this album is a bit too sweet for me, but it is well executed and a fun listen.  I have to say that it gets played quite a bit and my favorite song from the album has made it onto

I have an older Brett Dennen album that I've listened to a bit, but it never struck me as an outstanding album.  Thus, I was quite surprised to see rave reviews of Hope for the Hopeless.  I downloaded it on a whim when I had some extra eMusic downloads at the end of the month and now it's hard to get it off the iPod.  This is a very nice singer-songwriter album in the style of Josh Rouse, which

If you love your music and really want to hear what it actually sounds like, please buy yourself some decent cans (headphones for the uninitiated audiophile). Those little white earbud things that come with the iPod make much better cat toys that headphones. I'm going to suggest tossing them as far as possible if you don't have a cat. In addition to all the pretty hip things you can do with your

Rounding out my eMusic downloads for November:Brett Dennen - Hope for the Hopeless - Damn killer pop music.  Same vicinity as Josh Rouse, maybe not quite that good, but really nice stuff.Dungen - Ta Det Lunt - Can't understand a word these guys say, but the sound really good while they say it.  Definitely indie rock.The Sea and Cake - The Fawn - Oldie that rounds out my Sea and Cake collection.