Barry Louis Polisar - Me and You as featured on the Volkswagen advert

Joe writes: Is this a Bob Dylan pastiche? Anyway, it's very good. Barry Louis Polisar is a children's author and singer-songwriter who provided the opening song for the film Juno. He is very synchable!

Harry Nilsson - One as featured in Boyhood

Joe writes: Another song from Boyhood - I didn't know this smooth Harry Nilsson number until I heard it in the film:

Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were

Joe writes: I've heard three tracks from Ben Howard's new album and all three are great. I Forget Where We Were is possibly my favourite of three thanks to its shades of Jeff Buckley and Mike Scott.

Family of the Year - Hero as featured on Boyhood

Joe writes: I meant to post this ages ago. Boyhood - what a brilliant film. I'm a big fan of the song Hero by Family of the Year; I even included it on my How To Save American Music Spotify playlist:



Hero features prominently on Boyhood which made me realise I hadn't posted it here previously so here it is:

Ben Howard - The End of the Affair

Joe writes: I've always been an admirer of Ben Howard's; now I'm a fan. I'm not comparing him to Laura Marling but, like Laura, I feel that his best tracks stands up next to the classic folk rock of the early seventies. End Of The Affair is the first single from his new album, clocking in at 7.48 so not exactly going for the commercial jugular, but it's beautiful. I've heard two future singles from this album and they are even better.

The 2 Bears feat. Stylo G - Money Man

Joe writes: Wow, this is great. They're in that fun space where they've established their cool credentials so now can get away with total pop and it still seems cool.

Little Feat - Willin'

Little Feat are one of those bands I know about without having heard much so thanks to Jon Webster for introducing me to Willin’. It’s in the middle ground between Gram Parsons and Crosby Stills & Nash so very much up my street.

Kranium - Nobody Has To Know

Joe writes: This reggae tune has been bubbling under for ages, as reggae tunes do, and looks set to crossover this summer. It’s so accessible and light in a good way. I wonder about the effectiveness of “You know me have a fat cock for you” as a chat up line but it certainly makes for an effective lyric.

Bill Withers - Hello Like Before

I recently discovered there’s more to Bill Withers than Ain’t No Sunshine, Lean On Me and Lovely Day. They don’t make them like this anymore. The song was written by Bill and John Collins, but it sounds like it could have been by Stephen Sondheim.

Kina and Sissy Nobby - Sabotage Part II AKA Girl From The Gutter

Joe writes: I heard this on some random Tumblr and it took me ages to figure out what it is – according to Shazam it's Sabotage Part II by Sissy Nobby, but essentially it's a remix of Girl From The Gutter by Kina. Kina was in Brownstone, then once solo was one of those artists who didn’t stick when a big US label (in this case DreamWorks) threw her at the wall. According to Wikipedia, Sissy Nobby is an "overtly queer practitioner of bounce music". This mix just has such great energy.

Watermät - Bullit

Joe writes: It's relatively unusual to find a dance instrumental that could be a proper hit without the addition of a topline but there are a few around at the moment - the two Ten Walls singles and the excellent Bullit by Watermät from France. Wonderfully uplifting.

Amadou & Mariam - Chérie

Joe writes: I heard this at a friend’s BBQ. I always thought there must be an Amadou & Mariam track out there for me and here it is. Lovely guitar part and it sounds like they had a lot of fun making the track.

Kiesza - Giant In My Heart

Joe writes: I wasn't 100% on Kiesza's follow-up until I saw the video. Now I'm sold - great video and big tune.

Daniel Avery - Drone Logic

Joe writes: This is the track that made me realise what all the Daniel Avery fuss is about. It reminds me of Underworld in the era of dubnobasswithmyheadman (one of my favourite albums).

NONONO - Hungry Eyes (Tontario Edit)

Joe writes: Tontario is from Finland and is hot on the blogs thanks to his remix of James Bay. NONONO are from Stockholm and write catchy tunes like Pumpkin Blood. But they've never sounded bigger or more current than on this Tontario Edit of Hungry Eyes.

R.I.P. Gerry Goffin

When you look at the list of great lyrics Gerry Goffin was responsible for it's mind-blowing (especially as, by all accounts, his mind was blown for much of the time).  So it's difficult to pick out favourites. This is certainly one of the most enduring Goffin and King songs:



This is perhaps my favourite, a perfect match of music and lyrics and a very 'grown-up' song for its time. Though many people have done it justice, I still love Carole King's own version, with James Taylor and Joni Mitchell on backing vocals:



Although it seems very much a woman's song, it has been recorded by a number of male artists including Bruce Springsteen and Neil Diamond. And the one and only Smokey:

Ten Walls

Joe writes: I love Ten Walls, who with Requiem and Walking With Elephants, has come up with two of the freshest, coolest electronic tracks of recent years.

Ten Walls is Marijus Adomaitis from Lithuania, who I suspect also makes (made?) music under the name Mario Basanov.

Here's Requiem:



Requiem might end up being bigger but I’m starting to think Walking With Elephants is even better:

Allie X - Bitch

Joe writes: I heard this on Popjustice and have been listening to it loads. It’s produced by Billboard and Cirkut from Dr Luke’s camp and I know very little else about Allie X but I really like Bitch. Billboard (the magazine) have a little more info.

Prince - The Breakdown - his best track for years

Joe writes: Prince doing what he does best, and back to his best, or pretty close anyway

Tom Hickox is on Later with Jools Holland tonight

Joe writes: Here's my favourite song of Tom's, actually one of my favourite songs of recent years, Let Me Be Your Lover. "Let me be the one to shut your eyes when you die". This sounds like a standard to me.