shawn hewitt

if i had this entire album, i would go back and edit my end of year list and this would be in my top 5. this dude is absolutely incredible. AND I CAN'T FIND HIS FUCKING DEBUT ALBUM ANYWHERE. literally the only place i could find it online is amazon and it's a 22 dollar import. i may suck it up and order it today, cause this is seriously one album i don't want to be without any longer than i have to.

after reading a lot about shawn yesterday, i noticed comparisons ranging from (mostly) radiohead/thom yorke to rufus wainright to stevie wonder to maroon 5 and tv on the radio. none of which are without their merit. he's really managed to find a niche somewhere between indie and soul. and it's an amazing, amazing sound.

shawn hewitt on myspace.

download two tracks from spare hearts:
keep them at bay
one on one

video for try:


video for one on one:


- panda

cee-lo green - ... is the soul machine. (2004)

obviously, we all know cee-lo from gnarls barkley and goodie mob. but dude released to really fucking good solo albums that went largely overlooked.

featuring production and guest spots from artists like timbaland, the neptunes, pharrell, and ludacris.. cee-lo manages to touch on a wide variety styles both vocally and musically. touching on everything from southern rap to r&b to soul and funk.. cee-lo's got the game on lock.

cee-lo green on myspace.

download cee-lo green... is the soul machine:


- panda

cody chesnuTT - the headphone masterpiece (2002)

the best thing you can possibly do for yourself is get this album for the cred. i mean, come on, how dope and in the know will you be next time you're on your favorite message board and you drop this name. mother fuckers will be like "yoooooooo, this cat is down."

what you will discover, once (if) you give the album a chance, is exactly what you read in the album's title. a lo-fi masterpiece made in a bathroom, by a man who's as strange as he is soulful. this album would be the end result of jimi hendrix, sly stone, and d'angelo sitting around painting their ideal portrait of a musician.

it's confusing, it's raw, it's soulful, it's sexual.. it's what you should be listening to right now.

cody chesnuTT on myspace.

download the headphone masterpiece:


(p.s. obligatory mention about chesnuTT being featured on the roots classic single "the seed 2.0" (a remake of chesnuTT's "the seed").

- the panda masterpiece

tahiti 80 - fosbury (2006)

do you need a soundtrack to a night out with your friends? do you need something to get your girl or guy in the mood? did you play out your justin timberlake cd? are you too indie for the maroon 5?

the answer to all these questions is tahiti 80 (pronounced like "tea 80"). this french outfit bring the soul to their brand of indie/synth pop. citing everyone from outkast to new order to curtis mayfield as inspirations for their latest album, fosbury, these guys put together an album of 14 pop tracks with the funkiest of swaggers. get your boy or girl, some friends, some drinks.. and get down.

official website.
tahiti 80 on myspace.

download fosbury:


- pander
(p.s. how dope is the panda on the album cover? quite dope indeed.)

cavil at rest

if you're into moving your hips, vocal harmonies, tapping your toes or clapping your hands, you should probably listen to this band. cavil at rest is a tiny band out of california, and these two (especially the s/t) eps are hands down their best work. they've recently taken a less accessible route, but these two eps are still golden and get constant spins from me.

add them on myspace:
www.myspace.com/cavilatrest

download cavil at rest e.p.:


download apples to oranges e.p.:

-roshan