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Try listening to these in order. No, really. It will all makes sense.

Money Mark, "Pick Up the Pieces" [video]
It's about time somebody put those street corner sign-twirlers into a music video, and about time Money Mark got recognized for being more than just the guy who put all those groovy vintage keyboards into old Beastie Boys albums like Check Your Head.

RJD2, "Get It"
Speaking of groovy—check the wicked little beat on this atmospheric slice of instrumental hip-hop goodness. The breakdowns just make you appreciate it all the more when RJ brings it back.

Consequence, "Callin' Me"
Let's hope this Chicago MC fares better than Kanye West's last Chi-town protege. (Rhymefest—remember him? Didn't think so.) Although the real name to watch may be the man responsible for that irresistible beat, an up-and-comer called Younglord the Truth.

Air, "Once Upon a Time"
Air return from the disposable pop junkyard that was Talkie Walkie and get back to doing what they do best, which is essentially making elevator music. But man, that is one sexy elevator.

Kate Havnevik, "New Day"
A sweet electro-pop soufflé, with just the right amount of glitch for seasoning, courtesy of Frou Frou's Guy Sigsworth, who produced. I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for those pretty, chopped-up vocals. That sounds kinda creepy, doesn't it?

The Feeling, "Sewn"
Bummer for this song that The OC just got cancelled. If this isn't the soundtrack to a montage of sexually frustrated teenagers lolling around wistfully in their bedrooms, I don't know what is.

Malajube, "Montreal -40 C"
This band's latest album, Trompe-l'Oeil, came out last year, but we were one of a number of American music sites that missed the boat, probably because they sing everything in French. We've finally caught up and now we can't stop listening to it. Mon dieu! Such pop hooks!

Mary Weiss, "Stop and Think it Over"
We've come full circle, folks. The Shangri-Las released a string of girl-group, pop-rock hits in the '50s and '60s that influenced the Ramones and Elvis Costello. Now ex-Shangri-La Mary Weiss is putting out a comeback record, and it sounds like the Ramones and early Elvis Costello. Pop will eat itself, indeed.

Makes Nice, "Candy Wrapper"
Something tells me these guys like the Ramones, too. This is one of those songs any idiot could probably learn to play on guitar in five minutes—but, ironically, very few idiots could have dreamed up in the first place.

Pedro Winter, "Rainbow Man"
Here's more irony for you: Daft Punk annoys the crap out of me, and yet here comes their manager, for God's sake, and he spawns this little dancefloor annihilator. That nasty buzzsaw of a synth riff cries out to be blasted over a 40,000-watt megaclub system.

--Andy Hermann
03.02.07

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