this song by staind shows extreme versatility for a band who is known for hammering away their music on stage. aaron lewis, the band's lead vocalist, displays tremendous strength in his voice in this piece, and the emotion of his words can be felt by all who listen. the lyrics are amazing, as is the case with all of staind's tracks.

Just one of many gems on the wonderful "Simplesmente" LP. A fairly stripped-down arrangement and recording, but which still allows for the song's bright verse and chorus melodies to shine forth. The track is built from acoustic guitar, bass, drums and a hint of (what else?) percussion, which pulse gently along on the verses in a rhythm that reminds me of dancehall reggae somehow, while still being obviously a branch of the bossa nova tree. Fernanda's sweet croon and instinctive sense of swing navigate this terrain effortlessly. Who is Fernanda? Where has she gone? On the strength of this LP, she definitely had quite a bit to offer. But it was tough, back then, being Elis Regina's competition.......

A great track from a truly great LP that I fear might have slipped through the cracks in the floorboards in the decade or so since it's release. TWP's "Queer" remains the band masterpiece, an ungodly amalgam of Can, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, King Tubby and De La Soul. This song perfectly highlights the record's/band's strengths - Mark Cox's cut and paste/dub programming, Andrew Gray's blistering guitar, Mick Allen's brilliant "Tom Waits sings the Mark E. Smith Songbook" voice/words, aided by then Throwing Muses Leslie Langston's sexy bass/backgrounds vocals. The song is both seductive and sinister - the spoonful of sugar being the its' "The Fall Plays The Burt Bacharach Songbook" shambling groove that helps down the medicine that is Mick Allen's venomous lyrics in re: America's inaction/indifference in the face of the AIDS crisis. Rarely has subject matter so heavy, been dealt with in such light/deft manner. I recommend the whole "Queer" LP - particularly the British edition , which differs in tracklisting and uses of samples. (It is likewise available on the band's fine - if somewhat short - best of "Everything is Beautiful 1983-1995"

A catchy calypso number whose strength lies with its amazing vocals and well used horns.The vocals are crackly and worn with a Cab Calloway-esque charisma.

Prior to hearing her "Something" LP, I always referred to Dame Shirley as "The Godzilla of Song". By this I meant I always felt she treated a tune the way Rodan treated Tokyo, like something to be smashed underfoot. While I lived/died by her Bond themes, and such like, I never thought she was capable of nuance, restraint, and/or sexiness. Then I heard this god-like album, brilliantly produced and arranged by Johnny Harris. This cover of The Doors' song perfectly sums up the record's strengths. It's jazzy, sexy, incredibly funky, yet still totally Dame Shirley in all her over-the-top-glory. Probably the best Doors cover ever (though Nico's toxic reading of "The End", and Siouxsie and The Banshees' strangely Motown-esque version of "You're Lost Little Girl" come awfully close.)

Powerful song by relatively unknown band. Empowering. The kind-of song you want to listen to if you're in need of a reminder that things will get better.

A wonderfully weird piece of synth pop from Belgian electro pioneers Telex ,a sublime layered ,warm pop song ,both commercial and avant ,its repetition is its strength ,the tune seemingly going nowhere but all the time rushing to the part of your brain that says "this is f---ing brilliant,it celebrates life in the moment and the mundane and cannot fail to improve your mind and your day.

Electronic rock - even if you're not a fan of the genre, I recommend it. I don't tend to listen to electronic rock but this song has a good beat and the vocals have an unusual but interesting quality.

The final track from their superb album "A Secret Wish". Instrumental, apart from a spoken lyric at the end, this reworking of the opening track of the album uses both real strings and synths in combination with some catchy, moody chords to create real atmosphere.

Villians is another one of those songs that sticks in your mind and has you bobbing your head without even realizing it. The hard crunching guitars sink to the bottom of your soul, and just as you feel yourself grooving the crazy vocals come together with the unbelievable drum beat and form a rythm that just screams MOSH!!! Although the song is amazing the mixing is what brings out its strength. At each second you feel yourself connected to the song then it changes up and goes slow, and in a few seconds builds up to a beat that gets you so pumped you feel like fliping tables. If you ever need a song to get out some aggresiion I definitely recommend this one.

A slice of unbelievably sweet, lush electronica from Elegia. An insistent, original, clattery percussive line and the most enormous heart-rattling sub underlie a sparingly used, sweeping string riff and a vocal which you can't quite make out--I think that's to the good in this song, since Elegia are no Paul Simon--except in fragments. It's sung with strength and melancholy, perfectly structured and as moving as any six minutes I know.