Usher, Here I Stand [Full Album Stream]
Eighteen songs! That is almost literally a song for everyone and every occasion. If only they were titled as such, because we’d be curious to hear “Standing in Line at the Deli” or “Midwestern Accountant Named Larry.”
Cyndi Lauper, “Into the Night Life” [MySpace]
Girls apparently also want to have club singles.
Al Green, “Lay it Down” [MySpace]
What better way to ease back into work week than with this magnificent number from Reverend Al. Sometimes pop music is a blast furnace; this song is a cold glass of lemonade.
Sam Phillips, “Little Plastic Life” [KCRW]
So many years on and still underrated: the magnificent Sam Phillips returns with a song that demonstrates her knack for blending curious vocals with a big parched strum. To put it another way: she was Feist before there was Feist. By which we mean: in the ’90s, they used her songs to sell Discmen.
Larry Norman, The Anthology [Full Album Stream]
Compelling proof Christian rock doesn’t always turn out cheery or charmless or swaddled in yellow and black.
[Photo: Getty]
