Upon initially hearing The Calling’s first hit single, “Wherever You Will Go,” I, along with many others sharing in my musical preference, were intrigued by the deep, melodic vocals of lead singer, Alex Band.  To continue the seduction of new listeners, the song itself lured you in with the strumming of a soothing guitar and lyrics that seemed to pull from the diaries of first loves everywhere.  Alex Band himself probably produced such emotions in the ladies with his siren songs.  The song topped the charts and was even recognized as the #1 Adult Pop song of the decade by Billboard magazine.

So, where’d they go?   Where’s Alex Band?  Is he single?  The band released a few more singles from their first album, Camino Palmero, including “Adrienne” and “Could It Be Any Harder.”  Their music even made appearances in a few popular films such as “Coyote Ugly” and “Love Actually.”  Their career allowed them to make a second album cleverly titled Two, but their popularity slowly faded after that. Until just now.  When I brought it back. Let’s rekindle the romance and appreciate the talent of a band whose career may have ended too quickly.   If anything, The Calling will always have that first single…and Paris (Casablanca reference).

Check out Camino Palmero:

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But before the movie was even released, I developed an emotional attachment to the trailer, which I must have watched on apple.com about two hundred times. About halfway through, Frou Frou’s “Let Go,” the sort of main theme for “Garden State,” kicks in—and to this day it’s still one of the most moving and beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.

In the years since, Imogen Heap—Frou Frou’s lead vocalist—has earned some fame for “Hide and Seek,” which damn near everybody has heard at this point thanks to its appearance on the second season finale of “The O.C.” and subsequent Saturday Night Live spoof of it. More recently, that same song was sampled in Jason DeRulo’s “Whatcha Say,” which was at one point the #1 song in America.

So it’s not like you’ve never heard this girl’s voice before, but “Details,” Frou Frou’s only album, is from an age before Heap was so well-known, and her partner on the project—Guy Sigsworth—deserves his fair share of the credit of the record’s beauty as well. The two co-wrote every song on the album, which includes “Let Go” and loads of other transient, ambient electronica that is both musically challenging and melodically pleasing.

There are rumors of a reunion between Heap and Sigsworth, but so far nothing official has come to fruition. Still, “Let Go” remains in the annals of life-altering music for me. Few tracks have ever affected me more. I loved it when I was coming of age, and now that I’m of age I love it even more. It’s aged like a fine cheese, and held up better than the movie that helped make it famous, though I’ll never bad mouth “Garden State” or Frou Frou. Don’t you do it, either.

Figure A

Honestly, after I left school and moved on to the real world, I sort of forgot about Michael Tolcher.  I really wish I hadn’t because he really was a talented guy.  His music mixed elements of funk, pop, alternative, rock and hip-hop into one catchy compilation.  I Am was an album you could listen to for any occasion and not get tired of hearing it.  He had a knack for creating songs with positive messages (which was a nice change of pace considering the top radio hits at the time consisted of the Ying Yang Twins and Eastside Boys.)

Michael Tolcher has still been around the music industry creating songs occasionally and even attending the Sundance Film Festival to educate attendees on music for feature films and television.  He’s sort of a music professional.  A professional of music if you will.  Check out his album I Am if you’re looking for something poppy and positive.  It will definitely hit the spot.

Buy the album:

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Of course every time I heard the song “Torn”, I was reminded of my one true love from 1997.  So naturally, when I heard it on the radio recently, I had to get the entire album.  Besides the first single I knew all too well, Left Of The Middle also contains the single “Wishing I Was There” which also could have been our wedding song.  I’m just saying.

Left Of The Middle is a very laid-back album with simple melodies and instrumentation.  There really isn’t anything experimental or out-of-the-ordinary about it, but Imbruglia knows how to make appealing songs.  And although “Torn” isn’t exactly the most romantic song of all time, I still love her for it.

Overall, Natalie Imbruglia was one of the more solid female singer-songwriters from the 90s and if you didn’t know her (or did but didn’t know at the time), we’re now giving you the chance to re-live what you missed out on.  You’re welcome.

Check out the video for “Torn”:

Buy Left Of The Middle:

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Wicky wicky.

Shinoda was just one of many guest artists to rap over the beats laid down by those crazy X-Men. Pharoahe Monch, Everlast, Big Pun, Kool G Rap, and the talented gentlemen of M.O.P. all lay down vocals for various songs, and all of them hit hard the way hard-hitting hip-hop should.

What started off as a group of 11 different DJs ended up as only four by the time “Built From Scratch” was released, and that group included Rob Swift, Roc Raida, Total Eclipse, and Mista Sinista. Roc Raida, who passed away in 2009 at only 37 years old, was probably the best-known of the group, having laid down beats for Big Pun and Skillz, as well as serving as the DJ for Busta Rhymes.

The rest of the guys, though, have no shortage of talent, as this sample-and-scratch heavy record proves pretty convincingly. In the hip-hop world, this crew is legendary, but as far as mainstream is concerned it’s been a few years since we’ve heard much from them. Two more albums—“Revolutions” and “General Patton vs. the X-Ecutioners”—were released by 2005, but the group has transformed into something a little different and now goes by a new name with mostly new members.

The audible odyssey, however, is in the books, and it’s a story I’d rather you not forget.

That late at night, music such a forceful, driving beat can either roust you into wakefulness or rock you into a droning coma, and depending on what song was playing I had my fair share of experiences with both. When listening to iiO, however—most famous for their huge club hit “Rapture”—I usually found myself tightrope walking somewhere in between those two states of consciousness.

It was awesome.

The thing about club music is that a lot of its notoriety comes from remixes that get passed around and bumped at discotheques worldwide, but my allure to “Rapture” and later iiO jams like “At the End,” “Kiss Me,” and “Runaway” were a little more than just a primal appreciation for heavy bass and creatively thumping beats. These songs are, at their heart, really good and really catchy little ditties. It’s not just formulaic ass-shaker music intended for E-heads grinding on each other’s scantily-clad, sweaty bodies. Okay, so it is that, but it’s more than that, too. It’s music in every sense of the word, and I likes me some it.

Today, iiO is a one-man show, as Markus Moser has lost his partner Nadia Ali to a solo vocal career, which is apparently going relatively well. Regardless of what they’re up to now, back in 2003 they were the business, helping me stay awake on the drive home from a job that I absolutely did not like. The dance and techno station didn’t last, perhaps predictably because it’s such a niche market, but for the short time it was around I genuinely appreciated it.

And thanks to it, I still appreciate iiO. And thanks to me, you do too.

Here’s the video for “Rapture”:

And the video for “At the End”:

Andrew never signed with a major label.  He hasn’t had his songs featured in CW television shows.  You most likely have never even heard of him.  Yet, he has toured all over the United States playing venues large and small.  He has shared the stage with music industry heavyweights.  Mainstream music would make us question his success as an artist.  For me Dykers’ album Zoot is one of my personal top ten favorite albums.

Andrew Dykers

For me this album was less about mainstream popularity and more about meaning.  Listening to Zoot always reminds me of the fall.  While listening to the tracks this morning I can almost smell the leaves on the ground.  Well, it helped that there are leaves on the ground.  More importantly though is the fact that I got a chance to see Dykers perform live nine years ago right in the middle of the fall season.

And that is why Zoot is so amazing to me.  One listen transports me. Dykers’ music is so real and so raw that it dares you not to be taken in.  It was always clear to me that when on stage he became his music.  He channeled the emotion of soulful performers that have come before him.  Every movement and every word is intended to provoke an emotional response.

My reactions to this album are why I love music so much.  Maybe you won’t have the same response from Andrew Dykers.  And that is ok.  To each their own, right?  I would be shocked though if at least one track didn’t speak to you.  I dare you to listen.  I double-dog-dare you.

I would highly recommend that you give “Saturday”, “Do What You Gotta Do” and “In Spite Of You” a listen.  Oh, and don’t forget my personal favorite “Shine”.  The video below showcases Dykers on this track when he recently stepped back into the studio after a temporary vacation from performing.

Buy the album

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Colin Hay

But beyond the novelty of their popular single, Colin Hay has produced songs beyond his time with Men At Work that are powerful and catchy.  I first came across his solo work through the show Scrubs.  There is one episode that utilizes the song “Overkill” for a particularly emotional scene in an episode for an earlier season.  I immediately fell in love with the song and had to find out who it was.  Imagine my surprise when I googled it to come up with the lead singer for Men At Work.  I thought to myself, “This isn’t right. I have to dig deeper.”  So using my extreme computer hacking skills, I checked an underground website known for digging up this kind of information (Wikipedia) and confirmed that it was in fact the Aussie from the 80s pop band.

Upon further exploration I came across Hay’s album Man At Work which contained the song “Overkill” as well as some retakes on the popular single “Down Under”.  The entire album is very pleasant, but what really sticks out for Hay are his simplistic “guy and guitar” tracks.  In my opinion, he’s best when it is just the melody and the lyrics.  With songs like “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin” and “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” (made popular by the movie Garden State) Colin Hay has a real knack for simple, powerful acoustic tracks.

Check out his appearance on Scrubs:

Buy Man At Work:

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1. Everything in pop culture has the ability to make a comeback.
2. Very few people took Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” policy seriously.

The Stone Temple Pilots adhere to both of those statements.  They crushed it in the early 90′s and now they are making a comeback in 2010.  And let’s just say that some of the guys messed around with the drugs.  Understatement’s aside, STP simply changed my music world in 1992 with their debut release of Core.

STP is still rockin' after 18 years.

Core hit my eardrums during my formative teen years.  This album was a game changer for me.  I guess you can say it rocked me to my “core”.  STP dominated the 90′s grunge scene along with juggernauts like Pearl Jam and Nirvana.  Core was an instant mainstream success racking up a Grammy for “Plush” and it was certified platinum 8 times.  To top it all off, the gritty tone and message of the album seemed to come from an honest place.  My bootleg cassette copy of Core still holds a special place in my musical archives.

Over the remainder of the 90′s the guys churned out four more albums with some solid tracks.  However, nothing could quite match the intensity and popularity of Core.  That knowledge, coupled with a lot of the bands personal demons, sidetracked them for many years.  But, as I stated earlier, everything in pop culture has the ability to make a comeback.  The guys are back at it with their recent self-titled release of Stone Temple Pilots.  They may never be able to eclipse Core, but they are doing a helluva job trying.  Check out their new album and revisit the glory of Core.

KC’s Personal Picks: “Dead & Bloated”, “Plush”, and “Wicked Garden”

Check out STP’s unplugged version of “Plush”

Buy the Album

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Jamiroquai is actually a funk band from the U.K.  Most people (including myself) have wrongly mistaken the lead singer Jay Kay as the solo artist that is Jamiroquai.  As you will recall, Kay is the guy prancing around the trippy mobile room in the over-sized, fluffy top hot in the music video for “Virtual Insanity”. But if we are being specific (and we are being specific) the name would refer the band as a whole and not just the lead singer.

Now that we got that out of the way, let me introduce you to the songs you know and the songs you’ll love.  Many of you that have seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite have already heard another one of his songs and may not even have known it.  Remember this scene?

Yep, that’s Jamiroquai.  So it is a proven fact that one can get down to some serious funk.  But only if you have a choreographed dance and some moon boots…those are requirements.

Now for the song you should be listening to.  “Feels Just Like It Should” snuck up on me in 2005 as the most recent jam from the band reminding me that these guys still know how to do it.  And whether or not you’re a fan of the fuzzy top hat, I guarantee you’re a fan of their music.

Check out the video for “Virtual Insanity”:

Buy High Times: Singles 1992-2006:

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