Best New Not Rap- Ambling Amp- Yeasayer/ Twyce- Javelin

The incredibly exclusive concert planning gods, known as the BCA (yes, they did reject me) posted on their website this week that the Fall Concert bands this year would be Yeasayer and Javelin, which, despite my personal feelings towards the organization, were two very, very good choices.  In the first single of their sophomore album Odd Blood, Yeasayer keeps up with the experimental psych-pop that made them the “official” soundtrack of Summer ‘08.  As for Javelin, I had never really listened to their music prior to last week, but they truly are an amazing duo.  The Providence natives will be a great supplement to the headliner Yeasayer.

Best New Rap- Mirrors (Feat. Bun B)- Wale / World Tour (Feat. Jazmine Sullivan)- Wale

Attention: Deficit, Wale’s debut album which is set to be released next week, is one of the most anticipated hip-hop releases of the year.  With top end production (Mark Ronson, Neptunes, David Sitek, DJ Green Lantern) and A- level guests (Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Pharrell, Gucci Mane) the album is set to be a huge release.  Two leaked tracks off the album “Mirrors” and “World Tour” confirm this, and will surely be blasted out of many a dorm window.  ”It’s like da dada da da da…”

Best Guilty Pleasure- One Time- Justin Bieber

The fact that I am willing to admit that I know who this 15 year old Canadian tween heartthrob is makes my rejection from the BCA much more understandable.  Awful lyrics, awful pre-pubescent voice, a severe overuse of the term “shorty,” and a video about a party in Usher’s house (?), make this a great guilty pleasure song.

Best Older Song- Peach, Plum, Pear- Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsom’s music isn’t for everyone.  That being said, it should be.  Sure her voice can be described as being somewhere between Lisa Simpson and a parking break, but it is very subtly beautiful.  She uses harp (or in the case of this song harpsichord) to make wonderful, unique freak folk and should definitely be in the itunes library of everyone on campus.

Jam of the Week- 90210- Wale

I know that I already posted two Wale songs, but this one has something special that pushes it up above being merely Best New Rap and into Jam of the Week.  The relatively simple,  Mark Ronson produced, beat sets a fantastic stage for Wale to masterfully recount a moving story of the dark side of “90210.”