New Music for the Month of June

Welcome to my inaugural "New Music Wednesday" post. I hope you enjoy glancing over it as much as I did publishing it.

My goal for New Music Wednesdays is to open your mind and expand your iPod playlist. I occasionally catch myself saying that music ain't what it used to be (get off my lawn!), but maybe my mind is closed, or I'm just not listening to the right stations.

I pick three songs from three different genres: Pop, country, and rock (since that's mainly what people listen to anyway, amirite?).

Since today is June 1st, it is the unofficial start of summer for many (I, personally, feel like I've been on summer break for three months). The songs I have chosen for this week are tunes you can roll the windows down and pester everyone in your neighborhood with.

Pop:

DJ Khaled - "I'm On One (ft. Drake, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne)" (NSFW)

Here we have the heavy hitters in the hip-hop world with this sure-to-be summertime anthem. I guarantee my 19-year-old neighbor will be blasting this song from his F150 at 3:30 in the morning very soon.



New Boyz - "Better With The Lights Off (ft. Chris Brown)"

Yep, I can see this song playing at the clubs, with 72,000 different remixes of it.



Owl City - "Deer in the Headlights"

Just like 2009's "Fireflies", Owl City comes out with another embarrassingly catchy tune. I see you tapping your foot to it. Don't lie.



Country:

Darius Rucker - "I Got Nothin'"

I got nothin' else to say about this song, other than you should listen to it. Darius Rucker sang the National Anthem at an Indians-Reds game at old Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, and it seemed all 50,000+ in attendance said in unison, "Hey! It's Hootie!" (sorry to bore you with that pointless story)



Colt Ford - "She Likes To Ride in Trucks"

This is a neat little diddy, but it's kind of a change for Colt Ford as he's a beer-drinkin' country rap artist. I didn't know there was such an animal! (and no, Kid Rock doesn't count)



Steve Azar - "Soldier Song"

This is a very nice song, especially since Memorial Day was just two days ago. If you can get through this song without shedding a tear, I'll eat my hat.



Rock:

Apocalyptica - "Not Strong Enough (ft. Brent Smith of Shinedown)

If you've never heard of Apocalyptica, then I certainly recommend you check out their catalog. The band is made up of three cellists and a drummer, and their songs all have guest vocalists from the rock world.



Rise Against - "Make It Stop"


"Rise Against are a bunch of sell-outs! I liked 'em better before they were popular!" <--That is an actual quote from an acquaintance of mine. I thought the goal in one's musical career is to play in front of packed amphitheaters, not run-down dive bars in Duluth, Minnesota?



Arctic Monkeys - "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair"

The kings of British indie rock are back with this jaunty tune. Now hold up a second, I have to download this and toss it on my iPod...