Die Warzau, "Funkopolis"
Die Warzau mostly got lumped in with other industrial dance acts, mostly due to a name that looked like an industrial band and a vocal style that sounded like Nitzer Ebb after some vocal lessons. But in retrospect, there's really very little that connects them to other industrial dance. There's nowhere near enough noise, it's not chilly enough, there's no disaffection on display. This is just dance music that somebody has darkened ever so slightly.
Pink Martini, "Bukra Wba'do"
The little potted biography of Pink Martini I'm looking at says that they've collaborated with the great-grandchildren of the Von Trapp family, which seems like the best possible description I could possibly put here.
Spoon, "The Way We Get By"
One of the bands that has clicked with me as a result of this project, in a way they never used to, is Spoon. I don't really know why that's the case, and I guess I was just missing the boat before, but it's still nice to have that happen.
Hum, "Shovel"
You know, if you slipped this song onto a Floor album, I'm not sure I'd even notice right away. At least until the vocals kicked in, anyway.
Cloud Nothings, "Last Song"
And if you slipped THIS onto a Hum album, I'm again not sure I'd notice right away. And by the transitive property, lesse...carry the two...that makes me a jackass. ("Hey! No callbacks! Jackass!")