First song is “Man Up”, the title track off the brand new album by The Blue Van.  The Denmark based band’s music is heavily influenced by classic and modern rock and blues.  They’ve been around since I think 2005 but this particular song has been getting a pretty decent amount of airplay on KCRW – 89.9 which is how I first heard it.  You can listen to the track and a couple others on their myspcae
The Blue Van – Man Up (Click to listen on their myspace page)

Second song, “Believe” is off the new Q-Tip album, The Renaissance, and after about a minute this song really reminds me of some vintage Tribe Called Quest.  D’Angelo featured on this track, doesn’t sound like he’s really quite back yet, but it’s nice to know that he’s working again.  Q-Tip sounds great on the track, but his rapping is a little too relaxed and nonchalant I think…

Q-Tip – Believe (Featuring D’Angelo)

Third song is the Does It Offend You, Yeah? remix of The Faint’s “The Geeks Were Right”.  DIOYY?’s beat really gives you a sense of what their sound and energy is like at a live show.  When I saw them last, at the Key Club, they blew the roof off of the place.  It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and I think everyone there that night would probably agree with that.  They’ve killed it at The Echo and the El Rey but they didn’t do too well at the Mayan when they opened for Bloc Party.  They obviously do much better in smaller, more intimate venues but I heard they were incredible at Coachella too so I guess they also do really well at festivals.

The Faint – The Geeks Were Right (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix)

Fourth song is an awesome cover of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon” by Astrud Gilberto.  It makes me wish I was alive and tight friends with Hugh Hefner when he had that TV show back in the early 60s.  You know, like when this kind of jazz was really popular and movies like Blow Up (scored by Herbie Hancock) were popular…

Astrud Gilberto – Fly Me To The Moon