David Berman

I'm doing nothing, hope you have a more exciting evening planned. In any case here's three appropriate songs. MP3 The Walkmen - In the New Year (from 2008's You and Me) MP3 Death Cab for Cutie - The New Year (from 2003's Transatlantacism) MP3 Nina Gordon - New Year's Eve (from 2000's Tonight and the Rest of My Life)

Jenny Lewis is the frontwoman in Rilo Kiley and she's also quite good on her own. She writes songs filled with hooks and she's got one of the best voices in rock. Hers is the female voice you hear on the Postal Service's only record, 2003's Give Up. MP3 Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (from 2008's Acid Tongue)

David Berman of NY's Silver Jews Silver Jews have been around for almost 20 years, a bit under the radar. Based in NYC, the band was formed by David Berman (the only permanent member) with Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich (both later of Pavement). After rotating through no less then 24 members if Wikipedia is to be believed (including Will Oldham), it's now just Berman and his wife, Cassie (who sounds an awful lot like Lucinda Williams to these ears, not that that's a bad thing!) This is a lovely alt-country song off their latest. MP3 Silver Jews - Suffering Jukebox (from 2008's Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea)

In honor of last night's moon, here's a great song by the UK-based electronica duo The Black Ghosts, aka Theo Keating and Simon Lord. I get that this track is danceable, but it's also melodic and features beautiful singing, two things you don't usually get with a dance track. MP3 The Black Ghosts - Full Moon (from 2008's The Black Ghosts)

Easu with Ezra of Vampire Weekend (and his ubiquitous boat shoes!) This is SO GOOD. Londoner Esau Mwamwaya (from Mali) has teamed up with Johan Karlberg (Sweden) and Etienne Tron (France) of Radioclit to produce a spectacular album that eases Westerners into African music, not least by including covers of artists like the Beatles, Architecture in Helsinki and the Ruby Suns. Pitchfork gave it an 8.6 , and you know how THEY are. Here's the most high-profile cover off the record, which just proves that the VW boys are NOT making African music, in case you were mistaken. Also don't miss Hot Chip covering the same song with Peter Gabriel name-dropping himself on vocals (he changes the lyrics to acknowledge the weirdness). I guess this was inevitable; it's very nice to have. Thing is it's just a very good song from a very good album and you can do a lot of things with it. MP3 The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit) - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend cover from ...