A Little Pop Will Do You Good

PRESS THE PLAY BUTTON () TO HEAR FOUR TRACKS FROM THIS CD.

I was watching The Graham Norton Show a few weeks ago and this Danish group was the guest artist. Their 80s pop sound immediately won me over. When I heard the full CD, This Is Alphabeat, it was exactly what I expected....happy people performing upbeat - and sometimes nonsensical - music. So enjoying this CD sometimes involves ignoring (or perhaps embracing) dumb Madonna-like lines like "he's my boyfriend, don't touch my boyfriend." But in the end, it's okay because the CD is a fun experience from beginning to end.

The songs are catchy, lively and (if you're a big fan of 80s music) will trigger memories of some of the superhits of that decade. The first track in the player "Fascination", for example, sounds alot like David Bowie's hit "Modern Love."

I'm actually surprised I hadn't heard of Alphabeat since I usually keep track of UK hits. This one slipped under the radar, which makes them perfect for recommendation.

PRESS THE PLAY BUTTON () TO HEAR FOUR TRACKS FROM THIS CD.

Referring to Jazmine Sullivan as underrated may be premature since this is her first CD. It may also be inaccurate because she's already had a number one R&B single ("Need U Bad") from this CD. Despite that, I'm issuing a strong recommendation for this one. I've been listening to it for the last few weeks and am not close to putting it away.

This Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter is signed to Clive Davis's J Records. Let's hope his Midas touch will work for Sullivan. (During his stint at Columbia Records and Arista Records, Davis is credited with signing almost every major superstar of the last 40 years.)

Sullivan has spent the last few years working as a protege to musical powerhouse Missy Elliott as well as writing songs and singing background vocals for artists (Fantasia, Christina Milian, Missy Elliott, etc.). Once she was signed to J Records, she spent a year writing songs and recording her debut. The result is a collection of clever and mature songs, strong, self-expressive lyrics, emotional singing and multi-genre musical production. It's another one of those difficult to categorize CDs . Her time spent with Missy was well worth it.

PRESS THE PLAY BUTTON () TO HEAR FOUR TRACKS FROM THIS CD.

The Hôtel Costes series has been a favorite for a long time. French DJ Stéphane Pompougnac continues to put together a great collection of lounge music. This particular installment is more pop than previous releases but (unless you're a diehard fan) still highly enjoyable.

The series started over a decade ago when Hôtel Costes of Paris began releasing compilations of the tracks Stéphane Pompougnac played as the DJ of the hotel.

Please excuse the abrupt ending of the tracks. The CD is a continuous mix, so the songs are meant to flow from one to the next.

PRESS THE PLAY BUTTON () TO HEAR FOUR TRACKS FROM THIS CD.

Like so many artists, Nikka Costa has had her battles with record labels. Through it all, she's been able to make enough great music to solidify her spot as the funkiest white woman since Teena Marie. With her latest CD, Pebble to a Pearl, she takes it to a new level. After being dropped by Virgin Records, she created her own label (Go Funk Yourself Records) and used her personal money to record this CD, allowing her to create the album just as she wanted.

Costa is the daughter of Don Costa, arranger for many entertainment greats including Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, Sly Stone and Sammy Davis Jr. Growing up with access to such musical luminaries, it's no surprise Costa pursued a musical career and that her music combines elements from so many musical genres. Though she's been recording music since the early 80s with hit singles and albums all over the rest of the world, she didn't generate any North American notice until the early 2000s with her singles "Like a Feather" and "Everybody Got Their Something."

Fittingly, this CD is being distributed by the infamous Stax Records, home of such greats as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, and the Staple Singers, among others. This is one funky, 60s flashback of an album.