Oh look, it’s Monday again! Don’t the weeks fly by?

What happened this week? Well, a volcano erupted in Iceland, meaning that shit loads of European flights got cancelled. My favourite thing that happened this week? Nick Clegg became the hero of the Liberal Democrats and made David Cameron look ugly, old-fashioned and an all round dick.

Damn, I’ve sworn twice already…

But I’m not here to talk politics. Onto the music.

Song #1: Cry Me A River – The Cliks: I don’t actually know how this song came to exist on my iPod. I don’t even know who ‘The Cliks’ are, but apparently they can’t spell. Time for some research… Vancouver based, often compared to Bowie and The White Stripes and apparently they’re all gays. Hmm. Sounds fabulous if you ask me. Listening to the track, I’d agree with the White Stripes comparison. Which is definitely a good thing.

Yes, this song is a cover of the Justin Timberlake classic ‘Cry Me A River’. I actually like the original, but this one is just as good. It sounds almost like an entirely different song though. The band plays electric guitar, bass and a hefty drum beat that is definitely not as falsely manufactured as Timbo’s version. Great stuff. (Oh, p.s. I’m scrapping the whole ‘you can buy it HERE!’ shizzle. If you really want to listen/download, you’d get your lazy ass to type the band name in a search engine and find it yourself.)

Song #2: Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield: How do I even start to describe Dusty? No, not the bin, I mean Springfield. No, not the place where the Simpsons live… You know who I mean. Some say Ms. S was the goddess of soul. The GodMother. SOUL SISTAH. Catch my drift? Well whoever it was, they weren’t wrong. Can you believe this track was released in 1968? Me neither. Still sounds fresh as ever.

Many people have tried to cover this song, but no one really comes close to the way Dusty performs it. Her voice is suitably husky, the music is typically retro and the tune is still as catchy as ever. It actually makes me wish I was old. They don’t make music like this any more (with the exception of soul gems Paloma Faith and Paolo Nutini) but I wish they did. We need a few more popstrels like her and less of the slutty, wannabe generation.

Song #3: Constant Knot – City & Colour: This band is actually fronted by Dallas Green, the main man behind hardcore screamo band Alexisonfire. However, this band could not be more different from his original. This time round, Green goes for a more acoustic, folky version of Alexisonfire, with beautiful acoustic guitar strumming and a perfect raspy voice. However, I’m not sure I like this band as much.

I really want to like them, because this is usually the sort of music I listen to, but I just find them slightly bland sometimes. This song is pretty enough with a stunning vocal, but it’s not as good as some of their other tracks. (For example, ‘Save Your Scissors’ and ‘Confessions’.) You’ll like this if you like easy listening, laid back tracks, but I don’t find this band overly excited. A nice listen anyway.

Song #4: International Hustler – Freeway: I wasn’t aware that this was on my iTunes. Delete, delete, DELETEEEEE!!!!! (As you can see, I don’t recommend this song.)

Song #5: Spotlight – Jennifer Hudson: Ah, the Hudmeister. I love everything she’s ever done and everything she will do forevermore. You’ll probably remember her from Dream Girls or the Sex & the City movie, or if you’re a hardcore fan, you’ll know that Hudson was actually a contestant on the third season of American Idol which was won by Fantasia. (Fantasia does not feature anywhere in my iTunes, if you were wondering.)

I personally am a huge fan of J.Hud. She’s amazingly talented and I often compare her to Mercedes from Glee. Which is always a good thing. This song is the perfect R&B track, with pretty good lyrics (for an R&B song) and a catchy chorus. Catchy songs are generally winners in my book. With a few notable exceptions, such as ‘Babycakes‘ by 3 of a Kind and ‘Never Forget‘ by Take That. I’d definitely buy this if I were a fan of Aretha Franklin or Destiny’s Child.

Top Track This Week: Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield.