The 11 Best Songs By JJ

With the mixtape becoming a dedicated part of hip-hop today, no rapper worth his ilk hasn't released one.  I think even Obama has a mixtape coming out soon, I hear DJ Green Lantern is producing.  The mixtape craze has even bled into the rock world and JJ may have put out the best one so far.   Their 2010 tongue-in-cheek mixtape embraces everything a good mixtape is supposed to be.  Most hip-hop mixtapes borrow tracks from rock bands...while JJ borrows music from hip-hop artists.  It's fun, clever, and trailblazing.  Even with a serious tone, the band is as playful as their hip-hop influences. With a full album finally hitting, we get to enjoy them in full stride.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By JJ:

1. Things Will Never Be The Same Again (JJ No. 2)
2. Let Them (let them)
3. Still (Kills)
4. You Know (jj No 3)
5. My Hopes And Dreams (JJ No. 2)
6. New Work (Kills)
7. 10 (High Summer)
8. And Now (jj No 3)
9. Big Hearts, Big Dreams (High Summer)
10. Ecstacy (JJ No. 2)
11. I'm The One / Money On My Mind (let them)

Buy JJ's new album, V...now!!

The 11 Best Albums of 2009: 23-33 (Part 3)

As each step of this list is being unveiled, I have to say...there was a lot of music this year I really enjoyed. Whether it was scrounging to find the unreleased Beck cover album...or the return of Franz Ferdninand...or the underrated ben gibbard/farrar duet, there was a bunch of music out there to get excited about. Two newcomers to watch...Cut Off Your Hands and Cage The Elephant...I have a feeling they will be on these lists for years to come.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2009: 23-33 (Part 3):

23. Cut Off Your Hands - You And I (Turn Cold)
24. JJ - JJ No 2
25. Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
26. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
27. Cage The Elephant - Cage the Elephant (Ain't No Rest)
28. M. Ward - Hold Time
29. Beck - Velvet Underground & Nico (I'll Be Your Mirror)
30. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3.0
31. Steel Panther - Feel The Steel
32. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
33. Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar - One Fast Move Or I'm Gone

The Unknown: The xx and JJ

Two of the hottest bands this late summer are the goth-folk experience known as the xx...and the world-influenced bubble pop of JJ. Their success is due to the simplified approach to music making...that bigger isn't necessarily better. And the brevity of their names is a perfect example of how little you need to do to get your point across. But they are not the first to try their hand at the double letter naming...in fact there are already a long line of suitors.

The xx: Stars

JJ: My Hopes and Dreams

Here are the 11 best double letter artists:

1. B.B. King
2. LL Cool J
3. ZZ Top
4. Dee Dee Ramone (okay...a little cheat)
5. A. A. Bondy
6. C.C. Deville (Poison)
7. GG Allin
8. TT Quick
9. AAVV
10. WW
11. PP Arnold

Buy debut albums from the xx and JJ now.