I saw "Ocean Breathes Salty" on the track list but it took a double take to realize it's ALL Moudest Mouse covers. This is similar to when Mark Kozelek (the man behind Sun Kil Moon) did an all cover tribute to AC/DC for the album What's Next To The Moon. This music is perfect for early morning and late at night listening.

This album has been out all summer, but there's still time to put it into your collection and act as though you've had it all along. This followup to the introspective Sea Change reverts back to the party-persona side of Beck. Lyrics in Spanglish, slide guitars, and DJ-approved beats give off that "California Dreaming" vibe, in which there's no border between the US and Mexico. The fact that Beck made a rare appearance at a local Mexican restaurant in San Francisco (just before performing in front of thousands) gives him even more street cred.

13 & God brings new meaning to the term "crossover artist." This collaborative album spans intelligence across thousands of miles (more specifically, from California to Germany). 13 & God is the premeditative work of The Notwist and Themselves (part of the Anticon collective). Think: Amnesiac-era Radiohead with math rock and nerd rap influences. Speak & Spell samples, harmonic singing and high-pitched rhymes are familiar yet different from anything else you've ever heard.

Coming strong off of their EP, City vs. Country, Mobius Band delivers its debut full length The Loving Sounds of Static. In the same vein as The Postal Service, they're Indie rockers at heart, yet they dabble in electronica. Compared to the highly praised EP, this new release requires more of a commitment, because radio-ready tracks are interspersed with drum machine ballads (plus, the album's total playing time is twice the EP's length). But the album is good to the last drop, when in the final track they sing, "You're so strung out, you probably think this is not about you." Could this possibly be a remedy to Carly Simon's You're So Vain?

Now, when our parents say "music isn't like it used to be," we can say "yes it is" and hand them Josh Rouse. The Rouse-ter (can I call him that?) has been around for a while, but he's finally receiving the recognition he deserves. His previous album was a true tribute to the '70s (aptly named 1972), and Nashville reveals a similar influence. In many ways he's a warmer, less introspective version of David Gray. The entire album delivers goodness; high points include the opening track "It's the Nighttime" and the Tom Pettyesque track, "My Love Has Gone."