“Anonanimal” by Andrew Bird

Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird performing “Anonanimal” from his latest cd, The Noble Beast. Check out more of Andrew Bird’s music at his official website.

“Mario Kart Love Song” by Sam Hart

At first glance, I figured this would have some funny lyrics, but would be musically quite weak.  I was pleasantly surprised by the music.  The artist, Sam Hart, crafts a very nice song about Mario Kart, one of my favorite video games.

You can check out more of Sam’s videos at his YouTube channel.

Thanks to Erik

“Last Christmas”-the original by Wham, and a far superior cover version

A very closeted George Michael back in his Wham days. Notice as he hangs his head under the weight of living a lie. Well, the 15 lbs. of hair doesn’t help either, but still…

Dedicated to Izzy, a man whose love for that song is exceeded only by his love for publicly mooning his friends.  Not me of course…other friends.  Oh the shame…..

Next up is Kotaro Oshio performing a very nice acoustic cover of the song. Just a bit more understated than the Wham version.

“Upward Over the Mountain” by Iron and Wine

Another great artist on Subpop Records.  Sam Beam is a talented singer-songwriter that records and performs under the name Iron and Wine.  The song featured in the video, “Upward Over the Mountain,” appears on Iron and Wine’s album The Creek Drank the Cradle. This is another great song without an artist produced video to accompany it, so enjoy this video produced by Xavier Reivax.  It’s not half-bad.  The second song featured is Grant-Lee Phillip’s “St. Expedite.”

Check out Iron and Wine’s official website or on MySpace for more info.

“Lakes of Canada” by Innocence Mission

One of my all-time favorite songs, “Lakes of Canada.” The Innocence Mission features husband and wife Don and Karen Peris crafting beautiful acoustic music around Karen’s striking voice. I couldn’t find an actual video produced by the band, so this is a random video put up by a fan. Enjoy the pumpkin carving.

Innocence Mission offical site.

MySpace

“Lakes of Canada”

“24 Turned 25” by Denison Witmer

Check out more Denison at his official site or his MySpace.

“A Horse with No Name” by America

It’s a classic and an incredibly easy song to play on guitar.  “Horse” was a common slang term for heroin in the late 60’s and 70’s.  Many radio stations banned the song and inadvertently drove even more people to heavy drug use by constantly playing Neil Diamond.

“Red Rover” by Rosie Thomas

Rosie Thomas has the voice of an angel and is a favorite here at Chum HQ. She’s put out 3 albums on Sub Pop and 1 on her own label, Sing Along Records. Check out more at her official site or her Myspace page.

“Red Rover” featuring footage from Rosie’s childhood.

“Volcano” by Damien Rice

I’m a big fan….I’m hoping he’ll be releasing a new album soon. This song, “Volcano” is from his album 0. Recorded live at Abbey Road Studios. Oh, in the interest of full-disclosure, I have a voice-crush on the woman singing with him, Lisa Hannigan.

“Evil is Alive and Well” by Jakob Dylan

Jakob Dylan, frontman for The Wallflowers, recently released a solo album he recorded with Rick Rubin working as producer.  The album, Seeing Things, is a pretty stark affair, almost solely acoustic guitar.  Check out the animated video to Evil is Alive and Well, a kind of creepy and interesting short.