Standing Up Behind An Electric Guitar

Lucinda Williams “Real Love”

Lucinda Williams’ voice is bold and forthright, and though she’s got a skill for ballads, her singing is best framed in countrified rockers that emphasize a precise and incredibly appealing mixture of toughness and sweetness. There’s probably a hundred other songs out there that aren’t tremendously different from “Real Love,” but her tune sparks with disciplined hooks and a playful exuberance that sells the lyrics, and gives the listener a contact high from her excitement and attraction. (Buy it from Amazon.)

Q-Tip “Gettin’ Up”

Unlike a majority of rappers, Q-Tip’s character is gentle and his voice is soft and nearly effeminate, which lends itself well to laid back, airy productions like “Gettin’ Up.” The beat is solid and holds his rhymes in place, but the appeal lies mainly in the way the melodic instrumental elements seem to hover around the center of the track, and complements his romantic lyrics with a tone of optimism and swooning nostalgia. (Buy it from Amazon.)