Every once in awhile songs come out that are just plain better than everything else out there. Usually, they are created by artists that are not well known or just starting out. This is what I love about art and music (and to a lesser extent life). People are always pushing things forward and making completely new and original things. I can still remember when the first Justice track got posted on the internet and lit the blog world on fire. They were horrible quality but everyone knew there was something special about those two Frenchmen. Well, a success story like that will happen again, so why not pay attention?

This is why if you look hard enough, the future is now. There are bands all over just starting to put out music that you might not hear about for a few weeks, months, maybe even years. Not everyone has MTV exposure or gets a write up in GQ or something. That is why we are here.

Here are a few special tracks from a few special artists that you might want to start paying more attention to:

I’ll start with Marina & The Diamonds. This is the first song I’ve heard by this group but it blew me away the first time I heard it. Just gorgeous. Watch out Lykke Li, this girl has the talent without your awkward performances and pompous attitude.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Marina & The Diamonds – Obsessions

Now onto Miike Snow. Someone I’m willing to put big money on that they become successful and produce something you hear of over the next year. They came out of nowhere a couple months ago and got a lot of the blog world buzzin’. I posted their remix of Vampire Weekend yesterday so I’ll post the Crookers remix of Animal to keep it fresh.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Miike Snow – Animal (Crookers Remix)

Next we will move to Phoenix. This french rock group has been making quality music for a few years now but they still haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve. This is extremely radio friendly pop rock that combines Kings of Leon with The Killers. With their latest album ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ dropping soon they are on the cusp of success. Listen to ’1901′ off their new album and then be the first kid in your town to pump what probably everyone will be listening to this summer (yes I’m being bold with a lot of these statements but I truly believe that if just more people were lucky enough to hear this they would support bands like this instead of crap. I just don’t want to live in a world where Jamie Foxx has the number 6 album in the nation).

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Phoenix – 1901

Now onto my more club/electronic oriented songs:

I’ll start with PILOTPRIEST. PILOTPRIEST is amazing. Please just listen to this song and tell all your friends about this guy. I wrote a lot more about this song over at Rollin’ & Scratchin’ so just click the link if you want to hear more about why this guy dominates.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Lioness – You’re My Heart (Pilotpriest Remix)

And finally there is TMDP signed to YYZ records. You may have caught them on MySpace over the weekend where they were one of the featured artists to look out for but for those who didn’t, here is your chance to learn what a lot of people already know (ie. these guys are legit and set to explode). Also, their first album dropped a couple days ago and is now available on iTunes so you have no excuse to not get schooled. Here is a Barletta remix of a TMDP track for your minds.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

TMDP – Running (DJ Barletta Glitch Fix)