October 2

Sam Roberts is a Canadian singer-songwriter still trying to make his way south. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't sound like Nickelback, so he's still waiting for his superstar visa. Actually, he sounds like Pete Yorn, playing the kind of rock and roll that seems almost old-fashioned. That might explain a song like "Those Kids":

Happy Birthday to Sigtryggur Baldursson, drummer for the Sugarcubes (Bjork's old band.) Y'know, Iceland seems like a harmless country that picked the wrong year to be in the banking industry. But all the music that comes out of there is just... weird: Bjork, Sigur Ros, Gus Gus, mum... And don't tell me it's the cold; where are all the weird Alaskan bands?
Anyway, Sigtryggur provided beats for the Sugarcubes all the way to the end, then kept busy in the Icelandic punk and indie scene. These days, his main project is Steintryggur, very Art of Noise-ish. Maybe they wanted to beat their critics to the punch when they named their first single, "I Don't Get It"


Bonus! What's the name of the Sugarcubes' international breakthrough hit?
"Birthday"

According to Bjork, it's about a May-December romance (she's five; he's fifty...)


Bud Gaugh played drums for Sublime, the other greatest band of the 90's that lost a lead singer too soon. He's played with other bands since then, but every project's felt like one foot in the past. So what to make of the announcement that Sublime's getting back together? I know, I rolled my eyes too - and then I heard the new guy. They've got this 20-year-old, Rome; no telling how his songwriting is, but what I'm hearing seems like it could work. I'll let you find his performances with the band online (there's only one bootleg performance I found so far) But here's hoping he might have the stuff to pull off songs like this:

Finally, I just like this song from birthday boy , who you know as Badly Drawn Boy. Here's the animated video for "Year of the Rat"