Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now

Mary Gauthier's new album was released on Valentine's Day and I'm in love with it. The BBC Folk & Country review said the following about the record: "Gauthier's searing honesty, gift for gritty stories and willingness to acknowledge the darker side of life put her in the same league as Johnny Cash." The title track gives me some serious chills. (via: The Rhapsody Radish)

Teenbeat's 20!/On vacation in our nation's capital

I'm going radio silent through Sunday this week, taking a much-needed break and heading to Washington, DC to catch two of my all-time favorite bands, Unrest and Versus, playing reunion shows at Teenbeat Records' 20th anniversary parties. Unfortunately, most of these bands' best releases are still missing from Rhapsody, but I culled this playlist from the music that is available. The list also includes a song from Teenbeat group Tuscadero, who are also getting back together for the Teenbeat parties. Enjoy the music!

Song of the day: Rogue Wave/"Kicking the Heart Out"

I'm going on vacation this week, starting today, and a little bummed about timing since I'm missing an amazing lineup of bands at the 13th annual NoisePop Festival in San Francisco. One of the bands I'm missing is hometown-favorite-turned-Sub-Pop-indie-darling Rogue Wave, whose song "Kicking the Heart Out" has been getting heavy play on my stereo for months.

Song of the day: Morella's Forest/"Running"

Noise pop band Morella's Forest recorded for Christian indie label Tooth & Nail in the mid/late 1990s, returning in 2002 after a 4-year hiatus with a new record, Tiny Lights of Heaven, on a new label, Big Beef Records. That album, which I'd never heard until this morning, was added to Rhapsody over the weekend. The song "Running" is the first song, and it rules. Happy Monday.

Produced by Dan the Automator

Dan Nakamura, AKA Dan the Automator, is a Bay area DJ who has provided atmospheric beats for a variety of alternative rap & hip hop projects over the past 10 years, including cartoon supergroup Gorillaz, Lovage, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deltron 3030, and Dr. Octagon, in addition to the solo material he has released as The Automator. This playlist takes a look back at some of these projects (and his other remix work), offering up several of my favorite Automator-produced cuts, including Deltron 3030's "Madness" and last year's standout Handsome Boy Modeling School song "I've Been Thinking" (which features sultry vocals from Cat Power).