Compiled by TNG’s new music contributor, Rocky.

Once again, ladies and germs, it’s Tuesday and you know what that means: another edition of What We’re Listening To! This is the weekly column where we here at TNG lift the curtain a bit and let you in on the music that has us standing in front of our mirrors, playing air guitar and singing into our hairbrushes. No need to worry though. I promise that none of us are actually singing or playing any of it. In fact, on today’s menu we have: Colleen, Lady Gaga, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Chuck Brown, Rihanna, Level 42, The Concretes, Patsy Cline and Sébastien Tellier. Check it out below the fold…

Colleen—Les Ondes Silencieuses

French composer Cecile Schott (aka Colleen) has composed another album that bridges the gap between ambient and neoclassical. Schott moves away from her trademark musicbox sound to create vaporous pieces out of electronically-treated ‘period’ instruments like the spinet or the viola da gamba. The resulting music just oozes out of your speakers like liquid honey, with rich tones and timbres. The Aubrey Beardsley-inspired cover perfectly captures the ornate quality of the music. Recommended tracks, “Blue Sands” and “Echoes and Coral.” – Craig

Lady Gaga—The Fame (Oct. 9)

Although I can’t really relate to the lyrics in Lady Gaga’s “Boys, Boys, Boys,” I can relate to her obvious support of dancing fun. When I first heard Lady Gaga, I went straight to the powers of Google to try to figure out who this lady is. Sometimes when I take this research route I find out something like I did with the guys who sing that “Shake It” song – they’re related to Miley Cyrus. I didn’t get such news about Lady Gaga, but I didn’t really learn anything new, either. So, I don’t really know much about Lady Gaga, but I do know I like listening to her catchy Britney+Kylie tunes, “Just Dance” and “Boys, Boys, Boys.” – Stephanie

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson—Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

The boy with three first names has to be the most world weary 23 year-old in American history. Songs about friends giving up on life and a hungry man’s penchant for eating skin are sung in a “pretty voice/scary imagery” tone that recalls Bon Iver, but without all the rurality. Opening track “Buriedfed” is a great place to start, and if you like it you can see him at the Rock and Roll Hotel in October. – Zack

Chuck Brown—We’re About the Business

One of the ladies at work gave me the new Chuck Brown CD last year, We’re About the Business , but I never got around to listening to it until a couple months ago. DC native Chuck Brown is the king of “Go-Go,” a musical style developed right here in Washington DC, best described as a mix of funk and hip-hop. He’s local royalty, and after listening to the vibrant summer songs on this album, I understand why he’s still relevant. Other favorites are “Block Party” and “Love Nationwide.” – Ben

Rihanna—”Disturbia”

Why do I fall head over heels for everything this girl does? I love her voice and she’s obscenely hot, but all her songs are just so fun and make me want to go out and party. I’ve had an obsession with “Umbrella” ever since that came out, and though “Disturbia” isn’t quite at “Umbrella” level, it has earned repeat status on my iPod. “Good Girl Gone Bad” ranks up there on my list of favorite albums ever. – Ms. Cavanaugh

Level 42—Level Best

Level 42 was a jazz-fusion band that achieved success when they went more pop and added vocals; Level Best is the strongest of several greatest-hits-type compilations. They often get lumped into the ‘80s one-hit wonder category (for their smash hit “Something About You”), but Level 42 featured virtuoso musicians—Mark King, their co-lead singer, is believed by some to be the greatest bass player in rock history—and they have a lot of quality songs. My personal favorites are the loping, overwrought ballad “Leaving Me Now,” the dense, up-tempo funk of “Hot Water” (particularly in its shorter version, from 1985’s World Machine), and the driving, inspirational “Heaven in My Hands.” All these songs have good videos available on YouTube. They’re very ‘80s in their production, but the video for “Hot Water”—which is shot almost as a concert piece—particularly captures the band’s on-stage energy (and isn’t at all hurt, for my tastes, by frequent appearances of the band’s very cute keyboardist, Mike Lindup). – Philip

The Concretes—”Say Something New”

Their sound is often described as Motown meets the Velvet Underground. I really like the kazoo-like quality of the horns and keyboard on this song off their 2004 self-titled release. The glut of instruments is paired nicely with Victoria Bergsman’s minimal-effort singing style. You might also recognize the ex-frontwoman’s voice from her guest vocals on Peter Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks”. Bergsman’s new project is Taken By Trees. Also, she’s super cute, especially when stealing records. – Coach

Patsy Cline—”Walking After Midnight”

Patsy Cline makes heartbreak sound so beautiful, sometimes I wish I was just a lonely girl living on a ranch, writing songs in a hay shed. Her songs mix simple themes with deep emotion. She projects her simple words with a soft, nostalgic, yet powerful voice. Cline was so at-ease when she performed, it was as if she was just conversing casually with the audience. For a rainy day, I also recommend “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray” and “Walkin’ Dream.” – Allison

Sébastien Tellier—”La ritournelle”

Do you ever fantasize about being a character in your favorite novel? Well, as cliché as it certainly is, I think I’d like to be the romantic hero of some epic French love story, where my beautiful, troubled young poet/painter/soldier/whatever (let’s call him… Etienne) and I spend the whole time smoking Gauloises and philosophizing on some rain-dappled Parisian balcony, and making sweaty, rapacious love in the verdant, unspoiled fields of the French countryside. Of course, this is before we’re torn apart by our ideological differences, those pesky insurmountable family conflicts, the ravages of war, etc. Now I don’t know how the book would ultimately end, but I’m pretty sure that, through all our trials and adventures, Etienne and I would have “La ritournelle” by Sébastien Tellier on repeat. The romantic, sweeping strings and the ethereal yet insistent piano line are enough to make one swoon, while the breezy, almost effortless hip-hop beat keeps the blood pumping and the feet tapping. Reminiscent of labelmates
/contemporaries, Air, Tellier’s music is expansive and dream-like, yet moody and sophisticated. Were Stendhal or Victor Hugo alive today, I’d like to think this is the music they would be grooving on. – Rocky

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