Check out some great tunes that are currently the top tracks played on NPR:

YMA SUMAC: Exotica Queen

This would be Yma Sumac's 94th birthday.  The Peruvian singer is known as the queen of "exotica" and she had a vocal range of five octaves. She sang in deep growls to high pitched notes even whistled like birds.  Enjoy 2 of her tunes below by clicking the name of each song:

Chuncho
Tumpa

The Strokes...what a Drag (Queen)

New music from The Strokes, check out Drag Queen...

New music from Gary Numan off Jean-Michel Jarre's CD Electronica 2: The Art of Noise

Funky French Jazzy Retro...

Oui...a retro French jazzy tune by Vincent Raphael: Seul Depuis Mille Ans from 1974:

Click HERE to check it out...

Magnetised Music

Here's a new track from English singer/songwriter Tom Odell, Magnetised (secondcity remix) from his new album Wrong Crowd.  Find out more about him on his website: www.tomodell.com.

Here's a cool version of Panda Bear's Boys Latin (Rosegold Remix)   

Because It's Hopeless...

Enjoy the dark humor of Stephin Meritt in his Band Future Bible Heroes' tune Hopeless...

You've been tearing out your hair / And I've been drinking / Listening to music in the dark / And I've been keeping to myself / And you've been slinking / All around the trailer park / There's no use even trying / Because it's hopeless / All of our dreams are dying of overdoses / All of our plans are lying in ten-car road wrecks / There's just no point in crying / You know it's hopeless / You look at strangers like a kid in a candy store / I've been leaving on every train / And you don't keep a diary anymore / And I come home feeling no pain / There's no use even trying / Because it's hopeless / All of our dreams are dying of overdoses / All of our plans are lying in ten-car road wrecks / There's just no point in crying / You know it's hopeless / Don't let me rain on your parade / Don't get your hair gray / It's just another wasted year / Nothing you can't forget in hours at the raceway / Nothing that can't be drowned in beer

Some Songs About Love: Jake Bugg

Gimme The Love is a great new upbeat song from Jake Blunt's new CD On My One. If you're in the mood for something slower, try Song About Love (from his 2013 CD Shangri La. It harkens back to the early age of rock. Check out the songs in the two videos below...

Spanish Melody

From the group Aterciopelados, a pretty but haunting tune in Spanish called Insoportable (in English: Unbearable). Aterciopelados is from Colombia and is led by Andrea Echeverri (vocals) and Héctor Buitrago (bass). This track comes from their 2006 album Oye.

New from Mitski...

Enjoy this new track from New York-based artist Mitski. "Your Best American Girl" is from her fourth studio album just released in June 2016.

Starting up...

Sample two tracks from Manzil/David Mancil (more at ManzilMusic Channel). Here are samples of music I write ranging from relaxing to upbeat electronica.