I have a new music obsession. Colbie Caillat (rhymes with ballet) draws me in with every word that escapes her lips.

I first heard her blend of soul and folk in a random commercial, and once I was finally able to put a name and face to the voice, I was hooked. Apparently I'm not the only one drawn in by her sound. For over four months, Caillat was the No. 1 unsigned artist on MySpace, and she eventually gained the attention of record executives. She signed with Universal Republic, and her debut album, Coco, has been a clear success. The first single, “Bubbly,” reached its peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 5 and has spent 26 weeks on the chart. That song has also garnered over 630,000 plays on her MySpace page. Here's the video for “Bubbly." … continue reading

At last count, the longest I've lived in one place since I moved away from home is two years (stability is a casualty of grad school). As I've packed up apartments over the years — and thrown out many an item I don't want to cart around — one of the things I've learned is that there aren't many musicians who wear well. Five years or so later, I'm tossing out CDs and thinking, well, what was I thinking? The Ghost Town DJs? Really?

But there's one singer who's been with me through all of the moves (and whose work doesn't make me question my taste), and that's the tremendously talented and brilliant singer/songwriter/activist/poet/businesswoman and recipient of NOW's Woman of Courage award, Ani DiFranco.

Yeah, I like her a little bit. OK, a lot. (And I'm not the only girl around here enamored of her. You can catch an AfterEllen.com closeup on her here.) If my life had a soundtrack, she would be on it — some of my biggest moments of high dyke drama were set to her music. Like "Untouchable Face," with its truly magnificent chorus. Hands down, it's The Best. Breakup. Song. Ever. I only listened to it 47 thousand times or so on a two-hour drive home from that bad breakup. Here's a glimpse of another perennial queer favorite, "32 Flavors": … continue reading