Recently Downloaded

SEVERAL NEW ALBUMS in my "Recently Downloaded" list:

• Nikka Costa's latest. I posted about Nikka a while ago; now that I've been able to hear the whole album, I'm more taken than ever. If you dig powerful female funk with an edge, this artist is for you. Recalls Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Tina Turner, but the style is uniquely Nikka Costa. What's more, she's no creation of the industry: Nikka writes and arranges all her own stuff.
  
• Ryan Adam's Heartbreaker. The breakout performance for this Americana artist. You've likely heard the voice, and perhaps some of the songs, without knowing it. Get the album and you'll go, "Oh, I love this guy." Bruce Springsteen for Americana. Worth having, and if not for the album just below, I'd be listening to this non-stop.
  
• Jackson Browne's Solo Acoustic Vol. 1. Save the best for last. JB alone with his guitar, piano, and a small hall of loyal fans. Soulful, fun, haunting; deep echos of the deeper emotions and memories his songs bring forth. It's simply a spectacular album. A must have.

I WAS THE FIRST ON MY BLOCK to discover Nikka Costa, and have been a fan since her debut. She's released her latest album, and one of the singles--'Til I Get To You--just came across my XM stream.

It's great. Funky as ever. If you don't know Nikka, and you like a sort of edgy-pop-female-funk sound, check it out. (Windows Media stream here.)

Get Behind Me Satan

Not literally. It's the latest from the White Stripes, and it's exceedingly good. Esquire (no link) wrote that it suffers from comparison to Elephant ... Elephant being so good that anything that followed, even if equally good, would fail to exceed expectations ... but I actually prefer GBMS. More "listenable" (if that's not too obtuse).