High Mountain Tempel, Sheri Lopez, Moses One & Mannyfesto

Artist: High Mountain Tempel

Song: "Ruins of the Empire" (from the CD A Screaming Comes Across the Sky)

Heard By: Craig Oliver, South Park

It's very soundscape-y. It reminded me of the "star gate" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Even the whole arc of the song seemed to fit that; it's just constantly rushing by -- nothing too tangible. It was mainly instrumental. There were kind of ethereal vocals towards the end. It sounded like chanting. In a way, the music sounded a lot more chaotic and then sort of worked its way to a calmer place in the last couple of minutes. It sounded like it was working more with different synth sounds and feedback. There weren't any standard instruments; no drums, no bass. It would be something I'd throw on while I write. It sounded really good for what it was.

Artist: Sheri Lopez

Song: "10 p.m." (from the CD 10 p.m.)

Heard By: Cameron Meadows, El Cajon

She had an okay voice -- straining, but okay. Maybe I'm mistaken, but it was a pop or soft country song almost. It reminded me of a newer Carrie Underwood or maybe old Jewel. She was singing about wanting some dude to be her everything, basically. It was pretty much a song about a chick wanting a guy. It was more of an acoustic, slow song with soft drums. It's hard to say if that would get put on the radio -- I've heard a million bands that should have been on the radio that weren't. That would probably be more of a "chick" song. I don't think I'd listen to it all the way through if I was hanging out by myself.

Artist: Moses One & Mannyfesto

Song: "Clockwork '06" (from the CD Foreign Eminence)

Heard By: Tariq Dehrab, Linda Vista

It's good. It's got a really nice underlying beat to it that's maybe similar to the Gorillaz. It flows very well with the rapping. One of the rappers sounds very much like one of the rappers from Linkin Park. It's cool because you have two different kinds of voices -- two different kinds of styles. The lyrics are good. They're both rapping about different stuff. I would definitely consider it hip-hop. It seemed like this song was a little bit more jazz based. I could see that song being pretty mainstream, but it could [also] be totally underground, just according to how much exposure it gets. I could see myself listening to that song all the time.