All hail the Bay Area’s favorite dreadlocked, anti-war, singer-songwriter.

Michael Franti has been releasing discs for the last 10 years. He speaks to political issues in all of his songs, and as of late, he has been extremely outspoken about the Iraq War. He traveled there in 2006, filming a documentary in the process, and he headlines ‘Power to the Peaceful’ for the last couple of years, a free show in San Francisco that harbors peaceful thought and activism.

I like the video for this jam too:

A light happy tune that will keep you in a good mood. Try following this jam up with Royksopp – What Else Is There, a song cast in a similar mold.

Lykke Li was born Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson in Sweden, but apparently her full name was too hard to remember, so she shortened it to create her stage name.

Her original sound would make you think that she’s been around a while, but she’s only 22.

Props.

Mason Jennings was born in Hawaii, then moved to Pittsburgh at a young age, but now lives in and calls Minneapolis home. He is currently married to fellow singer-songwriter Amy Turany Jennings, with whom he has two kids.

Jennings recorded his first album on an analogue four track (remember those?) in 1997, playing all instruments himself. He then recruited drummer Chris Stock and bassist Robert Skoro, whom together formed the Mason Jennings Band.

He’s been recording all kinds of tracks since then, both individually and with various band members. More notably, he recorded two tracks for the Bob Dylan movie ‘I’m not There’ , released in November 2007. The two tracks were ‘The Times They Are a Changin’ and ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.’

Thanks for the tip, Will White.

Jams Similar to Mason Jennings – Nothing:

Lior – I’ll Forget You – Featuring Sia
Jose Gonzalez – Heartbeats – Live Performance

Israeli born and Sydney based, Lior is an Australian singer songwriter fit for the Garden State Soundtrack (he didn’t actually appear here)

Lior’s full name is Attar Lior, though he dropped his first name for performing purposes.

He has toured with a full string band in the past, but in this upcoming year, he’ll be touring by himself. These shows are supposed be just as enthralling.

I hope Lior brings his one person act to San Francisco sometime soon.

Discovered via his video on Who The Bloody Hell Are They. Great Australian music blog by the way.

Born, raised, and having lived in Sweden his whole life, its no wonder that Jose Gonzalez decided to cover the song Heartbeats by fellow Swedes The Knife.

This is probably Jose Gonzalez’s best known cover, though he has reworked such other musical gems as Born in the USA, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Teardrop, and Hand on Your Heart. In the process, he has covered a wide variety of styles, from the 80s Rock veteran Bruce Springsteen, to pop music superstar Kylie Minogue.

Similar to the folk music of Elliot Smith, Jose Gonzalez sings soft vocals and plucks soothing guitar notes while keeping a steady rhythm.

Stylistically, this has not always been the case. In the late 90′s, he played in a number of hardcore punk bands, being influenced by the likes of The Dead Kennedy’s and Black Flag.

Though a departure from his musical roots, his new style has gained him worldwide popularity, leading him to take time off from earning his college degree in biochemistry.

I guess there’s a wider audience for folk rock than hardcore punk too.

Similar Jam:

Neutral Milk Hotel – King of Carrot Flowers

More up-tempo:

Paulo Nutini – New Shoes

Neutral Milk Hotel released two albums in the late 90s, and is currently on an indefinite hiatus, though at the time of writing this post, there appears to be no connection between this hiatus and any form of drugs, alcohol, death, or farm animals.

Neutral Milk Hotel is from Athens, Georgia and spent most of the 90s recording demo tapes on casettes (remember those) and crashing on friends couches. Sounds familiar.

Related Jams
Bigger sound: Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost

Xavier Rudd, the long haired, aussie talking, half aborigine reincarnation of Paul Simon, sings socially conscious lyrics while playing a variety of instruments, including everyone’s favorite instrument they know nothing about, the didgeridoo.

His live shows are supposed to be amazing. So are his recorded tracks.

He grew up in Torquay, about an hour and half south of Melbourne, Australia, on the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. Listening to Xavier Rudd while driving this scenic highway could be quite enjoyable. You may even see a poisonous snake or two. Or a python swallowing a family dog. I digress.

Similar song: John Butler Trio – Ocean

Young, hot, brash – with an attitude that says who cares, its only adult alternative – Paulo Nutini brings the lush vocals on top of pleasant guitar licks.

This 21 year old Scottish sex symbol, er respected artist, has a full album of jams that are great to listen to in the AM. Just make sure you save New Shoes for when you’re putting on your shoes, whether they’re new, old, or sandals. You may also have heard any number of Paulo Nutini’s songs during TV dramas, such as Grey’s Anatomy or CSI: NY.

Paulo Nutini’s music is perfect for TV shows, just as so many Morphine songs are perfect for movies made in the 90s.

Random tidbit about Paulo: He’s a huge Celtic FC fan (as is Rod Stewart) but lets hope that Paulo’s interest in the club does not instigate riots.