1. It’s weird how much influence Kraftwerk wields, and how few people talk about it. They literally wrote the template for electronic music but don’t get constant adoration. “Pocket Calculator” is early synthpop perfected.

2. Chiptune music is clearly influenced by Kraftwerk, and 8 Bit Weapon, led by Seth Sternberger and represented here by “Bit ‘n’ Run,” is a strong example of the form.

3. Wow, “Bitte Orca” by the Dirty Projectors sure lived up to the hype, didn’t it? And they did it while making it look easy. “Useful Chamber” is – in our opinion – the album’s high point. It’s like Of Montreal’s “Skeletal Lamping” with asides that actually make sense.

4. We’re convinced that whereever Gang Gang Dance’s “House Jam” is playing, there’s a massive party going on. And of course, someone forgot to invite us.

5. There’s a lot of versions of Os Mutantes’ “Baby” floating around, but this one, with its garagey edges, is our favorite. Rita Lee’s 1971 acoustic version is also worth your time.source

1. YACHT is the digital-leaning indie act most likely to make a breakthrough this year, and “Psychic City,” with its instinctive catchiness, will probably be the reason why.

2. After years of hearing the album was an unheralded classic, we finally grabbed a copy of American Music Club’s 1991 platter “Everclear,” and the simmering fury of emotive, personal AIDS hymnal “Sick of Food” confirmed this was a good purchase.

3. Rootsy acoustic stompers Hoots and Hellmouth are perhaps one of the hardest-touring bands on the East Coast, and new album “The Holy Open Secret,” along with pretty track “Three Penny Charm,” shows their continued improvement as both musicians and dust-kickers.

4. One of the best things that came out of Wes Anderson’s 2004 movie “The Life Aquatic” – the film itself was just OK – was the novel way it exposed American audiences to Brazilian singer Seu Jorge via David Bowie covers. “Suffragette City” is one of the best.

5. You would not believe this song is from a 22-year-old Scottish dude who’s on the way to becoming one of the U.K.’s biggest pop stars. Paolo Nutini sounds like Louis Prima doing ska on “10/10,” and it sounds very timeless.source

1. School of Seven Bells, featuring one former member of The Secret Machines, feels culled out of 1991 on “My Cabal” – particularly with its drum machine beat and the sweet vocal harmonies.

1. We love how much Crocodiles sounds like vintage Jesus and Mary Chain. It’s like they borrowed all the old gear used to record “Head On” and decided to go all JAMC for “I Wanna Kill.”

3. It’s always interesting to listen to a new song by Deerhunter, easily the biggest band on this mixtape. Because you never know what you’ll get. Pop, noise, haze, dust, brood? They’re all possible. “Rainwater Cassette Exchange” is all haze, closer in feel to Bradford Cox’s work with solo project Atlas Sound.

4. What the heck is a Nick Drake acolyte doing on Ninja Tune, a label known for its DJs and electronic musicians? We don’t know, but we know that Fink’s “Sort of Revolution” is a calm killer – coming off like a more soulful Mark Kozelek.

5. Japandroids, much like Wavves and No Age and all those other noisy acts, manages to hide some pretty killer hooks under all those layers of distortion. “The Boys Are Leaving Town” will be stuck in your head. Trust us.

1. St. Vincent could easily get placed into the same bargain bin as indie femme fatales like Feist or Bat for Lashes, but Annie Clark is way more subversive than that, plus the girl can rock out as much as the guys – see “Actor Out of Work.”

2. We’re on an female indie superstar kick this week, so it’s only fitting that Neko Case, she of New Pornographers and awesome solo career, get a mention for “Your Control,” a near-perfect meshing of vocals with Crooked Fingers’ Eric Bachmann. *

3. This cover gives us goosebumps. A b-side off of Iron & Wine’s killer new rarity collection “Around the Well,” Sam Beam’s cover of “Waitin’ for a Superman” somehow matches and exceeds the hushed desperation of the Flaming Lips’ original.

4. Ben Gibbard and Feist may as well be the king and queen of indie rock to mainstream audiences, and this cover of Vashti Bunyan’s “Train Song” from the “Dark Was the Night” compilation doesn’t become either of theirs. They share in the beauty. *

5. The Appleseed Cast, a long-running post-rock band, likes to build slowly then go huge. It takes nearly six minutes for vocals to show up on the epic “As the Little Things Go,” and we wouldn’t have it any other way. *

* – Thanks much to friend of the site Davey Jones for these picks.