No caffeine here. And taking a step back.
When I said that download number 20 was the worst so far, it was. However, the performer is not. I know that sounds confusing, but here is what appears to have happened.
The download was supposed to be "Hurry On Now (Boub Mix)" by Alice Russell. Not knowing anything about her, I had no idea why she sounded like background singer with a heavy instrumental sound in front. It ends up she isn't. Actually she is a quite good singer. The CD this song is taken from is listed as a single, but in reality there are two tracks. One is the correct song with Alice Russell singing. The other is the stripped instrumental/background track. Someone, somewhere, instead of directing the download to Track 1, it was directed to Track 2. So when I heard the song, it didn't impress me (after all, it was more of a karaoke track than a song). But in looking up Alice Russell, I kept on reading all these reviews about how great she was. I finally got the correct track from iTunes. Unfortunately, there are probably thousands of others who didn't go that far.
"Grace is Gone" by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds was download 21. Reynolds has played on and off with the Dave Matthews Band. Some interesting guitar playing in this live, light rock song.
Sonya Kitchell, the singer on Song of the Day 22, has had a bit of history with Starbucks. Her "Words Come Back To Me" was the second album released through the Starbucks Hear Music program. She is a good singer, but a little there is a funny country vocal slide she does on this song, "I'm In Love With You," that I don't particularly like (actually it's not just her, but I just don't particularly like that style with one exception: "Popular" from "Wicked" by Kristin Chenowith). I came, I listened and I moved on.
I had never heard of Trip-Hop as a music genre, but Bitter:Sweet's "Heaven (Nicola Conte Remix)" is supposed to be just that. Download 23 is more jazzy with an electronic rhythm background with a bit of samba background.
Greyboy sings with Sharon Jones on download 24, "Got To Be A Love." It seems to be an unusual pairing, with Sharon Jones being of the Aretha Franklin school of R&B, Greyboy acid jazz. Jones' vocals work well with DJ Greyboy's work.
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra performing "Sacala Bailar" is what I expected from the title and the name. No surprises in this Latin song, download 25. Just get up and dance with it.
Rissi Palmer is a black country performer. Song of the Day 26 is her "Country Girl." She definitely is if her song is anything to go by. She also does that vocal slide, but otherwise it's a good country song in the tradition of Dolly Parton and company.
I had to look up Raul Midon, download 27. He was the son of an Argentine dancer (father) and his twin brother, Marco, is a NASA engineer. Both were blinded as infants for spending too much time in an incubator without proper eye protection. He credits his father with getting him interested in music. "Pick Somebody Up" is a nice little pickup, gentle on the ears.
Song of the Day 28 was "Tell Me 'Bout It" by Joss Stone. Like Rissi Palmer, she goes across type-lines as a white, British soul singer. Her inspirations are Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. And she sounds a lot like them, really belting out the song. Shades of the 60s.
Federico Aubele, an Argentinian singer, was download 29 with his "Maria Jose." His voice is different, almost feminine in timbre, although it works well with this South American song.
The last for this set of 10 is Sara Bareilles' "Love Song." It is a bouncy pop tune, enjoyable and I'll probably listen to it again. She has been compared to Joni Mitchell and rightfully so.
Well, thirty down and only seven more to go: Galactic singing "I Got It (What You Need)," Paul McCartney with "Only Mama Knows," John Mayer's "Dreaming With a Broken Heart," Bebel Gilberto and "Um Segundo," Sia performing "Day Too Soon," Hilary McRae singing "Consider Me Gone," and a mystery song. I can't wait, but am sad to see this program come to an end.