Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant is starting the show for us today. You’ve probably heard both artists during their other ventures (with Union Station and with Led Zeppelin, respectively), but my first exposure to Alison Krauss was the soundtrack from O’ Brother Where Art Thou. She’s featured prominently on the album because of her amazing voice. I’ll Fly Away, a duet between Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch, is one of the best examples. The word fly, as part of the English language, which is the biggest pain in the butt ever, has multiple meanings. Either way, though, the word fly is used in both I’ll Fly Away and Summer Fly by Hayley Westenra.

Speaking of summer, Regina Spektor says that Summer in the City means cleavage, cleavage, cleavage. Thinking about that, it’s kind of true. I love songs that point out the odd things about cities. Hello City by Barenaked Ladies is one of those songs, too. Going back to the word connections, we’re moving to a song called Hello Monday by Gaelic Storm. So what comes after Monday? Tuesday by Jessica Teich, of course! Teich’s blusey tune goes through the days of week, much like Paolo Nutini goes through the days in his song New Shoes. Nutini is of Italian heritage, as his name suggests, but is actually 4th generation Scottish. He was one of the acts to perform during the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, much like the next Irish/Scottish band, Snow Patrol. Snow Patrol stole my heart years ago, so we’re going to listen to one of my favorite songs of theirs, Just Say Yes.

Gary Lightbody, the lead singer of Snow Patrol sometimes performs with the band The Reindeer Section when he and the other artists in that group have time off. Your Sweet Voice is one of the best Reindeer Section songs (and, on a side note, the band has some of the greatest album covers ever). Speaking of sweet, Lenka points out how being sensitive in a relationship can be Dangerous and Sweet. You know what else is dangerous? Explosions. I’ve been listening to Halcyon by Ellie Goulding repeatedly since I bought it two weeks ago and this is one that definitely sticks out to me. Ellie Goulding was an artist I got into during the summer of 2011, just like Lissie. The two are actually good friends in real life, which makes me think that listening to them at the same time was oddly fortuitous. Lissie has a more folksy sound, which can be heard in her song Little Lovin’. Lissie’s powerful pipes have been compared to Neko Case and Cat Powers. Neko Case has more acerbic lyrics than Lissie, which can somewhat be heard in her song for the Hunger Games, Nothing to Remember. Another artist featured on the Hunger Games soundtrack is Punch Brothers. When my favorite band, Nickel Creek, disbanded, singer Chris Thile formed Punch Brothers. I love the folksy tunes they have and the vaudeville feel of Patchwork Girlfriend.