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MAGNETIC FIELDS New CD Distortion, another lovely contradiction

RANDALL POSTER
Music supervisor for I'm Not There, The Darjeeling Limited, December's Revolutionary Road recommends...

CARLA BRUNI ''She makes music with Dave Stewart [of the Eurythmics] and makes love with French president Sarkozy. Irresistible.'' (myspace.com/carlabruni)

SCOTT HARDKISS ''My favorite American DJ. His Technicolor Dreamer full-length is out this spring. It's like a marathon Parliament-Funkadelic holiday weekend.'' (myspace.com/scotthardkiss)

MAGNETIC FIELDS ''With a new album, Distortion, 2008 is the year perhaps that they put leader Stephin Merritt's name on a Broadway theater or on a New York street sign or a school for gifted children.'' (myspace.com/themagneticfields)

CASS McCOMBS ''Maybe it's because I wish my name was Cass McCombs, but I have a particular affinity for him. He's an undervalued American singer-songwriter.'' (myspace.com/cassmccombs)

MGMT ''They're based in Brooklyn. They wear capes and wear them well; it's style and substance for slow subway rides.'' (myspace.com/mgmt)

MY MORNING JACKET ''Just the greatest. Jim James and his gang of Kentucky outlaws will make the music in 2008 that will inspire all of us to live better lives.'' (myspace.com/mymorningjacket)

BLAKE LEYH
Music supervisor for The Wire recommends...

DARKROOM PRODUCTIONS ''They're a production company. They have a compilation of Baltimore artists coming out in April that is going to be at the forefront of this new attention to Baltimore.'' (myspace.com/darkroomproductionsinc)

MULLY MAN; BOSSMAN; DIABLO ''If one of these Baltimore hip-hop artists doesn't have a hit single in 2008, I'll eat my head. The things they're talking about are forward-thinking: It's not just gangsta — they're not afraid to be positive while talking about real things [affecting their community].'' (myspace.com/mullyman; myspace.com/bossman; myspace.com/diabloflames)

LAFAYETTE GILCHRIST ''Also lives in Baltimore. He's a pianist and has an ensemble with horns — he creates this jazz that's somewhere between funk, hip-hop, and jazz. He's the heir to Thelonious Monk.'' (myspace.com/lafayettegilchrist)

NICO MUHLY ''A young modern-classical composer in New York. He's worked with Philip Glass. Nico has an electric-violin concerto that's going to be really good.'' (nicomuhly.com)

NEXT PAGE: Picks from music supervisors for Gone Baby Gone and Dan in Real Life