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JAY FAIRES
Music supervisor for Good Luck Chuck recommends...
DIPLO ''The dude who made M.I.A.'s music what it is. The guy who brought Baile Funk to the world pulling the music out of the slums in Rio de Janeiro that the cops are afraid to go into. Great mashups, mixtapes, and live DJ sets.'' (myspace.com/diplo)
LUPE FIASCO ''Okay, so he's already kind of massive, but I have not heard [his latest tracks] used anywhere yet. Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is hands down the best album of the last 12 months. 'Go Go Gadget Flow,' 'Paris, Tokyo,' and 'Go Baby' are all genius. He's the first rap artist in ages to use samples the way Beasties and A Tribe Called Quest used to.'' (myspace.com/lupefiasco)
GLACIER HIKING ''Incredibly talented pop songwriters. They're not signed yet, but if you go to the Troubadour [in West Hollywood], it's filled with hot chicks who know all the words. Something's going on.'' (myspace.com/glacierhiking)
THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS ''Young kids who can seriously play bluegrass. Their album, Fork in the Road, feels like it could've been the score for Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.'' (myspace.com/stringdusters)
LEONA LEWIS ''She's Mariah-meets-Whitney. Her single 'Bleeding Love' has broken about every record possible in the U.K., where it started. And it's a great song.'' (myspace.com/leonalewis)
BROOKE WAGGONER ''Composed, arranged, sang, and played piano on all her EP's tracks. It's Kate Bush meets Flannery O'Connor/Southern gothic Fiona Apple. Incredibly cinematic.'' (myspace.com/brookewaggoner)
JOE CUELLO
Oversees music for all MTV shows, including The Hills. He recommends...
GUSTAVO ALBERTO ''An incredible songwriter — really, really clued into merging Latin music with almost a classic Bruce Springsteen songwriting style.'' (myspace.com/gustavoalbertomusic)
THE FASHION ''Denmark's putting out a lot of great stuff these days. It's got this cool Junior Senior [sound], with Shins harmonies. It's really beautiful.'' (myspace.com/thefashiondk)
DESOTO JONES ''We used their song, 'Giant Magnets' for the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards and their new record really demonstrates the evolution of emo. There are great epic songs and real weight to the structures and melodies.'' (myspace.com/desotojones)
LOCKSLEY ''The most incredible live band, sort of a Beatles feel. Anytime I get a chance to see 'em, I'll check 'em out.'' (myspace.com/locksley)
SANTOGOLD ''An artist out of Brooklyn with an M.I.A. type of sound. We're really excited about her for music placement and music-video rotation as well.'' (myspace.com/santogold)
THE VOOM BLOOMS ''A really new, unsigned band out of the U.K. Really great guitar, vocals that remind me of James from the '80s a little bit.'' (myspace.com/thevoomblooms)
WEBBIE ''On the hip-hop side. His record's coming out in February. There's a song, 'Independent,' that just spells out the world independent. I'm a fan of all songs that spell words out.'' (webbiemuzik.com)
AS FOR THE MOST BUZZWORTHY OF THEM ALL?
Our tastemakers, varied as they are, seem to agree on one thing: Ivy League upstarts Vampire Weekend are on the rise. Nic Harcourt lauds the Brooklyn foursome's ''really good songwriting''; Jim Pitt marvels at the band's ability to combine indie rock and Afropop (''They call it 'Upper West Side Soweto'''). Liza Richardson and Joe Cuello also gave the band shout-outs, but perhaps Randall Poster describes their eclectic self-titled debut best when he says, ''Imagine New Order sitting down with Paul Simon and talking about the first Talking Heads record, while Pavement plays over the cafeteria loudspeakers.'' Indeed, EW's own music staff has spent the past few months with giddy, African-tinged punk-pop ditties like ''Mansard Roof'' and ''Oxford Comma'' on endless repeat. (myspace.com/vampireweekend)
Reported by Leah Greenblatt, Shirley Halperin, and Simon Vozick-Levinson
