Pizzicato Five - Baby Love Child (buy at Amazon.com)

I was watching Futurama the other night and I stumbled upon a beautiful song by a Japanese pop group Pizzicato Five (a duo of Maki Nomiya and Yasuharu Konishi). The group, widely credited with spearheading the shibuya-kei movement of Tokyo in the 1990s, is known for eclectic and energetic compositions that often sound like “new” releases from the late 1960s hipster scene.

Beirut - Nantes (buy at Amazon.com)

Beirut interpret gypsy folk from an indie perspective. At the center of the group is Zach Condon, who delves deep into traditional roots music from Eastern Europe and the Balkans as well as the mariachi of his native Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was first introduced to gypsy folk music through the films of director Emir Kusturica (Time of the Gypsies, Underground). Rather than trying to merely copy gypsy songs, he borrows its sounds to make emotive pop that’s full of joy, sadness and longing. - Dan Shumate, Rhapsody

Headlights - Cherry Tulips (buy at Amazon.com)

Headlights is an indie rock band from Champaign, IL. The band was formed following the dissolution of Absinthe Blind, when members Erin Fein, Seth Fein and Brett Sanderson formed a band named Orphans. It was only when Tristan Wraight started writing songs with Fein bck in 2004 that Headlights was formed.