This will be the first installment in a weekly series, where I open your ears to music you might have missed.

Before I start, let me mention that I've recently bought a Creative Nomad MP3 player, with 30 GB. I'm just as passionate about it, as Will is about his Ipod. My player cost $240 bucks and came with a 50 dollar rebate from Napster to download 50 songs. I did purchase a pair of $20 pair of Sennheiser MX 500 headphones, as I've heard that the standard headphones stink. Ok, there is the end of my commercial.

What's Playing this Week

Snow Patrol's "Final Straw"- Best album I've heard the past year. With echoes of Psychedelic Furs, T. Rex, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, and many other bands, Snow Patrol has the ability like Jet's "Get Born" to sound like many different bands, but always putting their own unique spin on it. Another plus on this CD is places like Target are selling it for less than 9 bucks.

Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Fever to Tell"- Lead singer Karen O sings like she's fused Chrissie Hynde and PJ Harvey, which is pretty great. The album itself is very solid, but you must download "Maps" and "Rich", two great songs.

Interpol's "Turn On the Bright Lights" is a wonderful debut album, from New York's other great new band (besides the Strokes). "Obstacle 1" is the must-have single from the band.

Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut has gotten a lot of press and deservingly so, as this group brings some funk to the College Music scene. From Scotland, like Snow Patrol, you may have heard FF's song "Take Me Out" on MTV2, but there are other songs on the album almost as good.

Libertines are a London band who have a sound reminiscent of The Jam or The Clash. One of the best singles of the past few years is their song, "What a Waster".

Hot Hot Heat has been compared to The Cure and let me say that is going too far. I get a little bored with their album "Make Up the Breakdown", but the song,
"Bandages" is pure pop-punk candy.