Nicki Minaj on Jimmy Kimmel.

Nicki Minaj sports a new wig as she performs "Right Thru Me" off her new album Pink Friday. I love this girl. She recently took part in a very telling documentary on MTVnews...I could not stop watching.

Smith Westerns' "Weekend" is a teaser.

"Do you think/is it normal/to go through life/oh so formal?"

Earlier this month, the Smith Westerns, a young garage band from Chicago, released the track "Weekend" off of their soon-to-be album Dye it Blonde.

I first saw the band when they were on tour with Girls last winter. They all seem to be the little brothers of Christopher Owens, with their cries of heartbreak and anecdotes about love. After all, their youth is what they've got going for them; their echoey childish voices coupled with their poppy beats are part of their magic.

The Smith Westerns were also featured on NPR's All Songs Considered. You'll have to wait until January to hear the album and I'll be dying of anticipation with you. It'll be just the kind of beach party I'll be needing come winter.

A dress, shoes and a voice.

I was watching SNL for the first time in a great while last night and Florence and the Machine really grabbed my attention. The way Florence commands the stage during "Dog Days" is just mesmerizing - that dress, those shoes and that voice! She truly is a free spirit and it's a privilege to watch her express herself.

Warpaint just keep getting better.

"Just to have it be earnest and always getting better and always pushing ourselves to do better, to play better, write better songs...you can't be bigger than that. That's huge in itself." - the women of warpaint

I love these girls! Watch their dreamy, riffy songs on YoursTruly. Warpaint is a new chick band from LA with attitude - which happens to be my new favorite genre. Watch this video for their song "Undertow." It encompasses what they can turn a guitar into and showcases their psychedelic vocal tones.

Time to hear the Gulf Sounds.

In April, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had a devastating effect on pelicans and turtles, Gulf fishermen and locals, in addition to what once was considered the pure water and plant life of the Gulf.

I've been waiting for the opportunity to combine my passion for music with an environmental cause and I had to seize this one. I decided to pick three organizations who are providing aid to the Gulf, to cover three categories: environment, community and wildlife. The organizations are the Environmental Defense Fund, the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation. We gave attendees the freedom to choose which cause they wanted to help and the results were over $500 in support to divide to the organizations. There are four different musicians who graced the stage at the Blue Fugue Wednesday.

First in the lineup was Davis Dunavin, who sang some pretty funky folk rock with his acoustic guitar. He was supposed to play his accordion, unfortunately it was in the shop. He's got a pretty cool video up on his facebook page.

Next was Kyle McDonald, a good friend of mine who started an independent music project called Old Skin. I would recommend taking a look at some of his lyrics. Kid's got a lot of heart and as he stood bravely on stage with his acoustic screaming those words, no one could take their eyes off him.

The third act was the High Street Cousins, originally named the High Street Nephews, but whose name was changed by the only girl in the band who demanded the change. These guys were entertaining for sure. They opened the set with the theme song from Ghostbusters, which everyone found hilarious. Before that they did a horn intro because there was a sax and a trumpet on stage, which was pretty cool. Later on they covered some Alman Brothers, which didn't hurt their performance.

And last, the Nacho Brothers took stage. They focused on bluegrass and played a bunch of Dylan and the Meters, which was all I needed to finish off the night. They don't have a site, but they were featured on this blog.

Local music is a really important part of the Columbia community and I'm extremely grateful that these musicians helped the cause. We could not have done it without them! If you missed the concert, there's still a way to donate! Visit Sustain Mizzou's website for more information. For more of an update on the process behind Gulf Sounds, visit Sustain Mizzou's blog, Footprint.

"Love is All."

I tend to take everything the Tallest Man on Earth says quite literally, and that includes his song "Love is All" from his album The Wild Hunt. Matsson uses ambiguous clips of what seems to be people having a great time somewhere in Europe, throughout the song. My favorite kind of movies are home movies, so this was a treat.