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Soundcheck Picks: Katherine Lanpher

Guest host Katherine Lanpher shares her CD picks of the week:

The New Standards, "The New Standards"

Take the pop and punk favorites of the 20th century, put them through a retro blender, add piano, bass and vibraphone – and you have the New Standards. The trio all comes from Minnesota and includes John Munson from Semisonic, Chan Poling founder of the cult new wave band The Suburbs and vibraphonist Steve Roehm. "The New Standards" is available for purchase at Amazon.com

The Mendoza Line, "30 Year Low"

Shannon McArdle on is one of Greil Marcus’ favorite vocalists and it becomes clear pretty quickly why on the latest -- and last -- CD from The Mendoza Line, the band she founded with her now former husband. She specializes in first-person ballads like this album's chilling opener, "Since I Came." "30 Year Low" is available for purchase at Amazon.com

Nellie McKay, "Obligatory Villagers"

Nellie McKay has the voice of an angel, the face of Cupid, and lyrics that cut like stilettos. Check out "Mother of Pearl," the satiric song in which she croons that feminists don’t have a sense of humor or the nod she gives in another song to her stint in last year’s ill-fated revival of "Threepenny Opera." ("Beware of dreams come true, it means you have to share a room.") "Obligatory Villagers" is available for purchase at Amazon.com

The Hold Steady, "Boys and Girls in America"

I'm a big fan of Craig Finn, this band's lyricist and frontman. Part of his appeal is that he’s an unlikely rock star -- until he gets up on stage and starts spitting out his lyrics. I love how literate he is; pulling the concept for an entire album out of one line from "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. Plus, he drops in the name of John Berryman, the poet who took his life by jumping off a bridge in Minneapolis in 1972. For me, that makes it a done deal."Boys and Girls in America" is available for purchase at Amazon.com

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