1. Jay-Z, “Dig a Hole” (Original Beat)
Jigga proves that Kingdom Come's suckiness wasn't all his fault — some of the blame falls on the shoulders of Swizz Beatz. This demo version runs rings around the One Man Band Man’s take that wound up on the album. [Nah Right]

2. Jesca Hoop & The Ditty Bops, “Summertime”
Jesca Hoop is a quirky singer-songwriter that once worked as Tom Waits’s nanny. She shares her former employer’s knack for choosing interesting collaborators and reinterpreting standards, though based on her gorgeous instrument, she did not take his advice about gargling with medieval maces. [My Old Kentucky Blog]

3. Spoon, “Bring It On Home to Me”
For a white dude from Texas, Britt Daniel has got a lot of soul. (Did that sound negative?) [Berkeley Place]

4. The Revelations, “You’re the Loser”
Is it weird that as Phil Spector inches closer to incarceration, his girl-group sound seems to be making a comeback? This British threesome coo at the wall of sound like the Ronnettes. Lucky for them, they don't have to share a studio with the producer's fright-inducing hair. [Alien Hits]

5. Jens Lekman, “A Postcard to Nina”
A postcard? Subtract the charming horn section and percussion, and this Swedish indie popper has written a letter — and a long one at that! [What Noisy Cats Are We]
—Kyle Anderson