In any case, I felt it only appropriate to curate a musical tribute to John Hughes this past Sunday. In addition to his skills as a writer, producer, and director...the man knew his music. You will be hard pressed to find anyone in the world of modern day music supervision that is so effortlessly in touch with the soundtrack to a generation, much less anyone that can so perfectly align sound with image in just a memorable way.

Was it predictable to start with Simple Minds and finish with Yello? Yep. But I wasnt trying to win hipster points...I merely aimed to evoke some joyful nostalgia amongst those who grew up with the man's work.

In death, as in life- John Hughes' work speaks for itself. Listen below:

John Hughes- A musical retrospective

That said, as I get older- I am less inclined to immediately jump up and proclaim every interesting piece of music to be the next big thing. It's more of a quarterly thing... four or five times a year I find my new favorite song, and I subsequently spend the next few weeks feverishly evangelizing for it.

So far this year i've had 3 new favorite songs.

The first was Empire of the Sun- Walking on a Dream

Then there was Camera Obscura- French Navy

And now... there is Mpho. Her song is called Box N Locks.

Watch video here. (why on earth would you disable embedding with a new artist?)

80's aficionados will immediately recognize the sample from Echo Beach by Martha and the Muffins.

Mpho is one Mpho Skeef...from the UK by way of South Africa. Martha and the Muffins gave Mpho full clearance to use the sample, which is not only unusual, but also very smart. The commercial placement and licensing potential of the new version of this song is limitless. I have to imagine that music supervisors worldwide are currently recognizing the potential in this song.

Additionally, its a total summer banger. Does this mean you'll hear it on your local terrestrial radio outlet? Unlikely, at least in the US. Too hard to categorize. Too edgy for pop radio and too pop for "alternative" radio.

So where does the "trendspotting" tag come in? This song is very good, but its not going to start a revolution. I am predicting a renaissance, however. A renaissance of that sweeeeet 80's flange guitar sound. Seriously. I think that flange is going to be the new keyboard in '10.

That said- I think that I have found my final new favorite song for Q4 of 2009. Ladies and Gentlemen, Brooklyn-by-way-of-Baltimore band Yeasayer. This is the video for their new single- Ambling Alp. It is also NSFW...you have been warned.