Apologies in advance for the bad food analogy I'm about to make. Clearly I'm bitter about the free bag of generic popcorn I just inhaled for lunch (with "insert brand name of prescription drug you can't pronounce" printed on the bag). Anyway, you could kind of liken the Florida music scene to a Cracker Barrel menu. Don't get me wrong: I am ALL for some Hickory Smoked Honey Glazed Ham (Backstreet Boys) and cheese grits (Matchbox Twenty).  And who knows? Maybe I want to wash down my chicken 'n dumplings (2 Live Crew) with some box wine (Dashboard Confessional).  But Miami synth-rock/electro-pop act Awesome New Republic seems to have just the right amount of pop amazingness without sounding trite (think the electronic bits and driving beats of Miike Snow blended with the psychedelic sweetness of Passion Pit).

Earlier this year, Awesome New Republic -- John Hancock, Brian Robertson, and newly-added-for-tour Jorge Rubiera -- had a Perez Hilton pop moment when P'rezzers posted a Leighton Meester cover of their track "Birthday." Side note: Leighton seems to have a knack for hanging with the boys (not that way, pervtown), as evidenced by this summer's smash Cobra Starship collabo "Good Girls Go Bad" to the literally just-released video "Somebody To Love," featuring Robin Thicke.

Now, with their brand-new album Hearts, just released on October 27th, and their song "Magic City" (from the previously released EP Rational Geographic Vol. 1) appropriately featured in tomorrow's Miami-bound episode of The City, Awesome New Republic just might be the best band you've never heard of. You're welcome.

Directed by famed rap-vid auteur Chris Robinson (Busta Rhymes, Alicia Keys, Nas), baby-faced R&B crooner Mario's clip for "Break Up," off his album, D.N.A., starts out normally enough: a Gucci Mane guest verse comparing the emotional wreckage of a break-up to public bus schedules, some tooling around in nice whips on abandoned sets from The Wire, etc. But midway through "Break Up," things get Fosse-tastic, with a startling interpretive dance number set in a living room. From there it's the same old ur-dumped song and dance; our star holding a "Dear, Mario" letter, while his ex-girl is on to the next guy (in this case R&B singer and apparent amateur boxer Sean Garrett).

One thing's for sure: Mario's breakup is modern dance's loss. Those two had some choreographed chemistry. Watch yourself, Beyonce.

(Credit: Dan Gillian)

I can get into The Summer Set's iPod-ready pop-punk stylings; I can get into the youthful, effortless energy of it all, but I gotta say, I LOVE that the one girl of this fivesome is the band's drummer. Sorry -- not sexist, right? That's just bad-ass, and I love it. You work your stuff, Jess Bowen; who says the guys should be the only ones hitting stuff?

So anyway -- still with me? The Summer Set, of Arizona, is all you if you're into some honest fare for your party mix or your running playlist. The group's sounds are very, very of-the-now, but there's solid musical instincts behind it; and the lyrics are airy and mercifully un-cheesy.

Even though they're signed now, The Summer Set ctually made a name for itself with self-released EPs, MySpace postings, and unsolicited friend requests!

I'm particularly into "Chelsea" -- about a girl whose sheer hotness is powerful enough to get other girls' names deleted from iPhones. Little aside: "Chelsea" is based on lead singer Brian Dales' girlfriend Chelsea Staub -- surely you know her as Stella Malone from JONAS on Disney. So does that mean Chelsea really wears a new dress every day? Girl, that's a lot of work... but I guess you get back what you put out; this might even be the dangerous Chelsea from that sweet Stefy song...

The Summer Set's debut full-length album, Love Like This, drops this fall on October 13th. Can't wait for that? Listen to The Summer Set's cover of Usher's "Love In This Club." And follow them on Twitter at @the_summer_set.

Between The Trees had, and has, plenty of room to be like so many alt-rock, emo-by-a-hair bands. The Orlando group's 2006 debut album, The Story and The Song, displayed potential, but we've heard potential before; what direction would the group take? Was a radio-ready single in the works? Because it felt like they could make one. Between The Trees reads to me, though, as a band that naturally matures, shifts gears of its own volition -- not to make money or to be different for the sake of being different.

I couldn't say BTT's newest single, "We Can Try," is radically different from the tempered-emo you may have heard on their debut, but in it lies a maturity. I also like that -- and it sounds odd to note this as a pleasant anomaly -- lead singer Ryan Kirkland actually knows how to sing; he's in control and knows exactly how to manipulate his voice as an instrument.

"We Can Try" is the lead single from the band's sophomore album, Spain, due out August 11. If you haven't seen the video, like the group, it's subdued, almost unobtrusive, while the retro equipment, the bleak, cell-like apartments and lighting add some texture. And the video's ambiguous ending is choice: a completely inscrutable face from the recipient of so many forlorn love letters... could have ended with a cliche smile, a hug or a door slam, but Between The Trees proved they've beyond that.

I could never package 20-year-old Esmee Denters as a charity case -- if Justin Timberlake signs you as his record label's flagship artist and touts you left and right, you've got your foot in the door -- yet my initial reaction to Esmee's "Outta Here" was, Is she scared? Having watched the video several times (I have my rewind-worthy segments, but we'll get to that), I've felt instead a vulnerability and a guilelessness in Esmee that makes me totally root for her -- even if she doesn't need me to.

If you'd like a little back story before joining up with Team Esmee, well, she's from Oosterbeek (sorry that's just fun to say), The Netherlands, and she's one of them YouTube phenoms the kids like to talk about. Esmee became somewhat of a viral giant from her bedroom thanks to her effortless covers of Mariah Carey, Brandy and, in particular, Justin Timberlake. JT took notice, signed Esmee to Tennman Records and produced, along with Polow da Don, her debut track "Outta Here."

There's a lot to like about the "Outta Here" video, which you can watch below: First off, I know it's a staple, but I love the wind machine on the dance floor; really, all dance floors should have wind machines. Also, Esmee's crumbled poses and her pained, sleepy eyes actually enhance the song's effects -- it's not a break-up track; it's a downward spiral track -- but then it's cut with Polow's beats, which make it totally listen-able.

"Outta Here"'s pretty major in The Netherlands right now, but, as we all know, I'm rooting for Esmee -- and she needs to get her footing Stateside!

Virginia indie-pop band My Favorite Highway made a name for itself without a label push -- a name as in 100,000-plus in digital sales -- and while a record deal is usually the pot o' gold, it's nice to know you can make it without them.

That's not to say the gigs always flowed freely for this crew; they still recall playing venues in meth lab-ville. But come on -- that just indicates a band with the ultimate band experience -- and is part of why My Favorite Highway is totally Buzzworthy Obsession-worthy. (And I swear I won't just talk about the hot drummer ... although I am following his Twitter now.)

If the self-made story's not enough for you, know that the debut video from My Favorite Highway, "Say So," is a tribute to Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- which sold me faster than you can say "Rooney!"

I also love "Say So" because it's the ultimate in solid melody-writing: With clear vox from lead singer David Cook (uh, yeah... I'm not saying he should have changed his name, but I wonder if he voted for Archuleta...), listening to "Say So" is just a sing-along, top-down good time.

And yes, this video and My Favorite Highway's album, How to Call a Bluff , have some extra shekels thanks to backing by Virgin Records, but the new record's not all that different than the one the boys self-released in July 2008. There was a little re-mastering involved, and the addition of two new songs "Go" and "Dreamer," but David's songwriting got play on The Hills and The City on its own merits.

And no more meth den appearances for this crew! The guys are currently touring with The Cab and will team up with HelloGoodbye in August. My Favorite Highway also recently confirmed a few opening dates in September with one, Kelly Clarkson. Sweet!

I have a special place in my heart devoted to high-energy, melody-driven rock songs -- and for mustachioed hipsters in cut-off jeans -- and Florida export Fallbrooke set up shop in my happy little heart the minute I watched their "Losin' It" video.

There are many reasons I'm obsessed with "Losin' It," and some of those reasons don't even involve chest hair, though it's certainly a plus. Top of the list -- an appearance by the sexy (though chaperoned), Mandy Jiroux -- as in, "Manders," Miley Cyrus' bestie and partner in vlogging and going to Starbucks.

"Losin' It" is based on a real-life online omance/frustration, so it was totally apropos to recruit Manders, who gives great video, for the Web-themed video. I'd even tell Schmanders to stick with her Web-cam niche had she not already branched out into girl group territory. P.S. Mandy's group, The Beach Girl5, shared recording space with Fallbrooke (signed to RMR Music Group), a proximity that led to an encounter and subsequent gig.

Overall I heart Fallbrooke for its good-boy rocker vibe, as well as for Eric's strong vocals, showcased in my favorite Fallbroke song, "Can't Have You". Seriously, if the "Losin' It" video doesn't charm you, check out Fallbrooke's MySpace for "Can't Have You" and the boys' (pretty adorable, though not completely current) vlogs.

+ Watch Fallbrooke's "Losin' It" video!

Randomly, last night during a commercial break of The Real Housewives of New York (wish I could quit you, Jill Zarin!), my friends and I started talking about Phoenix (if you've never heard of them, think Muse meets TV On The Radio meets Air) and wondering if the French pop-rock band was even still together. It had, after all, been a MINUTE AND A HALF since Phoenix dropped ANYTHING new, and I've been listening to half of Alphabetical and another half of It's Never Been Like That since 2006.

Well, zut alors, y'all! Phoenix just released their new single, "1901" this week, and it's a major rager from their upcoming album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, out May 25, 2009. I will now delude myself into thinking that I can simply say the name of an artist, and wake up the next day to discover they've got a new track out! Are you reading this, Deee-Lite?

+ Stream/ download Phoenix's new track, "1901."

Passion Pit's break-out hit "Sleepyhead" combines hip-hop beats with spastic helium vocal loops and vaguely Indian-sounding instrumentation. Come to think of it, the Brooklyn band kinda sounds like Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade. You remember that thing? Probably not. So, picture a procession of oversized animals wrapped in Christmas lights at twilight, marching slo-mo down the avenue toward Cinderella Castle. In a video I saw recently on TheFader.com, Passion Pit's lead-singer Michael Angelakos says that "Sleepyhead" was meant to emulate a children's choir. Fitting, eh?

The "Sleepyhead" video is just as psychedelic as the song's exotic sound. It features Angelakos' head in an animated box that spins up and down the length of a cable, bobbing alongside electrified piano keys and iridescent letters. It's basically Tron. Check it out.

Earlier this week, the announcement that Hilary Duff will star in a remake of film classic Bonnie & Clyde, ruffled a lot of feathers and raised the argument anew that Hollywood is out of original ideas. The incredibly (i.e. accidentally) timely Mercy Mercedes offer an innovative solution in the form of their video for "The Perfect Scene." In it, the North Carolina pop-punkers borrow heavily from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but instead of ripping off the '80s John Hughes classic line for line, they combine it with elements of other movies, like Back To The Future and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Take note, Hollywood! Instead of boring us with a live-action remake of All Dogs Go To Heaven, why not get out of the box with something more along the lines of 10 Things I Hate About The Fact That I Can't Hardly Wait, or The Breakfast Club At Tiffany's? THINK ABOUT IT. Watch Mercy Mercedes now. Look for them on the Bamboozle Road Show with We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Cab and many others in a couple months!