[This weekly feature is a snapshot of what the Stranger Dance staff can't get out of our collective head each week. On any given week, we might be digging a new local act, an old jazz chestnut, the newest Japanese electro-folk or whatever else we've got on the turntable/iPod that week.]

Happy Friday people. It’s been a few weeks since our last staff playlist here - with a barrage of concerts and festivals, it’s been tough to get the whole staff together - but we’re back with a grab bag of goodies. This week’s list is all over the map as usual, with a surprisingly sugary track from our resident pop hater, a slashing blues classic, and a pair of new(-ish) cuts from two Brooklyn indie-rockers, The Walkmen and The Strokes.

Scooter: Little Joy - “No One’s Better Sake”

I don’t care if it’s been hyped to death. The debut single from Little Joy (Strokes‘ drummer Fabrizio Moretti’s side project) sounds like The Strokes meets early Toots & the Maytals… and that sounds good to me.

[Editorial note: A happy belated birthday to Scooty Beans who made it one year closer to death yesterday. May the road rise to meet you and the Fernet fall like rain... or something like that. Happy birthday.]

Uncle Corey: The Quiet Ones - “Girls & Uniforms”

So, in general, I’m not a fan of catchy songs. They usually float in, make me nod my head to the beat for one listen, then after that, can’t stand them. Well, not this week – my pick is sugary sweet and sticky. “Girls & Uniforms” is from Seattle collective The Quiet Ones, and it’s a fantastic little ditty. A perfect mix of loud guitars, melody and tempo that immediately caught my ear. I doubt this will be more than a fall fling, but it’s working for me right now.

By the way, I found this song through Seattle radio station KEXP’s wonderful “Song of the Day” podcast. KEXP is a fantastic station that I’ve been listening to for about 20 years now. It’s the first place I heard Sir Mix-A-Lot, Soundgarden, The Pixies, The Polyphonic Spree and several other of my favorite bands, and it’s got an amazing Web presence and some fantastic shows (”Preaching’ the Blues” on Sunday mornings is a must). Check out the podcasts and listen to the stream every day. You’ll be a better person for it.

Stranger Jay: Howlin’ Wolf - “Hidden Charms”

I’ve been listening to a lot of old R&B and Blues recently and got stuck on one of my old favorites again. Howlin’ Wolf was a literal and figurative giant in the world of blues. At 6′3 and 300 pounds on a good day, the Wolf was possessed with a voice stronger and more violent than any of his peers.

His take on Willie Dixon’s “Hidden Charms” is an amazing example of the marriage of blues and rock. Howlin’ Wolf’s vocals are text book and the entire rhythm section is typically excellent, but it’s guitarist Hubert Sumlin that steals the show. Sumlin’s angular attack and vicious riffs were the perfect foil to Wolf’s whiskey-soaked growl and bark. On “Hidden Charms” Sumlin’s solo sears and swings in 18 bars of brilliant fretwork in what some consider to be the best guitar solo ever (my money is on Hendrix’s “Machine Gun,” but this is close behind).

Vague Panther: The Walkmen - “In the New Year”

The Walkmen have been on my radar for a while now - after all, some of the founding members attended a rival high school of mine back in the day. Since the early 2000s they’ve been putting out solid records very, very quietly while hanging out in NYC (where else?).

“In the New Year” is the single off their most recent album, You and Me, and it showcases what these guys do real well: reverb-drenched guitar paired with crashing drums and haunting organ. At times you might even say that Leithauser’s raspy vocals are a dead ringer for Rod Stewart (some might take that as insult, but come on, the comparison is there). Enjjjjjoy.