A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

Solid Gold, First Avenue. Solid Gold has received airplay on U.K. national radio and praise in the Guardian. At this rate, the group may blow up bigger than Tapes 'N Tapes by the end of 2009. Solid Gold will be the next Twin Cities band to appear on "Late Show With David Letterman."

Mayda, Mad Ripple Hootenanny. Her intimate acoustic performance included the suggestively racy song "Good Girls." Hoot-goers will remember it long after they stop blushing.

Maria Isa, www.KVSC.org's "Monday Night Live." Her interview and live performance were so spot-on and energetic that I felt live-show adrenaline while listening to the Internet broadcast. Upping the ante, Isa did a live play-by-play via Twitter and interacted with listeners.

DAVID DE YOUNG, WWW.HOWWASTHESHOW.COM, MPLS.

TO CONTRIBUTE: POPMUSIC@STARTRIBUNE.COM

Raphael Saadiq, Fine Line. His vintage Motown-meets-Philly soul sounds cool on disc, but the smooth crooner with the old-school eyeglasses truly came alive in concert, backed by two fabulous singers and a band that found great grooves. An unexpectedly exciting show in front of a full house.

Various artists, "Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm." This late Texas hero was a true character, a special musicmaker and a fun fixture at SXSW. Los Lobos, Flaco Jimenez, Dave Alvin, Alejandro Escovedo, Delbert McClinton and others capture his spirit here; his son, Shawn Sahm, sounds just like Dad on "Mendocino."

Carrie Underwood, "I Told You So," "American Idol." She didn't need duet partner Randy Travis or her new Barbara Mandrell hairdo. This ex-Idol showed the right mixture of vulnerability and strength on her achin' country ballad.

JON BREAM, STAR TRIBUNE