Five Songs I'm Loving This Week

This week I'm going to try stay focused; try to stay a little on-topic (just a little--it's an experiment).

Honestly I've been very stressed out the last few months (sick kitty, sick mother) and it's fun to go a little crazy once in awhile. Well, it's funny until the ambulance shows up.

EZArchive still seems to think I'm dangerously close to exceeding bandwidth limits, which seems odd considering that I didn't use EZArchive last week. I guess that just shows that people are downloading older songs. Yay people! So, I'm going to use ZShare again. I don't mind--the files seem to be permanent (though the FAQ says that if a file isn't downloaded for 10 days, they'll remove it...we'll have to see if any of mine get deleted) and it lets you preview the track and it shows me how many times the songs have been downloaded (people are actually downloading this stuff!). The only thing I don't like is that it's not direct download. That's very inconvenient and not at all desired in a music blog. People should be able to click the link and have it download automatically. Oh well. Bare with me, people...I'll get a little consistency one day.

I got a comment that the quality using ZShare (which I used this week and last week) is better than EZArchive (which I had been using). I post the songs as I find them (meaning I have no control over bitrate), but please let me know which hosting site you think has the best quality.

So, on with the post. None of these are direct download. Please click on the link, and then click "download file" right above the preview window.

Essex Green, "Don't Know (Why You Stay)"

I've written about this band before, but I don't mind repeating myself if the song is worth it, which this song is. I love punchy guitar songs. Is it a burden? No, not when I keep finding so many great punchy guitar songs. It also helps that this guy has a really cool voice. I love the progression of this song--the vocals climb up and up, and the guitar keeps the same quick pace. If I were dancing to this song, I bet I'd be dancing really fast. If I were cleaning to this song, I bet I'd be cleaning really fast. Hush--I'm not going to clean just 'cause I said that. I already cleaned today. I'm tired. It's Five Songs post time.


They start 'em off young in the Essex family. Look--an Essex Green Website and Myspace. "Don't Know (Why You Stay)" is from their latest album, Cannibal Sea.

Youth Group, "Sorry"

I got this through an e-mail list I'm on called Fingertips. The facilitor of the e-mail list is a fan just like me; just a better organized, more motivated fan. One day I'll have lists and a real website, and candy for all the good boys and girls, and a nice house...(The Fingertips guy has the first two things--I don't know about candy and a house). "Sorry" is another punchy song, with a veneer of alt-country. I haven't heard many (read any) alt-country Australian bands, so this is a rarity for me. I love the violin part--one of the hallmarks of an alt-country song. The other songs I've heard from them are more alt-pop than alt-country--more mp3s are available through this site (if it comes up as "all files", change the extension to .mp3).


Youth Group didn't realize after complaining so vocally about their tour bus that their tour bus driver would leave them. Youth Group's Website, Myspace and Label Site. "Sorry" is from their recent album Casino Twilight Dogs.

Thirteen Senses, "Into The Fire"

Ahhh...piano ballad. How Lola loves the piano ballad. Watch her swoon, watch her eyes dialate as she dreams of many intense, dramatic, candlelit nights with the piano balladeer. Watch her drift off into dreams of romantic swooniness only English actresses can really accurately reproduce. Watch the resigned sadness as she remembers how whiny and emo-ish piano balladeers tend to be. Watch her shrug her shoulders and look for a picture of Thirteen Senses online.

Website and a Myspace. My 13th sense specifically tells me that "Into The Fire" is from the album The Invitation.

Buildings Breeding, "Emmawood"

Nice slowcore type song, but unlike most slowcore, the singer's voice is clear and the lyrics are intelligible. The singer has a sweet, unhurried voice--perfectly matched to the even-tempered guitar and drumming. It's slowcore that wants to be heard. They also have the funniest origin story I've heard. The band began as a concept--sort of a Myspace joke. Chris Larson, the "founding member" made up a fake band, put them on Myspace and began writing fake songs for the vocalist Melanie Glover to sing. He realized she had good rhythm, too, so he bought her drums. Then they had a band. After that, two more members (Evan Hart and Jesse Miller) joined (information culled from their press release). So, there you go. Hey--if a fake Myspace band can turn into a real band, maybe a fake Myspace photographer can turn into a real photographer.


Back slowly away from the building...easy...easy...run! The building is breeding! It's multiplying! Buildings Breeding (damn buildings...someone oughta get them fixed) has a Myspace, a label site and even a Lastfm listing! I didn't find a regular ole website, though. They have a new record called Married to the sea...carried to land, but according to Lastfm, "Emmawood" doesn't appear on it.

Final Fantasy, "He Poos Clouds"

Hee! Okay, go ahead and laugh at the name. It's funny. He poos clouds. It's apparently supposed to be a compliment, 'cause I guess clouds don't stink (though with the levels of pollution in the air, they probably do). Oh well. Final Fantasy is one guy--Owen Pallett , and he did the string arrangements on Arcade Fire's debut, Funeral. Funeral being one of my most favorite albums ever, and the strings being absolutely fantastic. So yeah, I like this. It's kind of weird, kind of trippy, but it's definitely original. It's not really the kind of song I bop along to; it's more the kind of song I study and am fascinated by.


Owen Pallett steals from the poorly dressed and gives to the even more poorly dressed. He has a website, but the only Myspace I found says it's fan run (yet it's friended on Myspace by the label...).

I want to be in a band. I want to take fun-looking pictures in far off locales. Maybe I can contact Sheffield Quigley and make it happen, even without the band.