Five Songs You Should Download

Every so often I'm fortunate enough to come into possession of an iTunes gift card and spend days looking for the best possible songs I can get with my $15. iTunes is a great thing for two reasons: 1.) you can find music you would never hear otherwise and 2.) you can get the singles of the bands who don't have the decency to make a quality album but occasionally come up with a hit. Here are five songs that I've picked up over the last couple of weeks that are worth a download.

"Thanks I Get" - Wilco
I'm a fan of the folk-rock/independent rock genre and Wilco has been one of the poster bands for this movement. But Wilco has always been a band that intrigued me but ultimately failed to deliver a truly good album (or hit single) in each of its previous attempts. This is the song I've been waiting for. The lyrics are simple yet meaningful and whereas I have felt other Wilco songs have been overly dominated by their guitar work, "Thanks I Get" displays perfect harmony between singer and band. It is also beautifully arranged and is much more catchy than anything Wilco has done before. You've probably heard this song over the last couple of months as Wilco is the official band of Volkswagon. Here's hoping Wilco's follow up album will have more stuff like this.

"Bubbly" - Colbie Caillat
This song gets played about 197 times a day on pop radio. But don't let that scare you off. The debut single of a talented young musician, "Bubbly" is an extremely catchy if simplistic little love song that is a breath of fresh air compared to the overproduced, over sung junk that has taken over the majority of our radio airwaves. It's far from a transcendant piece of work but it's a warm-fuzzy feeling sort of song and Ms. Caillat has a beautiful voice that resides somewhere between Norah Jones and Joss Stone. It's a good song that is sure to make its way into countless spring TV shows but the real find here is Ms. Caillat who has the potential to be a force for good in the fight against synthesizers and Britney Spears. Hope to see more from her in the future.

"I'm So Sick (Acoustic)" - Flyleaf
Flyleaf broke onto the music scene in late 2005 with a unique brand of hard core, heavy, Christian influenced music. The lyrics are screamed and the music is deafeningly loud and clashing. They make Evanescence look like The Osmonds. Yet there's no hiding the fact that each song is filled with Christian themes. It's a scream fest that Jesus himself could rock out to. "I'm So Sick" was the first single, a song that got a lot of play and has become a favorite of mine. The acoustic version, however, is even better. While the original was powerful through its loudness, this version is just as powerful through its quiet. Lacey Mosley's voice is HAUNTING and the lyrics sung at this level with only the light strumming of a guitar to back it bring goosebumps. You can feel the lyricist's suffering pouring out through Ms. Mosley's voice. This is destined to find a spot on my all time favorites list.

"I'm With the Band" - Little Big Town
This is straight up one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. I'm no fan of country music and I found LBT's previous efforts to be cliche and lacking in content. But if the next album is anything like the single, I'm in. "The Band" is an anthem for traveling/gypsy bands everywhere and channels the work of Willie, The Eagles, and Lynard Skynard. The song begins and ends in four part harmony and the music works perfectly with the singing, adding to the voice work rather than overpowering it. This is an incredible piece of work that invoke images of white lines, passing countryside, and, for me, the "Tiny Dancer" scene in "Almost Famous." I can only hope that Nashville can give us more work such as this and less of the unimaginative junk we've been force fed for the last few years.

"Stay (I Missed You)" - New Found Glory
This is a punk-cover of the mid 90's Lisa Loeb song that was a long running hit in the Billboard Top 100. And it's awesome. I'm a fan of the cover song but this is one of the best ones I've heard in a long time. Lisa Loeb provides dual vocals to accompany Jordan Pundik. The seeming clash in style of Pundik's classicly punk voice and Loeb's reserved, soft voice actually works in perfect compliment. NFG provides an edge and some real feelings to a song that I've always found to be lacking in both. While the rest of this album doesn't live up to NFG's previous cover album, this song stands out as an awesome example of how much fun a cover song can be when done right.