Song of the Day: "Good Night" by The Rural Alberta Advantage

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I am a fan of this band, they were actually my Band of the Week way back in May.
I had this to say about them then, and its still fitting today... "Is it a "great" voice? No, but he sings with feeling and emotion, like whining in key, and I do not at all mean that as a slight. And its not what they do with their instruments that is impressive, its their refrain that shows strength and confidence in their sound. They let the quite be important. The missing bass guitar be an advantage rather than a detriment. It's quite something...."

I held my breathe for this release, worried it would fall short from all the things I loved about "Hometowns" and be a let down like Bishop Allen's "Grrr..." or Los Campesinos! "Romance Is Boring" albums were. Disappointment. It always seems to work out that way. But, so far, I have pushed past my apprehensions and really started to love this record. This song especially kills me.

"Good Night" by The Rural Alberta Advantage

Song of the Day: "Colours" by Grouplove

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So, this has been one of my favorite tracks of the last month or so. Hell, its been one of my favorite bands. Whenever a song shuffles itself to my ears that I don't quite know, yet cannot help tap my toes too, it always ends up being these guys. It's fantastic.

Now the video is a little iffy at the start, but it warms up. Also, tell me that he does not sound like the lead singer of the 90's alt rock band, Superdrag...


"Colours" by Grouplove

Band of the Week: Youth Rescue Mission

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Band of the Week: Youth Rescue Mission

(Photo taken from bands Facebook,)

Bands like this make me feel like I got shorted by the sisters I was assigned. How my family grew up stuffing each other into clothes dryers and trying to trick one another into brushing their teeth with Clorox, when this family can grow up making sounds like these, is really not fair.

Youth Rescue Mission, a Seattle band, by way of Montana, has me all in a tizzy. This group of siblings make noises to die for. I keep trying to string together other artists to give you a good description/comparison of style/sound, but all combo's fall short. Yes, you can hear a bit of The Head and the Heart, a dollop of Blind Pilot, a tad of Hey Marseilles, and a smidge of Choir of Young Believers, but in only the littlest of amounts. They are distinctly their own. And I am loving it. Shoo in to be included in my best albums of the year list. 

I hope the band does not mind. Their music has not flooded YouTube yet, so I uploaded two of my favorite tracks to go along with this great live, acoustic performance.

"Very Nice Things" 

"Floorplan"

"Problem Solver"

Song of the Day: "We Will All Be Changed" by Seryn

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So, when The Head and the Heart tells you that a band is awesome, you better listen. They recently suggested a band that they had done a show with, and like the audiophile I am, I listened, purchased, and subsequently, loved. And thank you THATH. This is a very very very nice record. Here is my favorite song off it so far.

"We Will All Be Changed" by Seryn

Best Songs of the Decade, The List's list.

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So, our little experiment is over. We did it. We duel-listed our best 100 songs of the decade. It was a time. And, according to Stevie's husband, she won. But, whatever, he is biased. Anyways, as we were posting, some interesting crossover happened that I thought would be fun to share.

Out of 101 songs each, we had ten repeats. Seems like a small amount, but I promise, it's not. If you think about how many songs were released in the last ten years, having one in common would seem like an accomplishment. So, those ten songs are listed directly below, with our average ranking in parentheses.

Sweet Disposition -- Temper Trap (4.5)

Collide -- Howie Day (15.5)


Flight 180 -- Bishop Allen (22.5)


Set The Fire To The Third Bar -- Snow Patrol (23)


The Blower's Daughter -- Damien Rice (25.5)


Orange Sky – Alexi Murdoch (26)


Its All Understood -- Jack Johnson (43)


Daylight -- Matt and Kim (73)


Hospital Beds -- Cold War Kids (74.5)


Percussion Gun -- White Rabbits (74.5)

Also, a little tidbit to chew on. Out of 202 total songs shared, these artists were represented the most between the two of us. Granted, I had all the Slow Club, John Mayer, and Manchester picks, and Stevie had all the Death Cab, Tallest Man, and Postal Service ones. But, there is a lot of crossover otherwise. But this clearly tells us, that Damien Rice, Bishop Allen and Snow Patrol are the best bands of the decade. 

Damien Rice – 6 (total appearances) 

Bishop Allen – 5

Snow Patrol - 5

Slow Club - 5 

Howie Day – 4

The Format – 4

Cold War Kids – 4

Jack Johnson – 4 

Matt Nathanson - 4

Hey Marseilles – 3

Tallest Man On Earth - 3

John Mayer - 3

The Postal Service - 3

Mike Doughty – 3 

Manchester Orchestra - 3

Matt and Kim – 3 

The xx – 3

the dodos - 2

White Rabbits – 2

Aimee Mann - 2

The Shins - 2

Regina Spector - 2

The Perishers - 2

Death Cab For Cutie - 2

Pete Yorn - 2

Blind Pilot - 2

The Fray - 2

The Middle East - 2

Citizen Cope - 2

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - 2

Song of the Day: "Afterall" by William Fitzsimmons

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So, as a brief reprieve from my mini theme week, bring you heartbreak on a beat.
Last night marked the end of one of me and my co-blogger's favorite shows, the Greek Series Finale. I know, most things on ABC Family is drivel, but Greek stands as strong, not just for the network, but for overall cable programming. This week's episode was the last. It was hard to watch. During the emotional climax of the episode, and my of my evening, this sound provided the noise.

Great track. And now, a great/sad memory of a show that ended way too early.

"Afterall" by William Fitzsimmons

Song of the Day: "Bulls On Parade" by Rage Against The Machine

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So, continuing on theme week kick, I give you another band that had a fantastic burnout. Now Rage did not have a slow burn, like Oasis did, they seemingly imploded. Zach de la Rocha, the famed frontman, and of my favorite rock voices (list idea) suddenly quit the band when he felt like the rest of the group was not taking life/music seriously enough.

"Bulls On Parade" by Rage Against The Machine.