Astrid Swan - Life In A Container

Today I bring you a song that I have recently discovered and been obsessed about. Astrid Swan is a finnish singer-songwriter who have been compared to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. But from this song, Life In A Container, from her debut album Poverina (released last year in the USA) you can’t tell this. It’s a very upbeat song that drives you to sing along even if you don’t know the lyrics. She has released her sophmore album Spartan Picnic this year in Finland, but I still haven't been able to get a hold on that. Her MySpace offers other songs from her most recent album, as well as a YouTubed video of her performing Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.

Name: Astrid Swan
Song: Life In A Container
Where from: Finland
Genre: Piano Pop

Link
MySpace

Those Dancing Days - Hitten

The girl band Those Dancing Days got lots of praise on the blogosphere last year when they released their first self-titled EP. Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, they represent very well the essence of swedish music - making pop, without sounding too obvious or too “american”, like most popstars you see in the charts around the world. The song Hitten, their second single released last year in Sweden sounds a little sunshiny (is that a word?), a little melancholic and little too true to everyone who has been a young person struggling to figure out who they are - a perfect theme for a first single from cute swedish girls in their late teens. It would be great if they really became a hit this year as they release their first album, like the title of their song states (Hitten means “The Hit” in swedish). While we wait for more, we can enjoy the song and the cute video that goes with it.

Name: Those Dancing Days
Song: Hitten
Where from: Stockholm, Sweden
Genre: Pop/Indie Pop/Soul

Link
MySpace
Video in YouTube

The Arrows - Next Time

For the first band featured in my blog, I picked The Arrows. They're a band I "discovered" on my own, randomly in MySpace. I don't think any blog have covered them, which is a shame. They are amazing and they're from South Africa, an unusual place for blossoming pop acts. Though their promo pic suggests an electro-pop act, they have a jazzy feel to their songs, without losing the sing-along quality of great pop songs. Next Time is their 1st single, released this year. Hope it gets the recognition they deserve!

Name: The Arrows
Song: Next Time
Where from: Durban, South Africa
Genre: Pop/Jazz

Link
Myspace
Video in YouTube

Hello World

Hey potential readers. I'm very happy to start my very first "real" blog, and the subject, as you may guess, is music. I love discovering new music and I think it would be amazing to share some of the things I love with anyone who stumble upon my blog.

A little about my music taste: I'd like to say it is broad, but it's not quite true. I like mainly pop, indie pop, indie rock, folk and some types of electronic music. Currently, I'm quite fond of remixes and mash-ups, but it's not very easy to please me when it comes to them. I will listen to anything people recommend me, but it's not very likely that country, metal, hard rock and emo music will please me. I tend to listen to female vocals much more than male ones. I am obsessed when it comes to new music: I think I download over 200 songs a week from the different blogs and sites I visit often. My favorite band is Rilo Kiley.

So, let's talk about the blog. The name came before the idea. Yes, it's inspired in the title of the song "Eight Days A Week" by The Beatles. And, as you may guess, the purpose here is to show you eight songs a week. I intend to update it daily with one song and on Saturday or Sunday I'll upload 2 songs - one of them a remix or a mash-up. I'll try to focus on new releases or recent songs, but nothing stops me from presenting you with a gem from the past, specially if I can't find new songs I think are worth posting. I won't post any "fillers", that's for sure.