Check out the countdown page for this week’s top 10, including a debut by a band called “The Aquabats.”

Went to a concert this weekend, and it was a good one. I mean, I figured it was going to be pretty good, but it was actually great. If Coldplay is coming to your area, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the show!

I was actually worried that a piano-heavy, soft-rocky band would disappoint live. Especially in an ampitheater setting. This one didn’t. Chris Martin and the guys (whoever those other three band members are — can anyone name them all? Seriously? Without googling it?) have put together a stage show that seriously rocks. There was a much stronger drum and bass beat to just about every song they played.

The only thing I would’ve changed? I wouldn’t have pandered to the crowd by throwing cheesy Milwaukee and Chicago shout-outs into the already awesomely moving song, “Fix You”.

Overall, what a great show — and can’t complain about the seats I got in the pre-sale either…

Go here to view the entire countdown with links to Amazon to purchase!

Let’s count ‘em down from 10 to 1:

• 10. Chicken Payback by Band of Bees – The first time I heard this song, I hated it. Now it’s completely growing on me. It has a very 50’s type bluegrassish up-tempo beat to it. It will stick in your head if you listen to it more than once, and after a while it’s not a bad thing. Very fun song.
• 9. The Comeback by Shout Out Louds – Another solid effort from one of my favorite new bands of 2005. This is a pretty simple song, but it’s done solidly by this new band.
• 8. Your Little Hoodrat Friend by The Hold Steady – This song tells a story in a “nowhere near as annoying as that R.Kelly Soap Opera song crap” way. This song will go down as one of the indie rock hits of the summer.
• 7. Superman by The Steriophonics – Here’s another band that I’m really taking a liking to this year. Ever wonder why we never hear songs about other superheroes?
• 6. Side 2 by Dressy Bessy – Pretty sure I’d know nothing about this song without Sirius Satellite Radio. Female group, a little bit of an upbeat Sleater-Kinney type sound. I can’t help but start tapping my feet when this song starts.
• 5. Sweet Troubled Soul by Stellastar* – Stellastar* was a band I really liked when I started hearing their stuff in 2004. This is off their upcoming 2005 release. If you don’t know this band and you liked the B-52’s, go find their songs now — they have a very B-52-ish sound.
• 4. El Capitan by Idlewild – Cruising toward clinching a spot in my ‘top 5 bands of 2005′ list, Idlewild’s latest song has a great catchy chorus. This will be a favorite at their live shows, I’m sure. These guys are a little bit Deathcab for Cutie in the tempo of their songs — I wonder if this means they’re as mellow as Deathcab in concert… I kinda hope not.
• 3. Rebellion (Lies) by Arcade Fire – Another band that is a likely ‘top 5 of the year’ band, I saw Arcade Fire at Lollapalooza and took an even greater liking to them. For a multipiece alt-rock-mini-orchestra-ish band, Rebellion (Lies) is probably their most pop/rock accessible song.
• 2. Come On! Feel the Illinoise! by Sufjan Stevens – Here’s another entrant in the folksy-alt-rock genre. I don’t think I’d like this entire album at all, but this particular song is just catchy enough that I’ll find myself singing it to myself throughout the day.
• 1. Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers – Thanks again to Sirius Satellite Radio, this was the one band who had been around for a while but who I had never heard of that I totally fell for in 2004. This song is off of their upcoming release and is yet another of their ultra-catchy alt/pop/rock style tunes – a very good thing.

Go here to view the entire countdown with links to Amazon to purchase!

A Saturday update to the countdown as the randomness of updates continues…

Watch early next week for a special Lollapalooza Artist Only countdown — featuring the top 10 songs (or artists — haven’t decided that yet) I hear in Chicago this weekend!

A Thursday countdown? What? Well, here it is — enjoy!

So, last week I mentioned that I was going to talk about indie music podcasts. I still haven’t done that, but I will… soon. If it makes you feel any better, there is a song on the countdown this week that I discovered only because of podcasting – New Day (I Feel Alone by the Amphibians. While a lot of the music I hear during podcasts fits the “pleasant to listen to” category, this song had me going “hold up, let’s hear that song again” — and any song that grabs you like that is a good one. As far as I know this band doesn’t even have an album yet. Learn more about them and listen to some more of their music over at Garageband.

Also joining the countdown this week is Play the Hits by Hal, a song that I’ve liked for a while now but never got around to remembering to download until last week (and one of the rules of this countdown is that I have to legally own all of the tracks on the list — personal rule, it’s not like a law or anything).

And, we have a new #1 — Shadowland by Youth Group.

Listen to it now

Listen to it now (Strongspace)