Here’s the problem with songs by Fountain of Wayne – I usually really like them the first time I hear them — enough to make Maureen a quick riser to #1 — but their allure fades fairly quickly. Therefore, Maureen drops 3 spots this week and Hwy 5 is back at #1.

Gaining momentum is Shadowland by Youth Group – this anthem-style song is real catchy and it wouldn’t surprise me to see it keep rising in the next couple weeks.

Stay tuned later this week for a spotlight on some indie music discovered via podcast.

A fast-riser has jumped to #1 on the countdown this week, as Very Loud by the Shout Out Louds jumps 5 spots to take the lead. I just like how catchy the song is, plus it’s off an album called “Howl Howl Gaff Gaff” – which is funny even if I don’t really know what it means.

Shout Out Louds are :

four boys and one girl from Stockholm in Sweden and we play music together in a band. We used to call our band Luca Brasi but because of another band who also called themselves Luca Brasi, that name now sleeps with the fish. These days we call our band Shout Out Louds. That has nothing to do with Kiss although we do not mind Kiss under any circumstances. Now we are going to tell you about our band.

We started our band in 2001. Actually, Adam (the singer) and Ted (the bass man) started it and after only a few seconds Carl (the guitar player) joined them. They had all been friends since they were rather small and they loved the same records so there was really no point in not starting a band. Then Eric (the drummer) and finally Bebban (the keyboards etc. player) came along. They were two more friends from a rather early stage in life. Eric played the drums like some kind of a creature while Bebban was getting awfully tired of walking around the city on her own waiting for people to come out of their garages, so there was really no point in not asking them to join the band.

(taken from the band’s official website)

If you browse their site, you’ll notice that they played Coachella (a music festival I think I need to go to soon), but have never played in Wisconsin — Why not bring them in for a music festival this summer, Milwaukee? Maybe something like Summerfest?

Click the play button here to listen to this week’s #1:

New to the countdown this week:

• Starts Off With a Bang by Mobius Band – Very Emo, very smooth sound. I like.
• Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living) by Eels – Pop sound, cynical lyrics from what sounds like a very very emotional type record

As usual, search around iTunes, Amazon or wherever, take a preview listen to these tracks and if you like ‘em, buy the tracks or the whole albums.

See this week’s countdown here.