Paper bags and plastic hearts, all our belongings in shopping carts

My computer is going in for repairs and I don't know whether the store itself will be able to fix it or they'll have to ship it off somewhere to get it fixed--hopefully it's the former, as I'd get it back a lot sooner that way. I'm not entirely sure how things will work in the meantime, though hopefully they'll be no interruption in posts; they may possibly be shorter, though...or maybe not. Who knows?

I've known about Boys Like Girls (awful name, right? I think it's just supposed to show that most of their songs are about love and relationships and these boys' troubles with girls, but they really need to reconsider) for a while now, but I've never been able to make up my mind about them: do they display too many of the characteristics that make me disinclined to listen to most emo or are they really not that far away from someone like the Click Five? I was reminded of them when a music video for one of their songs popped up on MTV Hits, which I presume means it's trying to break into mainstream MTV and VH1; I'm very out of touch with music videos at the moment, though. Anyhow, they're American. I wasn't paying too close attention to the video, but it didn't seem dark or anything, which I think reflects their music, too; unlike some emo or emo-ish bands, they have enough songs that aren't "hardcore" that I'm sort of surprised they're not bigger yet. They've toured with loads of groups I don't know or know but have no interest in, but they've also appeared with Hellogoodbye and the All-American Rejects, among others.

The Great Escape--the album's second single and the song I just saw the music video for. When you first hear the lead singer in the chorus, you might start to think it's going to devolve into something with those aforementioned characteristics and tendencies...but really, when I think about it, is that singing in the chorus really that different from what, say, Eric Dill might sound like? It's also got that certain type of guitar sound, chugging and building; "Postcard From Hollywood" has it, for example, as do some Son of Dork songs (without listening again, I think "Holly, I'm The One" might), as well as lots more "rock" or "emo" bands. The song is catchy and guitarry and, though maybe not as light or poppy as something like Hanson's "Lost Without Each Other," not exactly heavy either.

To buy Boys Like Girls' debut album Boys Like Girls, go here (physical) or check iTunes (this computer doesn't have iTunes, so I'm not sure if it's available outside of the U.S.). I really can't speak for the quality of it at all, as I've only heard this song and maybe one other by them.

If you like this song or similar such music, with maybe even a little less of that kind-of-emo influence, you might enjoy the free legal download of Faber Drive's "Second Chance," posted a while ago over at Arjan Writes. Edit: on investigating, it appears that the free download is no longer available, but maybe take a listen to the preview over at iTunes if you're interested.

Next up: possibly something Finnish.