Why don’t you try listening to 5  new sings (as opposed to songs) today.

1. This is Rubylux with Screaming Surrender. The song is available as a free download from their 4-song EP, which they are also giving away for free.

2. A  soulful Malaysian singer-songwriter that very little Malaysians know of, this is Zee Avi playing her first single “Bitter Heart” on Last Call with Carson Daly just last June. Give her some love, people. Her song “Monte” was also featured in the season finale of Private Practice.

3. It was 1985 and this was the first Japanese song I ever heard (the second was “Say Yes” by Chage & Aska). I would, without thinking, sing the words to this song whenever I hear it playing in the background – in the elevator, in the karaoke joint, on the radio. You have probably heard many cover versions in many different languages, but this is the original “koi ni ochite“ by Akiko Kobayashi, which was the theme song to the dorama “Kinyoubi no Tsumatachi e”.

4. It used to be when I was upset with the way the world turns, this song gave me comfort. This is Mr Big with “Goin’ Where The Wind Blows” from their “Live in Japan” concert series, which I have chosen to commemmorate the fact that they were reunited earlier this year in Japan and will be heading to Singapore this October. Paging PC!

5. “Here We Are” by Lene Marlin, released last Feb. Listen to the unusual arrangement. This is folk music done right.