the type of thing you hear on streets and don't dream of giving money for

Emmy the Great's "First Love" is the free single this week on the UK iTunes store! So if you're still in the habit of downloading single songs and aren't already on to her, here's your chance.

It's also interesting to see the (largely average at best) reviews from those who've downloaded it. When you spend a lot of time reading the writing of or talking to people who have much the same taste as you, or at least who are also deeply into music, there are certain assumed values and ways of thinking that you take for granted. So it's quite instructive to see the reactions to a song you love dearly of a bunch of people who've never heard of it on the basis that it's free. A lot of it is just the people who love to moan every week about how ripped off they are thanks to not instantly loving the free song, but you also get a lack of opposition to "Hallelujuh", some very specific production complaints, multiple comparisons to Dido and stuff like 'She sounds like she's just talking to herself'. Huh, she sort of does at the start, actually.