We live in an age of forgetting.
mp3
Free Music
Nov 23rd
* Amazon.com is offering a free $3 credit to their mp3 store. Click here and follow the instructions. The credit has to be used my Nov. 30.
* If you like Girl Talk, check out the Hood Internet Mixtape. They mix two or more groups in each song, and most of the results are entertaining. My favorite on Vol. 4 (the only Vol. I downloaded so far) is #19, R. Kelly v. Sally Shapiro, but overall I like a whole mix and have listened to it several times so far.
SotW: “Better Than Sunday”
Jan 31st
I’ve been listening a lot to Ladyhawke recently, a New Zealand elecronic-pop band that has a nice updated 80s sound to their music. You can download one of their songs, “Better Than Sunday”, in the Song of the Week sidebar on the right. The whole CD is solid, so I recommend getting it if you like this song.
New SotW: “The Hollows”
Jan 25th
New Song of the Week: “The Hollows” from Why’s album Alopecia. See sidebar for link. Not sure what genre to put them in them (hip-pop?) but it’s interesting. The album has several other good songs if you like this one.
Song of the Occasionally: “Ghosts”
Oct 14th
At this point, it would be more accurate to rename Song of the Week to Song of the Occasionally. The SotO is “Ghosts” from Ladytron’s album Velocifero. Check the sidebar for the link. Some of Ladytron’s music connects with me in a deeply emotional yet nebulous way that is difficult to bring words to. It makes me feel happy and sad at the same time, and most of all wistful for a time in my past that I can’t remember.
That’s more my own idiosyncrazy than the music. It’s a good song regardless though.
SotW Returns!
Sep 9th
For a week! Then I’ll probably forget it again for a few months.
Thank god for cut n paste, because this week’s artist is Iceland’s Ólöf Arnalds, and I don’t know how to make those vowel hats in WordPress. Or in any other blogging program.
The song is “Í nýju húsi“. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Jason, why didn’t you pick ‘Við og við’? The flúergme really comes through on that track.” All I can say is, go eat some joð joð.
Song of the Week: “Rooks”
Jul 13th
The SotW is “Rooks” by Shearwater. I first heard of Shearwater only a few weeks ago. My first impression of their music is melancholy vocals and tension-filled melodies that often seem on the precipice of an operatic explosion but never get there. Check the sidebar for the download link.
In other music news, Ratatat came out with a new album, LP3. I haven’t taken the time to figure out why I like it, but it’s their best album so far in my opinion. No song in particular sticks out, like “Wildcat” on Classics did for me, but I’ve enjoyed listening to the whole album a little more than their past two.
I’ve only heard one track from Sigur Ros’ new album, the #2 track, but I like it a lot. Sigur Ros drank the happy juice.
I’ve been thinking about cutting back on my EMusic music downloads, from 75 to 50 a month. I love EMusic, but I realized there is a ton of great music in my collection that I’ve forgotten about and haven’t listened to in months. I pre-paid for a year though, so I’m not sure that’s even an option.
Bonus song of the week! Andrew “I’m Not Andrew Bird” Lipke’s “The Barker Song“. (The Bird comparison is a stretch, but something about this song reminds me of Andrew Bird).
Free $10 from Rhapsody
Jul 1st
Rhapsody is offering a $10 credit to the first 100,000 people who open an account with them by July 4th. The credit must be used by the 4th. You need to enter a credit card number to sign up. Their albums are $9.99, so it’s pretty much a “Get a Free Album” deal. While I signed up to get the offer, I have never used the service before and can’t vouch for it.
I mainly use Emusic but they have a lot of holes in their selection due to their business model (mostly independent labels only). I’ll probably get Feist, Toumani Diabate, or Joshua Bell (assuming Rhapsody carries them).
(Update: I read that you need to email or call to cancel your account. Just FYI.)
SotW: “Scottish Ballade”
Jun 24th
The Song of the Week was as buried on my Zune as it could get. The song info got corrupted. All it said was “Album, Artist”. I was browsing through my songs and played it out of curiosity. It turned out to be a beautiful Scottish song.
I know it’s Scottish because my keen ear can discern the sometimes subtle differences between traditional Celtic and Gaelic music. Also, when I found the song on my hard drive (“Assorted MP3s\Irish Music”) I noticed the file name was “Scottish Ballade” by Christiane Cargill, who should add an ‘e’ to her last name to make it extra Scottish. So says the Encyclopedia of Gaeity.
SotW: I Love You and Buddha Too
May 21st
So the SotW has gotten lazy and has been the Song-of-the-Week-and-a-Half lately. Apologies abound.
The song is “I Love You and Buddha Too” by Mason Jennings. This is one of those songs that I liked after the first 10 seconds. Yes, the band could have inserted a three-minute solo of the endangered greater prarie chicken trying to mate with a tree in a desperate attempt to save its species at the 1:30 mark, ruining my snap judgment and making me look like an ass, but bands rarely do this.
It’s the most non-religious religious song I’ve heard. You’ll hear what I mean when you listen to it.
SotW: “You Will Love This Song”
May 11th
Easy pick this week. I first heard Amber Rubarth’s witty song about breaking up on NPR’s All Songs Considered. It’s great–you really will love this song.
Song of the Week: Heliosphan
Apr 27th
I’m not a huge fan of Aphex Twin or electronic fan, but some of it is pleasant even for casual listeners. “Heliosphan” is from his earlier work (see sidebar for download link)
Song of the Week: My Favorite Mutiny
Mar 30th
The Coup, creators of “My Favorite Mutiny“, is a hip-hop band with a lot of funky bass lines and hooks. It sounds like intelligent, independent hip-hop, but I can’t really say because this is the only song I’ve heard from them so far.
Song of the Week: Large Radio
Mar 24th
Oh, cassettes. Why won’t you listen? The SotW is “Large Radio” by Cassettes Won’t Listen. This is one of those seemingly straightforward songs that I can’t easily describe. I felt a flash of bittersweet happiness at the 1:30 mark, like it reminded me of something buried deep in my memories that I couldn’t easily access. I get hit by a lot of odd emotions out of the blue, and I can never figure out where they are coming from. At least the moments of deja vu have subsided over the years–those drove me crazy.
That’s all besides the point though. This one is from a “Song of the Day” podcast, so I’ll leave the link up.
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