It’s been forever and a day since I last posted and, well, you tens of readers are probably mad that I’ve left you hanging for so long — and rightly so. I am very sorry for my conspicuous absence. It seems I’ve been trying to write a meaningful wrap up to “the year that was ‘07″ since just after Christmas and still have not been able to finish. I’ve also been meaning to post a bunch of free music I’ve come across lately — none of which has been so phenomenally stellar that I just had to write about it, but it’s hasn’t been all that bad either, just not powerful enough to force a post out of me. Frankly, I’m just done. MOLLY O’POVERTY’s GUIDE just never really took off in terms of hit stats and affiliate referrals. I’ve made a grand total of seven dollars and some odd cents in purchases off the iTunes Music Store; that’s not even enough to cover one year’s domain registration renewal! (Let alone 4 years worth of bandwidth, domain registration and email service.) True, I didn’t do it for the money, but I wanted the Guide to be a successful endeavor, not something that languished and was a drain on my time and resources. Right out of the gate, though, I thought I was on to something. After being featured on Lifehacker.com my hits were huge but it never amounted to a sustained userbase. And please don’t think to yourself, ‘Yeah, but if she just posted more… and more frequently’ because I did. Er, I used to, back in the first year or so. Music is my life, my raison d’être. Trust me when I say, it takes A LOT of time to find and write about music in any way that’s significant. And right now, that time —my time— is better spent in more meaningful, more rewarding pursuits. I could just point people to any old free thing, but that’s hardly disserning. Here’s a snapshot of things I’ve yet to download, listen to, and/or post about dating back at least two years. Anyone would feel overwhelmed, right? That and there’s just not enough hours in the week.
I once had this grandiose vision in my head that the GUIDE would become a “brand” synonymous with free, good-sounding, reliable music choices. When I first started out in 2005, Entertainment Weekly had a section called “Download This” where they usually featured at least one free tune worth downloading — and I thought that was a perfect place for Molly to be! The go-to gal for free tunes. But now, the industry has changed even more drastically than in the post-Napster era (circa 2000). Entire albums are being given away for free as experiments in trust, also in an effort to counteract piracy, many by reputable/recognizable artists like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails to name just two. Free (and DRM-Free) music just isn’t the commodity it used to be now that everyone’s doing it.
So if the point of all this is lost on you, know that there really is plenty of FREE music to be had just about everywhere you look; iTunes, Beatport, AmazonMp3, Traxsource, Clickgroove, BeatsDigital, 7Digital, not to mention all the individual records labels I’ve spotlighted over the years… The list goes on and on. (Do yourself a favor: create a “music-only” email account and sign up for each site’s newsletter or mailing list anywhere you buy or find music.) The truth is you’ll be inundated, but if you just glance over every email that comes in, you’ll most likely find something every week to be added to your playists to the tune of $zero. That’s my suggestion to fill the void my little Guide leaves behind, if indeed there’s a void to be left.
And, as a final note, if anyone is interested in taking over the GUIDE, be my guest. Just drop me an email. For those of you that stuck around this long, I thank you from the bottom of my heart facsimile and I wish you all the best. It was fun while it lasted, kiddies. Any comments you’d like to leave will help ease the pain during this difficult time.
Molly O’ Over and out.
p.s. As a final gesture of goodwill (and a twinge of guilt about leaving you on your own), here’s the .opml file of all the blogs-n-sites I check out several times a week to find out what’s hot or not these days. Just download, unzip the .opml file and import it into your favorite RSS news reader. Voila! My arsenal of information overload is yours! And now that the full-version of best news reader for the Mac, NetNewsWire, is available for FREE, why not use it?
TuneCore.com offers 34 iTunes Store downloads from TuneCore artists for free via this link. The songs are pre-selected and include tracks from Public Enemy, Dandy Warhols, Izzy Stradlin, and 31 other lesser-known bands. To get this deal: Click here to generate a code; and Click “Redeem” in the iTunes store to enter the code.
I only recognize two other bands besides the biggies mentioned above; namely, Tacks, The Boy Disaster (featured here on my Guide) and Maureen McCormick (Marcia from TV’s The Brady Bunch). I think her new album of songs might be Christian/Inspirational and/or Country flavored.
Hello all! It’s been about a month since I posted last and for no real good reason — well, for one good reason, actually. There’s been nothing new and free that’s caught my ear’s attention! You know, I take some flack for not posting often enough but I hope that long-time readers understand that it’s not easy to find music that’s not only FREE but enjoyable and listenable. Sure, I could randomly post about some crap band that’s offering their music for free (or for a suggested donation) but I have to actually LIKE the music I recommend to you. Make no mistake, with very few exceptions, the tracks I post about are on honestly and truly on my iPod or burnt onto a CD playing in my car. I really am listening to Róisín Murphy, Samantha James, Colette, Ruth Ann and Tracey Thorn. After almost two and half years, I’m still listening to Emorej and Cuebism. Frankly, I think to find something that grabs me by the ears once a month is pretty damn good, considering how discerning I am.
So, if you’re one of the loyal Guide readers that laments my lack of posts, let me just say these two things: Thanks for sticking with me and B) it’s about quality not quantity.
Back with a few mini-posts – ‘little bites of different things instead of lots of one!’
The inimitable Tom Middleton is out with a new disc, his debut solo album “LIFETRACKS”, from our friends at Six Degrees Records. The DJ, producer, remixer extradordinare and recording artist in his own right offers up a taste of what we can expect with this release by saying: “”Eno, Vangelis and Tomita are big inspirations. In the same breath, I’d name check the likes of electronica producers The Boards Of Canada, early Aphex [Twin], Black Dog, Zero 7, Air, Massive Attack and The Orb. Classical, electronica, jazz and pop, all clues to my musical personality and those apparent subconscious influences.” Check out the very pretty and swirly Shinkansen instrumental for yourself. It’s a FREE MP3, naturally.
(Former?) Dirty Vegas frontman Steve Smith has a new solo album out, and the good people at Frantic are making the bangin’ electro/retro track “Hit Me Up” available as a FREE download. Grab it here.
Guide reader Manuel from Belgium kindly directed me to not one –but two!– FREE MP3 compilations from German site trndtunes. The site’s not in English but the tunes can be easily accessed by clicking on the “1.0″ or “2.0″ album images in the lower right-hand corner. I’ve downloaded them both but have yet to give them a good listen. As soon as I do, I’ll update this post. Thanks, Manuel!
Incidentally, have you heard the new Seal track “Amazing” yet? It’s all that and a bag of chips! The Thin White Duke mix in particular is really spectacular. Damn that Stuart Price can do no wrong and it’s a nice return to form from a ‘killer’ artist who got a little too ballad-y for my taste in recent years. NOT FREE but soooo worth it! (I will say this though, “Amazing” has a very similar sound to Madonna’s “Get Together”.)
Almost forgot about this one… Mrs. Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson has recorded a single for her directorial debut, a short film entitled “The Trap”. The song, “Lessons Learned” isn’t bad, all things considered. Sounds an awful lot like an Indigo Girls tune to me. It’s all part of of Glamour magazine’s Reel Moments project that funds films for women, by women and directly benefits Film Aid International. But it’s FREE and that’s what I’m here for! And for every download, Glamour magazine will donate $1to Big Brother, Big Sister organization. You can download it here.
Really late to the game on this one! One of my favorites, the unusual and unique Róisín Murphy (pronounced Row-sheen), is back with a new album “OVERPOWERED” and is offering up a b-side to whet our collective whistles.
I find Róisín’s vocal stylings can’t easily be categorized; she’s one part chanteuse, one part avant garde hipster with a flair for the theatrical. (Think Liza if she never left the Studio 54 era.) My impression is that she’s more of a songstress-slash-storyteller than just a plain singer. I love that Róisín’s medium of choice for telling those stories is in this genre of music which we —for better or for worse— call electronica. I also like that she takes a lot of risks sonically, especially with her remixes/remixers. Along those lines, “Modern Timing” is a minimal, groovy track that could easily be a sequel to Madonna’s “Music” – just listen for the refrain of Nonstop boogie / Don’t stop / Nonstop living / Can’t stop. It’s not straight-up dancefloor electro a la Goldfrapp nor is it too Björk-like weird; it’s simply appealing, interesting and very, very listenable. After taking a preview listen of two other “OVERPOWERED” cuts, the title track “Overpowered” and “Let Me Know” (a collaboration with Groove Armada), I’m tremendously excited for this release. “Let Me Know” is simply fantastic with a terrific hooky chorus.
Back with another edition of Bits ‘n Bobs – ‘little bites of different things instead of lots of one!’
SAMANTHA JAMES » “Breathe You In”
I am loving this! It has to be one of my more favored tracks to come through my inbox in a long, long while. Heretofore unknown to me, DJ Samantha James, is following in her labelmate DJ Colette’s footsteps by being in front of the mic. This silky smooth house number is pitch perfect in every way. It’s simple, classy and utterly listenable. Get the FREE MP3 here.
AMAZON.COM launchesAMAZONMP3beta
Online superstore just launched it’s (supposed) iTunes killer, AMAZONMP3beta, featuring cheaper songs at a higher bit rate that are also DRM-free. I haven’t tried it out yet ’cause none of the big name artists featured actually float my boat but I’m curious to know what you think. Specifically, how well it works with a Mac. I’m also curious to know if you think their launch was “quiet” or covered everywhere; right now, I feel like it was a 5 out of 10 in terms of coverage. I definitely heard about it from several different sources but I didn’t feel beaten over the head… which was nice for a change.
10.3.07 UPDATE:
Be sure to sign up for the weekly AmazonMP3 newsletter! They’re already offering FREE tracks.
And lastly, as mentioned in this post, one of the best tracks of the summer finally arrives at the iTMS. Grab ROGUE TRADERS’ “World Go ‘Round” here.
PMBMusic is kindly giving away a FREE MP3 of Glambeats Corp.’s “Shooting Star” via download.com. Glambeats Corp. is a new addition to the PMBMusic roster and shows a lot of promise. At first listen, one might be stuck by similarities to Kate Havnevik, Psapp, Sia, Feist or even Guide favorite Tracey Thorn, but Glambeats appears to be charting just a slightly off-kilter course while still respecting those that came before them. I’m quite partial to the handclaps that appear throughout the song, too.
Traxsource.com and Delcious Vinyl Records have teamed up to offer 10 FREE MP3 remixes of Brand New Heavies tracks “Let’s Do It Again“, “All Fired Up“, “We’ve Got“, “Right On” and “Get Used To It“. The mixes range in style from dub and reggae, to R&B and a few instrumentals. I’m quite partial to the Jan vs. Players Please remix of “Let’s Do It Again” (in the player below) yet the Philippians remix is distinctly different but just as groovy.
Grab ‘em here but get ‘em fast… they’re up for a limited time only. You don’t even have to register for a Traxsource account!
Germanic fashion giant Hugo Boss is offering 4 FREE electronica MP3 tracks off their brand new compilation series “HUGO TRACKS” which is available as part of their web publication, eMag. The exclusive tracks have a distinctive clubby sound; my favorite of the four being TREKSTAR’s “Starter Seven“. Painless registration is all that’s required to get the goods. I’ll bet you’ll come out a tad more stylish on the flipside and none the worse for wear. Thanks to eagle-eyed Guide reader Robert for alerting me.
Isn’t it funny how one can put a question out to the cosmos and it will answer back? Just yesterday I lamented that there was nothing new or listenable to post… and along came this in my inbox courtesy of OM Records. Colette creates something that’s at once sparkly yet deep and smooth. I’m less interested in the need for Black Spade on this record though, but otherwise it’s a very playable summer number. Grab the guilt-free download here.
Wow! Things on the music front have slowed to a crawl this summer. I’ve been trolling the vast interwebs for something to promote or highlight – but found none. There’s no more Mercedes-Benz Mixed-Tapes to look forward to. Beatport.com hasn’t been promoting any MPFree giveaways in months either. Another old reliable, Earplug only seems to feature MP3 and/or streaming mixes in their “Listen” section that I can’t guarantee the legality of. So, what’s a music-obsessed girl to do??!
The super nice nice folks at Nordic imprint Labrador Recrods are making their massive (and massively cool) Summer Sampler FREEly available. It’s 68 tracks in all, comprised of the best-of-the-best their roster has to offer, including Guide faves The Legends, Club 8 and Acid House Kings. Follow this link and then download the torrent. You’ll need a bittorrent client (like Xtorrent for the Mac) to actually get the goods.
There’s nothing better than beating the heat with cool tunes!
The long awaited, oft-delayed solo debut of former Olive lead singer, Ruth Ann Boyle, is finally here!! I made a post about it back in 2005, pretty much at the start of Guide. Arriving with little fanfare, this collection of songs produced with long-time collaborator and one man band Enigma, Michael Cretu, is available only at iTunes Music Stores. Overall, I’m impressed with the songs with the standouts being the title track “What About Us” and “Dancing Into Hell” in my opinion. Most of the songs are dark, foreboding and smack of the same kind of sound we’re already accustomed to hearing when it comes to Ruth Ann guesting on Enigma tracks. WHAT ABOUT US is essentially a nice companion piece (or sequel) to Olive’s “TRICKLE” disc from 2000; It’s pretty downbeat but well-produced and ultimately very listenable. What’s missing is any of the 4 seemingly brilliant Jens Gad tracks mentioned in my post from two years ago (samples of which are no longer available on his site sadly). I am literally shocked that these tracks are not included. I can only hope and pray that these eventually see the light of day, possibly as b-sides in the very near future? Are you listening Ruth Ann/Jens Gad?? What about us?!
But for fans of Olive (and possibly Enigma), this album definitely does not disappoint. Click here to be taken to the iTMS to get “WHAT ABOUT US”.
It’s with a little bit of sadness that I report Mercedes-Benz is wrapping up its always fantastic Mixed Tape compilation series with this last installment, Vol. 18. The latest is literally a “latest and greatest” featuring its most popular tracks from the previous seventeen editions. Each volume of the Mixed Tapes has been consistently featured over the life of my Guide and I’ve discovered many terrific tracks and new artists; Alice Russell’s “All Over Now” immediately comes to mind. I’ll be sorry to see it go but we’re assured in the first track by the curator Sven that Mercedes will be producing more projects like Mixed Tape – just not any more Mixed Tapes. We can only hope that whatever is next carries on it the fine tradition of its predecessor.
By the way, at one point I had found a blog that archived all the Mixed Tape volumes for download. After some googling, I was unable to find it. If anyone knows of such a thing, please drop me a line. I’d like to post it here.
UPDATE:
Guide reader Torben came to my rescue with this link for a MB Mixed Tape archive.
The now-solo voice of EBTG is offering her latest single for FREE through her website. All you have to do is fill in the simple form to join her mailing list (it takes just thirty seconds – and you can always opt out afterwards). Those familiar with Tracey’s oeuvre will instantly recognize her signature brand of mellow folktronica and her ability to transform a concise, pointed message into catchy memorable hooks. For me, there is no more defining voice of the electronic era than Tracey. She brings warmth, intelligence, grace, pathos and yearning to the songs she sings… sometimes all in the same stanza. Her and her husband, Ben Watt, seemingly have so much musical talent between them that it almost seems unfair to others. But luckily for us, both of them are still making music, albeit separately. Visit Tracey Thorn’s site here to get your FREE download.
Thanks to the fancy footwork of one sharp Guide reader, Amanda, I got a leg-up on Justice’s most excellent number “D.A.N.C.E.“ a full two weeks before Apple made it their FREE iTunes Single of The Week. I highly suggest you download it now before it’s gone by the 19th. It took me a few listens to really get the full brilliance; I thought it was an awfully bad joke song at first… now I’m hooked. Fans of Frano-disco, and DAFT PUNK in particular, will like what they hear. I hope more good recommendations will be forthcoming from Amanda, too!
6.20.07 UPDATE:
Arjan just posted remixes of “D.A.N.C.E.” at his site. I’ve really been digging the smirk-inducing Tittsworth remix for several weeks now and it is even more boss than the original, if you can believe that. I’m assuming if Arjan is posting it, it is with the consent of the artist or the label. Hopefully, I’m not violating my own tenet by directing you there, but they are just too good to pass up!
Run, don’t walk to get 25 FREE tracks at the iTMS courtesy of BPM Magazine. Just click this link, copy the code, click on another link to open iTunes and there you go!
There’s a preponderance of hardcore, IDM and spoken-word electronica (what?!?) in this group but best of the bunch is Smith & Mighty’s “Small World“ featuring Alice Perera. There are a few other stand-outs: Toktok vs. Soffy O’s “Too Late / Redeemer“, the 2 tracks by Arthur Oskan and the 3 tracks by Lismore, especially “Valentines Day“.
