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.

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.

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.

[See post to listen and download audio]

(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.

[See post to listen and download audio]

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.

Get your FREE MP3 of “Modern Timing” here.

UPDATE:
Watch the groovy video for “Let Me Know” below, if you wish.

You can get remixes of my new favorite track, “Let Me Know” through these links by 7digital.

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 launches AMAZONMP3beta
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.

Download “Shooting Star” here.

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.

[See post to listen and download audio]

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.

Hugo Boss eMag

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.