The Last Ten

Here are my final ten selections from eMusic:

Afu-Ra f. RZA as Bobby Digital "Dangerous Language"
Copywrite "Clap!"
The High And Mighty f. Eminem "The Last Hit"
High On Fire "Thrall of Caanan"
James Blood Ulmer "Double Trouble"
Sons of Otis "Way I Feel"
Teeth of Lions Rule The Divine "He Who Accepts All That Is Offered (Feel Bad Hit Of The Winter)"
Ugly Duckling "Opening Act"
Ying Yang Twins f. Pitbull "Shake"
Zeni Geva "Interzona"

Also, I grabbed these discs last week:

Med - Push Comes To Shove
Jedi Mind Tricks - Legacy of Blood

So, there is an assload of new music to talk about in these parts. Let's see if I actually do that.

Ten More To Go

As I mentioned previously, CO set me up with an offer for 50 free downloads from eMusic. Of course, the hope is to entice the user to sign up for a full/paid account. While I have not had much problem finding songs for downloading, way too many of my searches came up completely empty, so I think I will opt to not sign up at this time. Besides, I do prefer listening to music on my stereo. If I had an MP3 player, I might be more inclined to stay, as I could at least take the music with me. As it is, I have to listen to it all on the computer, an experience that could be improved with a better sound card or speakers, but still would not be as enjoyable as just listening to it on the stereo.

Anyway, as the subject of this post says, I have ten more downloads to go. For the curious, this is what I have downloaded so far:

400 Blows "The Ugly Are So Beautiful"
Apples In Stereo "Strawberryfire"
At the Gates "Blinded By Fear"
Babes In Toyland "Dust Cake Boy"
The Black Keys "A.M. Automatic"
Bloc Party "Positive Tension"
Breather Resist "Midas In Reverse"
Call And Response "Little Noises"
Callisto "Cold Stare"
Church of Misery "Ripping Into Pieces"
Dead Meadow "Eyeless Gaze All Eye/Don't Tell The Riverman"
Deerhoof "Sealed With A Kiss" and "Green Cosmos"
The Dramatics "The Devil Is Dope" and "Get Up And Get Down"
Dressy Bessy "If You Should Try To Kiss Her"
Interpol "C'Mere"
Japancakes "Sleepy Strange"
Junior Kimbrough "Sad Days Lonely Nights"
Khanate "Skin Coat"
Luna "Astronaut"
Mary Timony "On The Floor"
Masters of Hemisphere "New Commotion"
The Minders "28X"
Mission of Burma "That's When I Reach For My Revolver"
Mortician "Zombie Apocalypse"
Mountain Brothers "Microphone Phenomenal"
Neurosis "Purify"
The New Pornographers "These Are The Fables"
Novadriver "Bury Me Alive"
Of Montreal "The Party's Crashing Us"
Pavement "Jam Kids" and "Haunt You Down"
Pigface "Suck"
Ride "Leave Them All Behind" (LIVE)
Scenic "Lightspeed"
Superchunk "Animated Airplanes Over Germany"
Teenage Fanclub "Time Stops"
Thirstin Howl III "Brooklyn Hard Rock (Pt 1)"

Hmmmm...that counts as thirty-nine, but I only have ten downloads left. Either I got ripped off, I accidentally deleted something, or that Dead Meadow song constitutes two downloads. Weird...I just checked and it said I downloaded a song by the Pixies ("Into The White"), but it's not anywhere in my folder. I think I stopped it mid-download when I realized I already had that song in my collection. Whatever.

Reasons behind the downloads: to check out bands I'd only previously heard of, listen to songs off of albums I don't have by artists I already know and love, and to peep bands I've never heard of before. I think when I'm finished, I'll start posting thoughts about each song, perhaps even on a daily (yeah right) basis. I mean, how hard is it to write something about one measly song?

Heavy Metal Food Fight

It seems Sharon Osbourne and Iron Maiden (more specifically lead singer Bruce Dickinson) were beefing, culminating in an mass eggings and other chicanery on Maiden's last tour stop.

Who knows what really triggered the events. I just find it funny that metalheads took to eggs as a form or retribution. They need more Hell's Angels working security, methinks.

We Got Your Music Right Here

So, my little foray into eMusic has already yielded fruit. I picked up Of Montreal's latest, The Sunlandic Twins, based on one song ("The Party's Crashing Us") I downloaded. At the low cost of only eleven bucks, it was worth the gamble. I already had one of their albums, but it didn't really get its hooks into me. This one seems to be a different beast, though. A little more "powerful", some great rhythms, and their typical strong melodies. I think I might have to go back and check out the stuff I missed.

I also picked up the latest from the Acid Mothers collective, who have undergone a slight name change (they are now "...and the Cosmic Inferno" instead of the "...and the Melting Paraiso UFO") in their tenth year. It's pretty smoking, and those who have a taste for over the top guitar freakouts should go find this, chop chop. It's called Just Another Band From The Cosmic Inferno.

I'm A Downloader Now!

Thanks to CO, I am now testing the waters of eMusic. I must say, I have not been terribly successful with my searches. Even well known bands (The Ohio Players, for instance) that I look for only have partial discographies listed. I understand it comes down to the deals they have with certain labels, but still. It's doing me no good here!

I should be able to at least get 50 downloads out of this. After that, we'll see if I stay. I know I'll have to start having much better success than I am having now to convince that it's worth it.

Not that I'm ungrateful. Thank you, Mr. O.

In other news: in order to get me writing a bit more in this spot, I think I'm going to start posting MP3s here on occasion. (Yes, I'm just asking for trouble, I know.) I've recently downloaded Audio Grabber and it seems to be working well. Anyway, the idea would be to post a song that I think you people should hear and tell you why. Fun!

Endorsements

Okay, jackasses. Get off your behinds and go pick up the March Into The Sea EP by Pelican. A truncated version appears on their sparkling new album The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, but the 20 minute EP version is the one to have (though, both are good). It's instrumental heaviness in the best possible way. The EP has two tracks, "March Into The Sea" and a remix of "Angel Tears" by Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Godflesh, The Bug). That's 30+ minutes of music for about $5 Amurrrican.

Also, my first impression of the new Black Dahlia Murder disc, Miasma, was pretty spot on. It's killer and you should go buy that as well. I mean, if you already like death metal.