Covering the crossroads of music and film.
FREE SONGS
The Best Free Album You'll Download Today...
By Jim Shearer on 04/30/2009
Filed under: FREE SONGS
Last year, after an eight year hiatus between solo albums, Del The Funky Homosapien teamed up with hip-hop indie, Def Jux, to release Eleventh Hour. One year later, Del The Funky Homosapien has another solo album to his name, Funk Man (stimulus package), and is giving it out for F-R-E-E! MORE »
-
- Comment
More Free Music From NIN!
By Jim Shearer on 03/23/2009
Filed under: FREE SONGS
Last year Nine Inch Nails gave away two of their albums for free, and this year they're back at it again. MORE »
Fite For Love
By Jim Shearer on 02/04/2009
Filed under: FREE SONGS, SOONLast October 31st, Tim Fite treated us to a free digital download of his Halloween-inspired ding dong Ditch EP (as well as re-releasing the previous year's treat, It's Only Ketchup EP). (left: Tim Fite will take care of the broken hearted on February 14.) On Valentine's Day, Fite will conitnue the tradition of giving out free music on second-tier holidays by releasing the free digital download of Change of Heart. If you go to his website on Saturday, February 14, you'll be able to get it for free, one day and one day only. Fite explains: "Change of Heart... MORE »
The Morning Benders Hit The Road
By Jim Shearer on 01/29/2009
Filed under: FREE SONGS, ME LIKEY, SOONToday--in what I'm calling the Feel-Good-Tour-Of-The-Year-Thus-Far--The Morning Benders kickoff their co-headlining tour with The Submarines. If you're not familiar with The Submarines by now, I can give you my standard spiel: You know, the band that has a song in that one iTunes commercial. (left: Hopefully this won't happen out on tour.) The Morning Benders are also set to play SXSW. They are confirmed for two performances, but because a band ain't a band unless they play 12 or more shows down in Austin, I'm sure more will follow. To get friendly with their tour mates The Morning Benders... MORE »
P.O.S. Gets D.I.Y.
By Jim Shearer on 01/23/2009
Filed under: FREE SONGS, SOONIn the age of digital downloads, where album artwork has been reduced to a piece of clip art on an iPod's display screen, it's actually quite refreshing to see an artist take pride in the packaging of his album again--liner notes, lyric sheet and all! On February 3, indie-hip-hopper, P.O.S., will release his brand new album Never Better, but he's already geeking out about the artwork--which has a pre-sale link and a YouTube video to go along with it. The packaging has a transparent front-side allowing its users the chance to create their own album cover by choosing between 16... MORE »
Tardust Liberated
By Jim Shearer on 01/21/2009
Filed under: FREE SONGSTardust Liberated. That was the subject line of a mass e-mail Saul Williams sent out to his fans yesterday. Niggy Tardust is the character/persona Williams embraced on his last album, The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust. In the same way David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character opened up dialogue about sexuality and gender, Williams hoped to do the same with race in society through his similarly named alter ego. (left: "We are the government!") Earlier in the election year, Williams wrote An Open Letter To History asking "history" and the American people to change its ways (and its... MORE »
This Song Will Put Hair On Your Chest, & It's Free!
By Jim Shearer on 01/06/2009
Filed under: FREE SONGSNext month Ladyfinger (ne) will release their sophomore effort, Dusk. (If you pre-order it through Saddle Creek's online store, you'll receive the album two weeks early.) Here's a little taste in the meantime, a ditty called, "Little Things." The song should bring to mind mustaches, black t-shirts, and 70's-era haircuts--good ol' hearty rock-n-roll! Little Things.mp3 MORE »
"Never Better" for a free "Goodbye"
By Jim Shearer on 12/15/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSRhymesayers Entertainment's P.O.S. will be releasing his brand new album, Never Better, early next year on February 3, 2009. Here's a track from it, "Goodbye." Don't say I never gave you anything. Goodbye.mp3 MORE »
WISH LIST: Something About Airplanes (re-issue)
By Jim Shearer on 12/08/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSIf you're looking to find something special for that indie music fan in your life, Death Cab For Cutie recently released a re-issue of their very first album, Something About Airplanes. The deluxe limited edition album includes a bonus disc of a "recently-unearthed recording of the band's first ever show" which took place at the legendary Crocodile Cafe (a venue that made a surprisingly good brunch!) and redesigned artwork with extensive liner notes from Harvey Danger's, Sean Nelson. The folks at Barsuk Records gave us permission to post, track #3 from the album, "Champagne From A Paper Cup." 03... MORE »
A "No Quick Fix" Fix
By Jim Shearer on 11/26/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSI realize that yesterday's GN'R smorgasbord on this blog must've been an indie purist's worst nightmare. To make up for it, here's a free download of Nada Surf's "No Quick Fix." This B-side from the Let Go (left) sessions is one of the goodies available on their limited edition mega-box-set that was recently released. As always, enjoy! No Quick Fix.mp3 MORE »
ANTI Sampler
By Jim Shearer on 11/13/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSNo, no, no, no, I think you misunderstood me. I'm not "anti sampler," I'm talking about the ANTI sampler, a FREE digital download of 17 songs from the record label ANTI. You can download the entire album for free HERE. You'll notice Kool Keith is also on a track, making this the second Indie Ear Kool Keith sighting in as many days. (left: Do free digital albums need album covers? Apparently so.) Anti- Records 08/09 Sampler tracklisting: 1. "Mexico City," Jolie Holland 2. "Pieces Of You," Islands 3. "Say Hey (I Love You),"Michael Franti & Spearhead 4. "Whispers," Lyrics... MORE »
WWWMMFD?
By Jim Shearer on 11/07/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSWhat would What Made Milwaukee Famous do? They'd give you free music, of course. Here's a great way to end the week, What Made Milwaukee Famous has just made available their Sugarhill Sessions EP for free! Download it HERE. It's only available for a limited time, so get that zip file downloaded to your hard drive as soon as you can... MORE »
trick...or...treat
By Jim Shearer on 10/31/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSAs promised, for one day only, Tim Fite is giving away a free Halloween EP, Ding Dong DITCH, on his website today (as it turns out, he is also making last year's free Halloween EP, It's Only Ketchup, available as well). (left: Have you been a good boy this Halloween?) When you get to Tim Fite's website, make sure you click on the "treat" link and not the "trick" link. MORE »
Tim Fite's Halloween Treat
By Jim Shearer on 10/23/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSAnother reason to get excited for Halloween this year: Brooklyn-based multi-genrist Tim Fite will release a new free, Halloween-centric recording via his website on October 31st, 2008. Available for one day only, the innovative song cycle entitled ding dong Ditch comes at the culmination of his tour with Man Man and will be celebrated with a special Halloween show at the Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia. Fite says "I will be handing out more candy on Halloween this year, and all the bad kids are excited!!!"... MORE »
Matt & Kim Bring The Daylight
By Jim Shearer on 10/22/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGS, HODGEPODGE, VIDEO BLOGOne of our Indie Ear faves, Matt & Kim, recently released a a video for their brand new song, "Daylight." As promised to us earlier this year, Matt and Kim's new material shows off their affinity for hip-hop beat-making (as well as proving that they can perform live just about anywhere). We still await their new full length album, which to the best of my knowledge, has no release date and/or label yet. "Daylight" can be downloaded HERE. This Saturday night, Matt & Kim will host the iheartcomix CMJ Party at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.... MORE »
Sebastien, huh?
By Jim Shearer on 09/11/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSHere's a new song, "Amercian Names" from Sebastien Grainger's forthcoming album, Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains. If you don't know the name, you might recognize him as the drummer/vocalist for the now defunct, Death From Above 1979. SebastienGrainger_AmericanNames.mp3 MORE »
Back to the 90's
By Jim Shearer on 09/05/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSEvery so often my wife reminds me that I'm stuck in the 90's. I'm sure my love for the decade has also seeped through on many of my blog postings--this one is no different. One of my best friends (who I actually met in the 90's) sent me the link to the following 90's mixtape, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter. Besides some crossfades and tickle scratches, there's not a whole of mixtape parlor tricks going on here, nevertheless, the shot selection is near perfect and quite generous (38 tracks). The 90's nostalgia is also heightened with the use of many... MORE »
"Give It Up" for Corn Mo
By Jim Shearer on 07/24/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSAnytime I can support Corn Mo and his backing band .357 Lover on the Indie Ear blog, you better believe that I'm going to do it. If you've never seen Corn Mo live in action, just close your eyes and envision Meatload, Sam Kinison, Freddie Mercury, and your favorite "big rock" band from the 70/80's melted down into one musical act. Throw in a masterful rock-star falsetto, an accordion, and an affinity for old-school professional wrestling and you've got yourself Corn Mo. (left: This is he, the one, the only: Corn Mo!) Corn Mo is offering up a free... MORE »
ME LIKEY: Ra Ra Riot
By Jim Shearer on 07/17/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGS, ME LIKEYThis weekend Ra Ra Riot will be in Coney Island playing the Siren Fest, next weekend they'll be in Chicago playing the Wicker Park Summer Festival, and on August 19 they'll be releasing their debut, The Rhumb Line. Instead of talking about the future, let's chat about the present for a second. Here's a new song, "Dying Is Fine," from their new album. Enjoy! (left: The best thing to come out of Syracuse since the Slocum Heights Posse...sorry Carmelo Anthony). RaRaRiot_DyingIsFine.mp3... MORE »
Feed The Animals For Free!
By Jim Shearer on 07/07/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSI was just in the Shaler area last week for some Fourth of July festivities and Prof D (if you don't know him you're missing out) and I got to talking about Pittsburgh's favorite mash-up son, Girl Talk. If you don't have his new album yet, Feed The Animals, you have no excuses. He's giving it out for F-R-E-E right HERE. If you donate $10 to the cause, you'll eventually get the hard copy of the album (liner notes and all) when it comes out on September 23. If you wire Girl Talk $5, you can download a continuous... MORE »
Tokyo Police Club Are Friends of P.
By Jim Shearer on 06/19/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGS, NEWSMany of you may remember that while in Weezer, bassist Matt Sharp formed a side-project called The Rentals (with fellow Weezer-mate, Pat Wilson, on drums). After Sharp left Weezer, he concentrated full-time on the band. The Rental's biggest hit to date is "Friends of P.", a quirky new-wave college rock fave released off the group's debut album, Return of The Rentals. I was overjoyed to recently find out that Tokyo Police Club did a cover of this tune to help raise money for lupus research (an incurable disease that affects over 1.5 million Americans). The cover song is currently... MORE »
Mates of State's Free Download of New Song
By Jim Shearer on 05/14/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGS, SOONHusband-wife duo, Mates of State, will be releasing their brand new album, Re-Arrange Us, on May 20 (um, which I just realized is this upcoming Tuesday). The album title is actually quite fitting since Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel have expanded their sound, adding piano, synths, and lush string arrangements to their music. (left to right: Kori on the keys, Jason on the drums.) Here's a free copy of Mates of State's My Only Offer.mp3 Note: If you're having trouble downloading this song, sometimes the right-click or ctrl-click (for you laptop users) will do the trick.... MORE »
Cursive Begin Work On New Album
By Jim Shearer on 05/12/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGS, NEWSCursive recently stopped by Daytrotter Radio Studios to record a short live session, which includes two new songs ("Let Me Up" and "Donkeys") and "Sierra" from The Ugly Organ (one of my favorite albums of 2003). (left: Cursive, tightening up their new songs by playing live.) In the age of free music (which I'm lovin'), you can download all three songs for free right HERE. Cursive are about start recording their follow-up to Happy Hollow. Saddle Creek's answer to Dr. Dre, Mike Mogis, will be handling the early production duties. Apparently the band has 15 songs ready to go.... MORE »
Holy Productivity Nine Inch Nails!!
By Jim Shearer on 05/05/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGS, NEWSWow! There was a time when it took NIN years and years and years to put out a new album, but within the last calendar year alone, Trent Reznor finished producing a Saul Williams album (The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust), put out a 36-track Nine Inch Nails instrumental album, and today, just released another brand new NIN's album, The Slip--for FREE! For the album purist, NIN's website also included the following, "For those of you interested in physical products, fear not. We plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in... MORE »
Black Keys: From Dan's House to MySpace
By Jim Shearer on 05/02/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSAccording to The Black Keys' myspace page, the blues-rock twosome recorded a cover of Captain Beefheart's "I'm Glad" at lead singer's Dan Auerbach's house yesterday--and then immediately posted it online. (left: In between recording a Captain Beefheart cover and posting it on their myspace page, The Black Keys take a second to grab a cup of coffee.) The clip image, next to the download on their myspace profile, reads: Oh Yes! It's Free Joe G., our resident Black Keys' authority, claims the download will only be available until May 9. The Black Keys were also featured on New York... MORE »
Coldplay Give Away New Single For Free
By Jim Shearer on 04/29/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSStarting at 7:15AM (EST) this morning, Coldplay made available their first single, "Violet Hill," off their forthcoming album Viva La Vida (pictured left), which will be released stateside on June 17. The single will be available for free on the band's website for exactly one calendar week. Speaking of "free" and "Coldplay," the band will be playing a free show at Madison Square Garden on Monday, June 23. At the moment no more details are available. The track "Violent Hill," is a piano-driven rock number which seems to be in the same family of songs as A Rush of... MORE »
What Made Milwaukee Famous Covering Billy Joel
By Jim Shearer on 04/28/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGS, HODGEPODGE, SOONWhat Made Milwaukee Famous, an Austin, TX-based band that I'm likin' of late, have announced a string of tour dates with The Whigs. They have also recorded a live version of Billy Joel's "You May Be Right" which you can download right here: you may be right.mp3 If for some reason you can only hear it, and not download it, let me know and I'll try to figure something out. MORE »
New Wolf Parade Song, "Call It A Ritual"
By Jim Shearer on 04/18/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSMontreal experimental-indie-pop-rockers, Wolf Parade (left), will be releasing their brand new album on June 17th (the title of the album appears to still be a mystery). Many may remember that Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock took the band under his wing and helped bring them to the attention of Sub Pop Records, their current home. Here's a track from Wolf Parade's upcoming album: Call It A Ritual.mp3 MORE »
New Single from Tokyo Police Club
By Jim Shearer on 02/29/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSHere's a little treat for you today, the brand new single from Tokyo Police Club, "In a Cave." This is from their upcoming album Elephant Shell (Saddle Creek), which comes out on April 22nd. The band also just announced a slew of tour dates, HERE. Enjoy! In A Cave.mp3 MORE »
Nothin' Like FREE Music!
By Jim Shearer on 02/21/2008
Filed under: FREE SONGSSome of this may be old news to you, but if you're cruising the internet looking for some FREE quality music, check out the following: Ratatat presents Remixes Vol. II Get your hands on Volume II before it becomes as difficult to track down as Volume I. If you like to view your mainstream hip-hop through an indie lens, this is as good as it's going to get. I threw this album into my iPod shuffle, and when I'm out on a morning run and the Notorious B.I.G. tracks come on, I feel like I got rocket-boosters in my shoes!... MORE »
