FREE MP3: Inside Joke, "Christmastime at Mamaw's"

Inside Joke is taking the world by storm and this bonus Christmas track from his sophomore album, "Feels Like Love" is available for free until Christmas day. This is "Mamaw's" second appearance on and Inside Joke album--here first collaboration, "Mamaw Jokes" appeared on the Inside Joke album "Tyranny Rhythms and Rhymes." Anyone out there with a grandmother that gives crazy gifts will appreciate the humor here...

Download "Christmastime at Mamaw's" Here
(right click and "save link as" in order to save song to computer)

Visit Inside Joke Online Here

FREE MP3: Be Still My Soul, (various artists)

This compilation CD entitled "Come O Spirit" has some of the most amazing versions of traditional spiritual songs. This download of "Be Still My Soul" Featuring Sarah Fullen, Kelly McRae And Evan Gregory is incredible. Enjoy and make sure to check out some of the other songs on this album as well!

DOWNLOAD "BE STILL MY SOUL" HERE

FREE EP: Pamplamoose, "Youtube Songs"

All I can say is that this is some of the most creative stuff i've seen in a long while. they have several songs for free including their unbelievable cover of Beyonce's "All My Single Ladies" Enjoy the VideoSongs and the free cover song downloads via their myspace page!

DOWNLOAD PAMPLAMOOSE HERE!

FREE MP3: Tal & Acacia, "Clearview"

Tal & Acacia is this weeks "Discovery Download" on itunes and it's probably the first of such free downloads that has led me to seriously consider buying the album. These two sisters have a good sound with postive/spiritual lyrics. Definitly worth checking out! You can find out more about them and their music at their website HERE.

DOWNLOAD "CLEARVIEW" HERE

FREE EP: Sandra McCracken

A new FREE EP from Sandra McCracken. These songs compose the "setlist" from her current "Black Eye" tour with husband Derek Webb. I really enjoy Sandra McCracken, although at times she sounds a lot like Sheryl Crow.

FREE MP3: Welcome Wagon, "Sold! To The Nice Rich Man"

The Welcome Wagon is a married couple, the Reverend Thomas Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique, who execute a genre of gospel music that is refreshingly plain. Their hymns are modest and melodic takes on a vast history of sacred song traditions, delivered with the simple desire to know their Maker—and to know each other—more intimately. The Welcome Wagan is on Asthmatic Kitty Records (Sufjan Stevens label)

Download "Sold! To The Nice Rich Man"

FREE MP3: Those Darlins, "Wild One"

Those Darlins, a country/indie rock/??? outfit from Tennessee are offering a free mp3 for joining their mailing list. There is something about this group that i really enjoy... perhaps its their name but most likely it's because they happen to rock pretty hard...with southern flare.

DOWNLOAD "WILD ONE" HERE

FREE MP3: Sixpence None The Richer, "Breathe Your Name"

I actually began listening to Sixpence music back in the 90's after I saw them at the Ichthus Music Festival in Wilmore, KY where they became one of my favorite groups (and still are to this day!). This song is from the album Divine Discontent was the follow-up album to their self titled release that contained the #1 hit song "Kiss Me." You may recognize this song, "Breathe Your Name," as it did get some radio airplay and still gets tons of airplay to this day in a wide variety of department stores. Anyone that wants to really get a good feel for Sixpence, however, should look online for the "Mega 3 Collection" of their music. It's super inexpensive and it contains their first three albums; "Fatherless and The Widow," "This Beautiful Mess" (my personal favorite of theirs), and "Tickets for a Prayer Wheel". Also, be on the lookout for new material from them as they are reportedly working on a new album this fall.

DOWNLOAD "BREATHE YOUR NAME" HERE

FREE MP3: Squirrel Nut Zippers, "Memphis Excorcism"

I'm very pumped to have found this download today! The Squirrel Nut Zippers first caught my attention in college when I heard the song "Hell" on our alternative radio station. It sounded like music from another era and when I purchased their CD "Hot" it quickly became (and remains) one of my top five albums of all time. Since then, I have added every CD from the Zippers collection. Needless to say, when they disbanded several years ago, I was disappointed. Their story is a sad one but the good news is that "they are back!" And now they are offering a free download from their upcoming "Live" CD! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD "MEMPHIS EXCORCISM (LIVE)" HERE

FREE: We Are The Fallen Single

From Billboard.com... "Ben Moody predicts that his just-unveiled new band, We Are The Fallen, will enjoy a peaceful co-existence rather than mortal combat with his old group, Evanescence.

"We wish them the best," Moody, who co-founded Evanescence with singer Amy Lee in 1995 and left the band 2003 after co-writing its multi-platinum debut, "Fallen," tells Billboard.com. He formed We Are The Fallen earlier this year with original Evanescence members John LeCompt on guitar and Rocky Gray on drums, adding bassist Marty O'Brien and "American Idol" Season 7 finalist Carly Smithson on vocals."

Download "Bury Me Alive" From Upcoming Album Here

70 + Songs... Practically free

In an effort to "Save Paste Magazine" artists have contributed rare and unreleased tracks that anyone willing to donate "any amount" can download and keep! I know it's not "free" but it practically is...

SEE ALL SONGS, PREVIEW AND DOWNLOAD HERE

FREE ALBUM: Coldplay Live!!!!

Coldplay is making available to fans a sweet live album entitled "LeftRightLeftRightLeft"...for FREE! This album will be handed out to all fans attending concerts this summer (except festivals), but you can download it for free now!

DOWNLOAD "LEFTRIGHTLEFTRIGHTLEFT" HERE

FREE MP3: The Crystal Method & Matisyahu

This track, entitled "Drown In The Now," features Matisyahu and apparently is on this groups upcoming album. I've not heard of the Crystal Method before, but love Matisyahu and enjoy this track very much...They are giving this track away in exchange for an email address. You can also check out the video at the link below

Download Drown In The Now

FREE MP3: Katie Herzig, Hey Nana

Katie Herzig has is an indie pop artist that has opened for bands like The Fray... I think you'll enjoy this new catchy tune I found over at Paste Magazine.


Download Hey Nana

FREE EP: Barsuk Records Sampler

Found this sampler on amazon today... Includes a free track from Death Cab for Cutie, but what caught my attention was a track from a band called Viva Voce--a female fronted rock alt. rock group. Not a bad sampler... and as with all the music here, you can't beat $FREE.99!!!

Download Barsuk Records Sampler

FREE EP: Sandra McCracken

I really have grown to enjoy the music of Sandra McCracken although i will have to admit that it has taken me a while to get over the fact that her voice reminds me a lot of Sheryl Crow. However her newer material is beginning to have a sound that is completely hers. But even with similarities to Ms. Crow, what Sandra, wife of songwriter Derek Webb, has that Sheryl does not is the ability to write great lyrics (strictly my opinion of course). Enjoy! (Note, I think this EP is only going to be available for a few more days!)

Free Mp3 a month from Paste Magazine

This is something I normally do not do because I can not say for certain that this beer is worth a dime (not a fan of beer) or that the music they'll recommend will be either, but since Paste Magazine has provided me with some great leads on new music I thought would pass this along. Click on the image above for more information and to sign up.

FREE ALBUM: Lori Chaffer/Waterdeep

1Beginning

Lori Chaffer

Lori’s first solo album in ten years features her playing guitar, keyboard, bass, and singing as gloriously as ever. Covering wide musical territory, and lyrically spanning both the humorous and the tragic, this is a tour de force of the musical wonder that is Lori Chaffer. (from waterdeep website)

If you are not familiar with noise trade, you can get the entire album for free by paying what you want or recommending the album to 5 friends. Listen to it all here as well by clicking the album cover below! Enjoy!

FREE ALBUM: Sub Pop Sampler

Amazon.com has released a free sampler today that has some great artists on it including Flight of the Conchords and Fleet Foxes. I'm heading there now to download it! Enjoy...

Download Sub Pop Sampler Here

FREE: Sufjan Stevens, "Henry Buggy Band"

If you somehow have never heard of Sufjan, then you are about to be treated to music unlike anything you have ever heard. Very unique, Sufjan Stevens has become somewhat of a legend among singer songwriters for his brave style and superb songwriting... enjoy!

Note: when you go to the page linked below, make sure you right click on the the "free mp3" button and "save link as." Last.fm has some real work to do in the area of helping folks find free music...in my opinion of course. They seemed to have made this a bit difficult for folks to figure out. Do this, and you will be fine.

Download "Henry Buggy Band" Here

Several Links Are Down

Hey guys, if you are just finding me here, i just wanted to say check back soon. One of the host sites that i linked to often now longer exists as of today. music.download.com has been a great source for legal free music for many years and as of today it is now last.fm. They still have free tracks, but from what i can tell, they are much more difficult to find and don't seem to offer as much free music to fans. I'm going to work on this so check back! Meanwhile, there are many great free songs linked here that are not from download.com so enjoy!

UPDATE: As of now, last.fm does not seem to have the catalog of free mp3's that music.download.com had. Hopfully they will change, but for now several of our free mp3 links will be unavailable. I'm finding some new nooks and crannies that have good free downloads available so keep checking back!

FREE: Over The Rhine, "Entertaining Thoughts"

Once again a great track off the album, Trumpet Child, from what has probably become my favorite bands in the world today...

Download "Entertaining Thoughts" Here

FREE: Matisyahu (track and live album!)

I downloaded Matisyahu's first live album on emusic several years ago and I've been following him ever since. He continues to make great spiritual/reggae music that would be a perfect soundtrack for anyone getting ready to head to the beach for spring break! If you sign up for his mailing list (again, perhaps use a secondary email address until you know you are a fan) you will get a free track and be able to download a live concert with some of his best hits over the past few years. Not a bad deal!

Go Here to Download Matisyahu

Is Anyone Out There?

Just sort of curious if anyone out there is benefiting from this blog... I'd really love to hear from you if so! I've got some ideas for this, but I'm just not sure who all is out there and how much time to invest! So... if you have found this to be helpful, please leave a comment. Or, perhaps you might have some ideas on how to share this with folks?

Thanks!

FREE: Maria Taylor (3 Tracks!)

Maria Taylor is a singer-songwriter that I discovered via the KCRW Top Tune of the Day (see previous blog entry about the Top Tune of the Day written in January) and after listening to many of those songs over and over, there is always one that just seems to stick out. For me, that song lately has been "Time Lapse Lifeline." I was very excited to find that music.download.com also had two other songs of hers on there as well. I'm going to download them now... enjoy!

Download "Time Lapse Lifeline" Here
Download "A Good Start" Here
Download "Lost Time" Here

FREE: Santogold, "L.E.S. Artistes"

Rolling Stone picked Santogold's album as the 6th best album of 2008 (Coldplay's "Viva" was 7th). Santogold combines a lot of sounds from funk, to punk, to pop to club/hip-hop. This remix is a bit more on the "club" side of things, but is very representative of her sound. Enjoy

Download Santogold's "L.E.S. Artistes (XXXChange Remix)" Here

FREE: Inara George (3 Tracks!)

So I have a friend who lives in California and he told me about this friend of his... Inara George. I think you will find her music to be very interesting. I'm not really sure how to describe it, so i thought I'd just let you do that in the comment section below. Enjoy these three tracks of hers courtesy of download.music.com:

Download "Accidental" Here
Download "Oh My Love" Here
Download "Duet" Here

Inara George Bio on AOL Music:

When she isn't exploring the intersection between jazz, tropicalia, and indie pop with the Bird and the Bee, vocalist Inara George enjoys a solo career as a talented singer/songwriter. At a young age, she was surrounded by the music of her father (Little Feat's Lowell George) and his illustrious peers -- Jackson Browne, Terry Allen, and Van Dyke Parks -- yet George never intended to follow in her late father's footsteps. Rather, theater was her forte, and George's younger years were spent performing Shakespeare in her native Topanga Canyon, a community in the Santa Monica mountains. She later relocated to Boston to study acting in the classical theater tradition.

While visiting home one summer, George and several high-school friends launched a band named Lode. To their surprise, the bandmates landed a deal with Geffen Records and released an EP, 1996's Legs & Arms. Before the decade's end, George joined Bryon Atkinson to form Merrick, an indie rock duo that released two albums before disbanding in 2002. Three years later, George struck out on her own by issuing her solo debut on Everloving Records. All Rise was produced by Michael Andrews (Donnie Darko, Freaks and Geeks) and feauterd musical contributions from Greg Kurstin, with whom George shared a mutual appreciation for old jazz standards and 1960s tropicalia tunes. The two formed the Bird and the Bee and released a self-titled album in 2006, followed by several EPs. While preparing for the duo's second full-length release, George also found time to return to her own project, teaming up with veteran producer (and family friend) Van Dyke Parks for 2008's An Invitation.

~ Andrew Leahey & MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide

FREE: Cat Power, "The Greatest"

Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power, is a smokey sounding singer songwriter that I stumbled upon several years ago. Since then, I have really grown to enjoy much of her music, especially the CD The Greatest. Her most recent album, Jukebox features some really great covers as well including my favorite track on the album "New York, New York." Check out the title track from "The Greatest" below and perhaps she will grow on you as she has me...

Download "The Greatest" Here

FREE ALBUM: Steven Delopolous, "Exlusive B-Sides"

I first got to know Steven's music when he was with a band called, "Burlap to Cashmere." Since then, Steven has continued to make some really incredible music on his own. His lyrics are superb and often take me many listens to grasp the ideas he is trying to convey. If you love Folk/Americana music then I think you will find this B-Sides Album to be a real treat. You can download this noisetrade exclusive album below!

FREE: Be Good Tonyas, "Ootischenia"

The Be Good Tonya's are an incredible Folk/Americana group that i just happen to love. They have several albums out and this song is from "Hello Love," there latest album (which got a lot of buzz from there cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry"). My favorite is Blue Horse but really all their albums are great... Enjoy "Ootischenia"!

Download Ootischenia Here

FREE: Flight of the Conchords, "Ladies of the World"

This song just cracks me up. If you are not familiar with Flight Of The Conchords, then get ready to laugh. Satirical music at its best...

Download "Ladies of the World" Here

FREE EP: Ellery, "I Did Everything Right"

I've been holding out on introducing NoiseTrade to this blog for a while, but thought I would begin today with this free ep from Ellery. Basically NoiseTrade.com is a great site that is centered around the idea that free music in exchange for new fans will payoff for the artists in the end. I hope it does because NoiseTrade is an awesome site for anyone who likes free music. The only catch is you will have to get five friends that won't kill you for giving an artist their email address. I would recommend going ahead and finding five of your "music friends" and give them some warning that you are going to be sending some free music there way in the months to come, because I will be introducing you to some more NoiseTrade artists in the near future that you will certainly want to download. Yes, I will help you sift through all the artists there and only bring attention to some of the very best. For now, enjoy Ellery from Cinci, OH!

FREE: Bon Iver, "Blood Bank"

I really don't know much about this guy other than I looked on itunes today and I saw where this guy's EP is the most downloaded album on itunes US. Then I thought, "wait a minute... I know where you can download this free... and legal!" Which is what this blog is all about. Enjoy (and thank you Music.Download.com)

Download Blood Bank HERE
Download Skinny Love HERE

FREE: Jem, "On Top Of The World"

Jem's (no relation tot he 80's cartoon) first album, Finally Woken, is one of my favorite albums of the last 10 years. Her sophmore album, Down To Earth, is really good as well! The thing I like about Jem's music is that many tracks have a funktified singer-songwriter vibe (see "Amazing," "Keep On Walking," "They," "Save Me," to name a few). If you are thinking that you have never heard of Jem before, you probably have and just didn't know it as her music has been everywhere it seems (except top 40 radio) in recent years. Enjoy "On Top of the World"!

Again, this will be one of those deals where you will need an email address, so if you are not sure that you want to be on her mailing list just yet, maybe give an email address that you don't check much...

Download "On Top of the World" HERE

FREE: Jason Castro, "White Christmas"

At the risk of ruining any credibility with recommending music, i thought I'd through this one out there... yes, it's Jason Castro and yes, Christmas is a distant memory by now, but it is free. Seeing Jason's brother tonight on American Idol made me 1) laugh (much like this picture to the left does!) and 2)wonder what the heck happened to Jason Castro so i did a search and stumbled upon this freebie...

Download "White Christmas" HERE

FREE: Pigeon John, "Hello Everybody"

Pigeon John is probably one of my favorite MC's. I heard of him first when with the group L.A. Symphony, and on his own he continues to produce creative, clever, funny, rhymes that have a nice beat to go with. Pigeon John is second only to Inside Joke in this category. One listen to "Hello Everybody" and it you will have to have more. (Note: this download is a direct link from www.music.download.com. You can go there to find more free downloads from Pigeon John!)

Download "Hello Everybody" HERE

FREE: Phil Wickham, "Singalong" LIVE ALBUM!

"Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning..."

I stumbled upon this because i heard the song "Divine Romance" and a buddy of mine told me that Phil Wickham was the guy that wrote the song... he proceeded to tell me that I could download a live version of that song as well as several others of his and some old standards on his free album "Singalong." This CD is a great concept and perfect for lazy Sunday morning. Basically Phil invited a bunch of fans to come and sing with him every lyric of his songs in order to record a live record... just Phil, his guitar and several hundred singing voices... pretty cool.

Download "Singalong" HERE

FREE: Over The Rhine "Let's Spend The Day In Bed"

Over the Rhine is probably one of my favorite groups. They have a very large catalog of music that varies in style and subject matter. Their last album, Trumpet Child is a great album (although probably not my favorite) and the song "Let's Spend the Day In Bed" is probably one of their more fun songs on the album. "Fun" is usually not a word I would use to describe OTR, but this album does have several fun tracks on it. Enjoy this free download, from Lindford and Karin who Paste Magazine has described as one of America's greatest living song writers. And if you wish, go back and check out their album "Good Dog Bad Dog" and start working up from there...

Download "Let's Spend The Day In Bed" HERE

FREE: Brandi Carlile, "The Story (Acoustic)"

Wow! This song was definitely one of my favorite songs of 08 and will probably remain one of my favorite songs of all time. You can download an acoustic version of "The Story" by simply giving Brandi your email address (if you don't want her email newsletter, then just remember that it doesn't have to be an email address that you check very much).

To Download "The Story (acoustic)" go HERE.

FREE: Death Cab For Cutie, "Title and Registration"

A free older track from Death Cab For Cutie entitled "Title and Registration." Death Cab has always been one of those bands that i've wanted to like, but have never really gotten into as much as most people who share musical interests with me. Who knows, now that i got some free music of theirs maybe I'll jump on board!

Download "Title and Registration" Here

FREE: Gemma Hayes - Out of Our Hands

Gemma Hays is Paste Magazine's artist of the week and i found this free download of "Out of Our Hands" featuring Kevin Shields HERE.

FREE: Fauxliage "Rafe (Pacha Mix)"

Probably one of my favorite songs of the past year. Fauxliage is a group made up of Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer) and Bill Leep and Rhys Fulber (Delerium) featuring a little rhyme by "Pacha." Click on link and when window opens click on "download" at the top...

Download "Rafe (Pacha Mix)" Here

Free Christmas EP

I'm a little late on this one, but these are worth the download:

"Click Here"

Today's Top Tune - KCRW

KCRW is a popular indie station out in California that is known for being the first to play a lot of great artists (they introduced America to the band mentioned in my last post). Subscribing to their "Today's Top Tune" podcast will prove to be a great joy for you as each day you will wake up to a new present uploaded to itunes. I have found that four out of every five days will end up providing me with a great song that i end up loving after several listens. Here are a few suggestions for making the most of KCRW's free gift to music lovers:

1. Subscribe to their blog here (I recommend doing it through itunes).

2. Each day, listen to your new song for about 15 seconds. If it sounds like something you will never listen to again, then go ahead and delete it right away. No need wasting hardrive space or more time listening to it.

3. Start a couple of new playlists to organize your "top tunes." I have "indie girls" for mid-slow tempo female artists , "indie guys" for mid-slow tempo male fronted groups, and "Run-eclectic" for uptempo stuff i can listen to as I exercise. Then, if i determine that i would like to keep the song, i can also go ahead and move it to the respective playlist which i will use almost as a radio station when i need some good background music. Over time, i will then move the songs that i find i really like into an "Indie favorites" playlist and delete the rest from my computer.

4. In your itunes settings, don't forget to highlight all the songs in the "podcast" menu and keep the artist (KCRW) and the Album (Today's Top Tune) all the same. Also make sure to check the box labled "no" for "skip when shuffling" and "remember position." This will allow you to play the songs from your playlists or the artist "KCRW" without having to listen from the podcast menu which can prove to be annoying (There are probably some of you out there that know how to completely remove the song from the "podcast" section all together. That might be very helpful. If you would like to inform us how to do that below that would be great.)

This might seem like a lot of work, but it is well worth it for anyone interested in good, free music. I've discovered tons of great artists here including Adele, M.I.A. ("Paper Planes" was free there about two years ago!), Sia, and Thao to name a few.

FREE: Coldplay's "Viva La Vida - White Duke Mix"

FREE: Coldplay's "Viva La Vida - White Duke Mix"

Download via their official webpage here: http://www.coldplay.com/song.html