Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Music downloads archive

FREE and LEGAL music and video downloads:

(Note: Downloads may not work after a given amount of time due to website changes.)


Some favorites: (alphabetical, Slightly updated 10-13-08)

I think someone just ripped my heart out. Artful ambient synth. The Album Leaf with Over the Pond and Brennivin. (post-rock/experimental)

Arab Strap's cornish drama Who Named the Days?

Canadian indie rock, post-punkers, Arcade Fire hit with a real high level of conviction and adrenaline on Neighborhood #3 and #2. Plus The Flaming Lipsish (?) Wake Up.

American Benn Jordan (aka The Flashbulb, Flex, Q-bit, Acidwolf, etc.) would give any UK electronic musician a run for their money with his diversity and emotive output. Breaker Sunset, Au Shwe Bah, and more. (Click on "files" @ his website.)

Beachwood Sparks' trippy hippy Confusion Is Nothing New, a former #1 pick.

Beans' spacey Sun

Best Friends Forever's 2081 goes well with the Mates of State "Goods (All In Your Head)," and just may be the more adorable vocal-driven indie song of the two.

Boards of Canada often provides some of the most seamless and soothing ambience around - Chromakey Dreamcoat.

Brian Jonestown Massacre's '60s pastiche with Seer/She Made Me

Cass McCombs beautiful Sacred Heart.

Cursive's The Recluse; plus A Gentleman Caller goes crazy with some macho garage rock jack knifing (metal influences?) before it mellows into that gentlemanly melody.

Pop mastery from Death Cab for Cutie on Title and Registration and Movie Script Ending. Also Wait, Song for Kelly Huckaby, For What Reason, Champagne From a Paper Cup (indie pop rock)

CORRECTION: They were ahead of their time. They disbanded years ago. The mathiest of the math rockers, Decembers Architects/Mimosa Peloria. "Untitled #2", "MP 1", and the final third of "MP 2" is indescribable. (How do they do that with their guitar chords?) None of the tracks does justice to their live performance. The beauty was knowing the band members had such humility towards their own talents. Newer finds: living off the interest, the truth about justin bailey, approaches to infinity. Plus the bands My Space webpage. (Guitarist Mark Swoverland's new band, Fiery Fire, has a My Space page also. ["post-math-indie-punk-something"])

The Dirty Three's humorous storytelling Nate Denver. Plus one of the all-time tugging weepers, I Really Should've Gone Out Last. (post-rock/indie rock/experimental)

The galactic call of Dntel's Anywhere Anyone.

Editors Munich

Eef Barzelay Ballad of Bitter Honey

Fite, Tim Yesterday's Garden - has a lovely '70s air about it IMO.

Brilliant. Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal

God Speed You Black Emperor! with the anthemic Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, a former #1 pick.

Innocence Mission Tomorrow on the Runway

Interpol with NYC and Hands Slow here. Plus PDA

Kid606- Rudestyleindiejunglistmassive (electronic)

Kinsella Family, The:
1) American Football Honestly
2) Cap n Jazz Little League
3) Joan of Arc- White Out; (I'm 5 Senses) None of them Common; Me and America (or) The United Colors of the Gap; What If We Are Not All, All Destined for Greatness?; Post Coitus Rock
4) Make Believe Temping As A Shaman
5) Owen Bad News/In the Morning, Before Work/She's A Thief; Places To Go
6) Owls Everyone Is My Friend


Whomever this Jens Lekman (Scandinavian) is, he's projected to take the pop world by storm with his heady eclecticism, almost Las Vegas show tunes feel, and undoubtedly beyond-his-years swooning vocals. Another Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill, Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song, and You Are the Light here.

Lewis & Clarke's Bare Bones & Branches, should've been a former #1 pick. (folk)

The, well, longing of The Long Winters Scent of Lime. Plus Ultimatum. (indie pop rock)

Marianas are arguably the finest American band today. It's the stark, shimmery guitar 3/4 in on "Hunting & pecking" that sets this track on its heels. Plus "My body is a sail", "We were safe, now we're sorry", and "Summering". (Click on yellow note tab for tracks.) (post-rock/experimental/ambient)

Too bad they don't have the videos up anymore. Priceless. Mates of State Goods (All In Your Head) (Click on the jukebox in the upper left to reach the track.) (indie pop)

Mouse On Mars- Mine Is In Yours

The purity of Mum's Nightly Cares.

The creamy dreamy of Nada Surf's Blonde on Blonde, a former #1 pick. The Blizzard of '77 clip, also from the bands Let Go album, contains an incredibly lovely and addicting hook I swear I need to rush and find. The classic Popular video (bottom) courtesy AMG for us MTV veterans. Puts a big smile on my face. (indie pop rock)

Possibly the most prominent female singer of her time, Neko Case with If You Knew, Star Witness, a former #1 pick.

Pavement with All My Friends and the sedated Greenlander here. (indie rock/experimental)

Pomegranates Whom/Who

Ben Gibbard (vocals, Death Cab for Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello (electronics, Dntel) make up the Postal Service. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, Such Great Heights, plus videos.

Icelandic lore tells of a time when music creation could seemingly move mountains or gigantic icebergs. Er, thankfully that happened sooner then expected with the sound of the new millenium. ("'Sven-G-Englar' -- a song of such accomplished gorgeousness that one wonders why such a tiny country as Iceland can musically outperform entire continents in just a few short minutes." -AMG) Sigur Ros' - Staralfur, Untitled #8, Olsen Olsen, Untitled #4, Viorar Vel til Loftaras, Danarfregnir Og Jaroarfarir, Untitled #1 (live), and more here. (post-rock/experimental/chamber pop)

Sleater-Kinney's explosive set Entertain/Oh!, former #1 picks. (punk rock)

The Streets smart street talk with Fit But You Know It.

The Strokes Last Night (rock/indie?)

Likely the most diverse songwriter today, Sufjan Stevens' Year of the Tiger.

Tr Plus Tr Making Gold


At Epitonic: (to reach the mp3's you have to sign up with your email, age, and zip code)
A Perfect Circle-- Wake The Dead
Air- Planet Vega
Album Leaf, The- The MP*, The Audio Pool*, We Once Were (Two)*, Airplane*
American Football- Honestly*
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead- Relative Ways; Mistakes & Regrets
Arab Strap- Who Named The Days
At the Drive-In- One Armed Scissor*
Beck- Leave Me On The Moon
Black Box Recorder- The Art Of Driving
Black Heart Procession, The- Tropics Of Love
Bright Eyes- Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh*
Calexico- Crystal Frontier
Call and Response- Rollerskate
Capitol Years, The- Its the Law* (use "play", mp3 doesn't work)
Cap'N Jazz- Little League
Cat Power- He War
Clientele, The- Emptily Through Holloway*
Couch- Alle Auf Pause
Cornelius- Point of View Point
Creeper Lagoon- Wrecking Ball
Cursive- The Recluse
DJ Krush- With Grace
Death By Chocolate- Ice Cold Lemonade; While I'm Still Young
Death Cab For Cutie- Photobooth; The Employment Pages*
Deerhoof- Holy Night Fever; My Pal Foot Foot
Delgados, The- American Trilogy
Dirty Three, The- I Really Should've Gone Out Last Night*
Elf Power- The Winter Is Coming
Farrar, Jay- Damn Shame
Felix Da Housecat- Silver Screen (Malibu Mix); Madame Hollywood (Tiga's Mr. Hollywood Mix)
Four Tet- No More Mosquitos
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci- Face Like Summer; Spanish Dance Troupe
Guided By Voices- Everywhere With Helicopter
Halo Benders, The- Don't Touch My Bikini
Handsome Family, The- 24-Hour Store, Far from Any Road, The Song of a Hundred Toads
Helium- Lucy*
Joan of Arc- The Hands; White Out; (I'm 5 Senses) None of them Common; Me and America (or) The United Colors of the Gap*; What If We Are Not All, All Destined for Greatness?
Kid606- Staying Home From School; If My Heart Ever Ran Away
Ladytron- Playgirl*
Lambchop- The New Cobweb Summer
Lifter Puller- Manpark
Low- Sunflower*, In Metal
Low and Dirty Three- I Hear Goodnight
Luna- Black Postcards
Lupine Howl- 125
McCombs, Cass- Sacred Heart*
Masakatsu, Takagi- And Then
Matmos- The Struggle Against Unreality; Lipostudio... And So On; Sun On 5 At 152
Midwest Product- Duckpond*
Modest Mouse- Worms vs. Birds*
My Morning Jacket- Heartbreakin Man; The Dark
Owen- Places To Go*
Orb- Once More
Papas Fritas- Lets Go Down To The Town Oasis
Pavement- Greenlander
Pinback- Loro*
Quasi- Drunken Tears
Quasimoto- Come On Feet
Rachels- Last Things Last
Radiohead- There There, Pyramid Song
Rainer Maria- Sickbed*, Artificial Light
Raveonettes, The- Attack of the Ghost Riders
Roni Size- Sound Advice
Sigur Ros- Staralfur*, Sven-G-Englar*
Smith, Elliott- Waltz No 1 (Demo)*
Solex- Shoot Shoot!
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks- (Do Not Feed The) Oyster
Stereolab- Long Life Love*
Tristeza- RMS 2000
Utah- The Boy Who Gave Away The Bomb*
Xiu Xiu- Jennifer Lopez (the Sweet Science Version)
Yo La Tengo- Don't Have to Be So Sad
Zero 7- Destiny

*=essential


Videos (nostalgia):

WOO HOO!!! Unfortunately the picture quality is poor on Song 2, so I'll have to settle with Blur's This Is a Low (live). (art punk/Britpop/rock)

What it's like to be popular. Nada Surf's Popular. (Alternative pop/rock/punk-pop)

"I'm feeling supersonic/give me gin and tonic"...Oasis' Supersonic. (pop rock)

Michael Stipe and REM had such a gift for bringing such importance to their pop rock esthetic. Losing My Religion, Everybody Hurts, Nightswimming, and many more here.

Where does all the time go?! Still my favorite 10,000 Maniacs hit with These Are Days. (jangle pop)

Whose that young man with the boyish good looks? Silly me. It's Glen Phillips and Toad the Wet Sprocket with Good Intentions. (pop rock)