Plain White T's

One more big name band before I switch things up some more. Everyone knows "Hey There Delilah" but there is more to this band than just a one hit wonder. When they aren't being acoustic balladeers, they play alternative rock with Fearless Records who were kind enough to share a couple songs from their first album with the studio. The album "All That We Needed" has free mp3s for the title track and "Take Me Away." DO NOT BE FOOLED!!! Other albums from the band on the site say they have free mp3s but they are just 30 second previews. I really like the song "Take Me Away" and I would have posted the music vid but the video itself is quite tasteless in my opinion. Daytrotter also has a live EP with the band from early last year. Sorry for no vid this time but I couldn't find anything good...

Rogue Wave

In keeping with the big name bands recently, I thought I'd pull out another with a lot of songs to offer. Rogue Wave is a band that seems to keep popping up when mentioning indie rock and for good reason. The music is great, the vibe is unique, and the free music is always appreciated. Purevolume has 4 songs from various albums on their profile although not quite sure if it is really the band's... Anyway, Daytrotter on the other hand has 2 free live EPs, one recorded in early 2008 and the other in July of this year. One of the only bands to be featured on Daytrotter twice might I add... If you're new to Daytrotter, sign up is easy although downloads will take place through an odd external program that you will have to download. Enjoy!! (Sorry for the lack of things to say...)

Rainbow

In tribute to Ronnie James Dio's passing this past month (due to cancer), I thought it only fitting to offer a great song from his days in Rainbow. The song "Kill The King (Live)" is available on Amazon from a live cd in Munich from 1977. Great song by one of the greatest metal vocalists to have ever lived. I was blessed enough to see him with Black Sabbath (Heaven and Hell) as my first real rock show. He will be missed.



As an extra treat, check out this old music video cartoon to a song he sang. Trippy but beautifully animated video, amazing song, and Dio singing rock make this something not to miss. Enjoy!!

Josh Woodward

Normally anything I post here is something that I give full endorsement to, but sometimes I'll be linking to stuff that I might not fully appreciate. This artist unfortunately falls under that category...

Josh Woodward is a musician who has at least 9 albums of free music on his website released through the Creative Commons License meaning that it is free to use legally in any project as long as proper attribution is made. It's all very good but I run into problems suggesting it to everyone. He has a very needlessly dark feel for what is mostly acoustic music and a cynicism that permeates the lyrics. Instrumentally he is awesome and the melodies to many of the songs are so infectious that I can't forget them but his downtrodden look on the world leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. Great example is a newer single he wrote after Haiti ("Motionless Land") as a tribute to those suffering depicting his feelings of how glad he is that he'll never be in that kind of danger and how he's struggling just as much so he can't support others. Crazy addicting but sickening for me to listen to. He tries to be generous at the end of the video but the song contradicts those sentiments completely.

Even the couple that have a much more light-hearted feel ("Snooter" is a great one) still have a depressing self-righteous view at parts that doesn't sit right with me. Definitely give him a listen as it is very good music but be forewarned that it may not be what you're looking for.

Flogging Molly

Yeah!! Flogging Molly sits comfortably in my top 5 list of all-time favorite bands. Think of them as a Celtic rock group similar in many ways to Dropkick Murphys (minus the heavy punk influence) but still very unique and worth your time. Meaningful and entertaining lyrical content, completely original music and rhythms, and did I mention the fact that it is heavily celtic-influenced (I LOVE CELTIC MUSIC!!) I could ramble on and on...

I am very pleased to offer 2 free songs from their newest live album. The first ("The Story So Far") is available off Amazon here. The second ("Requiem For A Dying Song") was located by a friend here. The site simply asks that you sit though a commercial (that I never had to watch) and it offers the link for your free track. Also really consider buying (yes, buying...) their past albums including "Drunken Lullabies", "Within a Mile of Home", "Swagger", and "Float." ENJOY!!!

UPDATE: Both songs have been removed by the corresponding hosts but I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more opportunities to share music from this amazing band. Sorry...

Coldplay

I thought I'd start out with a big band and Coldplay certainly has that appeal. I would explain what they sound like but I think just about everyone knows... The band is offering an entire free live 9-track album from their website at http://www.coldplay.com/lrlrl/lr.html. Normally I'd be skeptical about live tracks but this is easily one of my favorite live albums in my entire collection. It does a great job mixing newer tracks from "Viva La Vida" with older classics like "Clocks", "Fix You" and even goes into a never before released track from their early days. The recording is absolutely amazing with the audience being just as loud and as passionate as the band in most cases. I totally dare you to listen to "Viva La Vida" with headphones and not appreciate the amazing power of the song and the audience together.

Downloading is really easy. Just open the link above, enter your email and country, and choose whether or not you will allow them to mail you and it will open a separate page with the download link. No verification needed! And as a preview, check out the youtube vid at the bottom. ENJOY!!!