Too Many Downloads, Not Enough Time

The trouble, for me, with digital downloads is that they get pulled into my iTunes library and may never be heard from again. Publicists send zip files, which are quick and convenient, but they offer nothing to hang onto – there’s a line of text with a song and album title and an artist name. Unless I have a need to listen for a possible story, or a few favorable notices nudge me to check them out, they might as well be invisible (what is the audio equivalent of invisibility?).

People who seek, download and/or buy music are acting on a desire to have the songs. My reception is passive. There’s a folder on my desktop labeled, “Do I want these?” and I may pop in occasionally to see what’s taking up space on my hard drive. Or, as I am doing tonight, I tell the iTunes to list material by “Date Added” so that I can review what’s come over the network in the past few weeks. Either way, there are plenty of albums that may never get the attention – or the dumping – they deserve.

I know. Cry me a river. Too many free songs is a problem any music lover would like to have. This is not a complaint so much as an explanation as to why some recent releases have been overlooked. And why, even when they're tallied, they may not have proper record labels listed (another failure of the system). Here, for the O/CD Tally, are some of the albums that have arrived lately through digital delivery:

These are keepers:
WHITE RABBITS – It’s Frightening
Saw this band do “Percussion Gun” on Letterman and needed to hear it again ASAP; asked for a copy from the publicist the next morning. After almost daily repeats, it remains one of my favorite tracks of the year so far. Percussive (as the title foretells, with two big drums struck in tandem), energetic, quirky and recommended to Radiohead fans, as the lead singer’s voice is Yorke-ian and the songs refuse to bow to tradition.
WHITE LIES – To Lose My Life
A little bit of Killers glam, a touch of New Order moodiness.
COLDPLAY – LeftRightLeftRightLeft
You can complain about Coldplay if you want, but Chris Martin has a sense of humor about himself (check out his hilarious episode of “Extras” with Ricky Gervais) and the band is giving away a free download of this 9-track live album on their website. I wrote about it in my new “job” (hey, I got over 130 hits today) as Digital Music Examiner.
SONOS – SonoSings
Another story I did for examiner.com, sharing a stream of the a cappella sextet’s version of the Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” (it was in the can months before Michael died, so they weren’t jumping on the bandwagon/hearse). I was sent the full CD, due in September, which has a sterling array of songs from writers like Bon Iver and Bjork, though I would call the cover of the Bird and the Bee’s “Again and Again” a mistake, as there’s little point in trying to top Inara George’s sweet, layered vocals.
IGGY POP – Preliminaires
Iggy’s getting positively chanteuse-ary here. “I Want to Go to the Beach” sounds like something Leonard Cohen might sing, with bass notes that sound like a bullfrog’s croak. And I’m not sure that I mean that in a bad way. Hey, he’s freaking Iggy Pop. If he wants to sing slow, sad songs and someone wants to send it to me for free, I’ll give it a try.
The BLUE VAN - Man Up
Two great songs here (so far) – “Man Up,” which puts the grow-a-pair message to a great pop/rock beat, and “Silly Boy,” which sounds like a Supergrass rave-up.
STAX SAMPLER - Various Artists
If amazon is gonna keep offering free samplers from cool labels, I intend to keep taking them.

Purchased downloads:


The BIRD and The BEE – Please Clap Your Hands EP
Just grabbed this today, another amazon special - 5 tracks for 99 cents. The title comes from the first song here - “Polite Dance Song,” also on the recent full-length, “Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future.” Good stuff, including the lovely cover version of the BeeGees’ “How Deep Is Your Love” that is part of the pair's regular concert set list.


CONOR OBERST and The MYSTIC VALLEY BAND – Outer South
Oberst and Co. opened for Wilco at Wolf Trap earlier this month and it was a great way to see them. When he isn’t at the top of the bill, Oberst has to put aside the self-indulgence (and self-regard?) that tarnished his headlining show at DAR Constitution Hall a few years back. He’s damn talented, to be sure, but too many people have told him so and at the earlier show, he took the audience’s adulation for granted, which hurt the set. This album also seems to find him more relaxed and maybe even happy. And that makes for a better experience for us, too.

The PAINS of BEING PURE at HEART
I heard some buzzing about this band, so I got this from my emusic account. Gives me that happy, poppy but not sappy, Belle & Sebastian vibe.
EELS – Hombre Lobo (Vagrant)
Another emusic purchase and, despite having it on my playlist for three weeks now, I haven’t heard a note. Which kinda proves the point I opened with…

Year to Date O/CD Tally: 236