Infinite MonkeysI spent a couple of hours the other day using a little known feature at Amazon--the free music downloads. Just go to Amazon, click on "Music" on the tab at the top (if it's there--otherwise you'll have to click "See More Stores," then "Music") and then click on "Free Downloads" on the bar at the top. Or try clicking here.
It's not organized very well, and a lot of what's there is pretty bad. But it's free, and there are some real gems. Plus, it's fun to type in something like "monkey" or a curse word or "cherry bikini" and see what comes up. That last one leads to a song that's a favorite of my old college roommate. It's funny to be able to download something like that, for free, on Amazon. I bet the Wal-Mart music store won't have any of that. Or the real sound of a howler monkey in a Costa Rican rain forest.
While I'm on the topic, some of my most frequent music listening is streamed music on the web (my computer is connected to my stereo with a Xitel USB audio out for great sound). I listen to KCRW. Go here, select "Sounds Eclectic," "Morning Becomes Eclectic" or some other show (not all of them are playable) from the drop down menu, and find something good to listen to. Note that you'll have the playlist there for you (good) and you'll have to use RealPlayer (bad).
You can also listen to KCRW's main music feed from the home KCRW.org page, or on iTunes under "Radio, Eclectic"--but it will be harder to find the playlist, then, because you'll need to go back and check a couple of days later and remember what show it was.
Anyway, trust me, you'll like a lot of what you find there. Other station program directors in L.A. certainly do, and that's how a lot of bands get their break. I highly recommend browsing through the "Best of" shows from each year on "Sounds Eclectic."
Posted by David at March 29, 2004 10:32 PM | TrackBack