Salon's Wed A.M. Downloads • 6/02/04

[DudeAsInCool]

This week, Thomas Bartlett of Salon.com offers free music downloads and the following amusing rant at MTV:

"As I write this, I'm watching "Video Clash," the MTV show where viewers vote to decide which video will play next. My momentary pleasure at seeing Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" disappeared when it seemed that horrid Jessica Simpson's horrid cover of Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" was going to beat out Beyoncé's "Naughty Girl." But Beyoncé made a last-minute comeback, restoring my wellness -- although her jerks and jiggles, which I'm sure are meant to look like shivers of unbridled sexual energy, look more absurd and epileptic every time I watch this video. My wellness was then brutally destroyed by Britney's insipid, meandering "Everytime." How she could follow up the brilliance of "Toxic" with bilge like this is beyond me. Things looked up briefly a few minutes ago with Twista's "Overnight Celebrity," but then devolved completely, with the back-to-back awfulness of Ashlee Simpson and Hoobastank.

The bleeding continued over on MTV2, where I found a string of videos (Linkin Park, New Found Glory, Hoobastank again) that work much better with the sound turned off. Just when I was about to give up and flip to the oasis of kitsch that is VH1 Classic, I hit a sweet spot, a nifty hat trick of Modest Mouse, Kanye West and, again, Franz Ferdinand, ending my evening of video watching where it began -- and making me realize what an immense gulf there is between the few good videos in rotation on MTV and the crappy majority."

Here are the free downloads featured in his column:

"Static on the Radio," Jim White, from "Drill a Hole in that Substrate and Tell Me What You See" Jim White is often described as a "Southern gothic" songwriter. The first track, "Static on the Radio," is near perfect." (iTunes)

"Shake That Shit" Shawnna, featuring Ludacris, single

" Up-and-coming female emcee Shawnna and Ludacris rap in a swaggering, rhythmically repetitive style, their voices merging with the beat in a hypnotic, bumping minimalism." From the producer Timbaland. (iTunes, RealPlayer, MusicMatch)

"Harmonics," Arnold Dreyblatt and the Orchestra of Excited Strings, Live in Berlin, 1986

Minimalist composer Arnold Dreyblatt "maintains a Web page with an extensive selection of free MP3s available for download."

Every Fiber," namelessnumberheadman, from "Your Voice Repeating"

"Yo La Tengo and the Flaming Lips (are the) influences, and if you add in Grandaddy, you'll have a pretty good idea of where namelessnumberheadman is coming from. All four bands share a taste for experimentation and sonic exploration but retain a core desire, and ability, to write great pop songs. The sounds section of the band's Web page has six other free downloads available. All are worth hearing, but I'm partial to "I Know How You Got Old" and"Locked in the Station." Free Download: Every Fiber

"The End Lights," Bitter Bitter Weeks, from "Revenge"

Accoustic guitarits Brian McTear, aka Bitter Bitter Weeks - "{pleasant to listen to"

Free Download: The End Lights

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http://www.salon.com/ent/music/review/wmd/...hake/index.html