Underground Media: Reloaded

Recently someone asked me which sites I frequented for music downloads. Legal ones, that is. Heh. I really didn't have to consider the question for long. Over the last two years, I have settled into a fairly predictable music routine that costs me about $15/month. I stream Last.fm tunes while I'm hanging at the house doing things like blogging or laundry. It's a "smart" music recommendation system that learns what I like and what I don't like. This includes distinguishing an artist I don't like from a track I don't like. And if I like what I hear, I bounce over to Emusic.com and download it. As I've blogged in the past, Last.fm and Emusic were my first steps into a much larger musical world. And while much of what I listen to is new to me, I rarely download a new release. In fact, most of the time, the stuff I listen to was released a decade ago. Sometimes this is awesome as I have ten years worth of albums by the artist to sift throug...

These Brits are about to bury they're competition : "As of today, you can play full-length tracks and entire albums for free on the Last.fm website. Something we’ve wanted for years—for people who visit Last.fm to be able to play any track for free—is now possible. With the support of the folks behind EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner—and the artists they work with—plus thousands of independent artists and labels, we’ve made the biggest legal collection of music available to play online for free, the way we believe it should be. Full-length tracks are now available in the US, UK, and Germany, and we’re hard at work broadening our coverage into other countries. During this initial public beta period, each track can be played up to 3 times for free before a notice appears telling you about our upcoming subscription service. The soon-to-be announced subscription service will give you unlimited plays and some other useful things. We’re also working on bringing full-length tracks...

Somewhere in the middle of high school, I decided to expand my musical horizons beyond hip-hop. One of the first groups that captured my attention was The Brand New Heavies . Although technically classified as Acid Jazz (huh?!), they are an electrifying soul ensemble, with vocals by the incomparable N'Dea Davenport (on and off through the years). I rediscovered them last night on last.fm . I thought they had disappeared in the mid-90's, but now I find that they've done a PILE of albums since them. Man, I've got some downloading to do...

DJ Dieselboy . He does an offshoot of techno called Drum 'n Bass. I call it "fight music." Good for the workouts, although I'm sure it would be entertaining to whoop someone's ass while listening to it. I should not be drinking in the middle of the day. I've heard it enhances violent tendencies. A real f*cking DJ with real f*cking vinyl. That's what I'm talking about. A true B-boy. I think I curse more when I drink... Below is a link to similar tunes. I actually hate that there's only a "similar tunes" thing at Last.fm. Sometimes I don't want similar, I want actual. And I subscribe to those f*ckers! Maybe I need to convert to Rhapsody . They are more expensive, but I can stream anything I want instead of rolling the dice. I love Last.fm, but damn. They're killin' me, Smalls .

So, as internet radio gasps for air, I would like to entice you into realm of online digital music with a few offerings. Much like Tivo did for TV, internet radio has completely changed the way music fans listen to their tunes. I can't imagine going back to FM. Not in a million years. And before you say anything, yes, these choices are clearly influenced by my own musical tastes. I do have broad tastes, but there are places even I will not go. The fun part is that I *stumbled* across all of these artists. Once you open your mind to new stuff that hasn't been fabricated by radio payola, there's a LOT of stuff to listen to. Disclaimer done. #1 - Jennifer Charles . This chick sounds like she's a crooner from waaaay back. Her current band is Elysian Fields, although she's collaborated with a TON of people. I ran across some of her indie hip-hop compilations, but her band is closer to eclectic rock. I really dig her. #2 - Dan the Automator . You've proba...