SXSW: free tunes

by John Holbo on March 21, 2009

The South By Southwest music festival is underway. Wouldn’t it be fun to be there? I guess the rest of us will have to make-do with this free mix, courtesy of NPR’s All Songs Considered. “Furr”, by Blitzentrapper, is a great song. And Amazon has a different free mix. I like “You’ll Disappear”, by The Phenomenal Hand-Clap Band.

You could also download 6 gigs of free music (perfectly legally!) via BitTorrent.

{ 7 comments }

1

CK Dexter 03.21.09 at 1:26 pm

The Blitzentrapper song has a lovely hand animated video, too:

2

Paul 03.21.09 at 5:17 pm

Well then just hop on a plane and go! :-)

3

John Holbo 03.22.09 at 3:26 am

Hey, that is a nice video. Thanks.

4

Matt McIrvin 03.22.09 at 1:35 pm

I downloaded the free torrent in, I think, 2004. The mix leaned toward a combination of rock and bluegrass, and there was so much there that even at the usual 90% crud fraction, I was able to extract a few albums’ worth of free music from unfamiliar bands that I really liked–someone of broader tastes might well find more. Of course, finding it in there was a daunting task.

5

hermit greg 03.22.09 at 6:22 pm

The Morning News got Paul Ford to review all of the songs, which—allowing for individual taste, of course—helps for choosing what to download.

6

Hudson 03.22.09 at 8:09 pm

I downloaded the full six gigs (~1,250 songs), and now am going through the excruciating process of plowing through all the songs looking for gems. Of the 300 or so I’ve reviewed so far, I might wind up keeping 15-20. At this rate, I’ll be lucky to find 100 songs worth keeping. I have little use for the self-conscious country/roots stuff, the formula death-metal, or the trendier crap with hyperactive hi-hats and cloying vocals which suggest that someone’s girlfriend or boyfriend was recruited to sing at the last minute. Suffice to say I won’t do this again next year.

7

Righteous Bubba 03.22.09 at 9:02 pm

Of the 300 or so I’ve reviewed so far, I might wind up keeping 15-20.

That’s not so bad for demos. I think I’ll give these torrents a shot.

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