Egads ! Trial By Terror

Monday just came up on me this morning like an angry knife wielding Oaktown hood rat...

Actually I was awoken by two guys from the DA's office looking to get me on the stand and testify against a dude that fits the above description..

I'm the only witness to a bit of thuggery he performed recently against his baby momma ...

I guess I wouldn't mind, if only I knew it was gonna make a bit of difference...

Truth is using a knife on someone around that town these days is almost quaint... more old school than offensive. It appears to be a mere right of passsage, before they break out the heavy artillery.

In fact just an hour after my talk with the DA's about testifying on this young lady's behalf, I heard some kids ina local fast food restaurant talkin' about that "Nigga that knifed" one of 'em...

Sadly, if I give my word on the stand, it will likley only be used against me, and I'll end up regretting it like so many other urban statistics on these mean & so so stupid streets...

It's likely the perp will still walk & what do i do then, when he has my address, my name and knows more about me than I ever will about his larceny livered soul...

Anyhow, in more placid, and esoteric personal entertainment trial news...

Awhile back I started up a subscription to Emusic.com, and so far I've been fairly pleased...

Of course I went for the free trial, and intended to quit ... but instead I'm guilty.

Guilty of enjoying it too much!

There I was trying to exhaust all my free trial downloads... but y'know what...I just couldn't...

Because there were too many choices, and obscure ones at that...

I had to keep going...

I Confess, I Got Hooked... I'm a prisoner...

I figure I can just add it to my growing list of vices, a small lil' luxury in a bleak existence...

...and as long as I have $10 left over at the beginning of the month and a broadband connection...worth the monthly price in my opinion...

The Emusic.com service is far cheaper than Apple's overrated I-tunes, and because it's focused on independent labels, offers up a distinctly diverse array of music you generally wouldn't find while trolling the more obvious selections on the mainstream download sites...

Started as GoodNoise back in the early dot com daze, indeed it's only gotten better as time has marched on... in fact the often have exclusive content ranging from classic selections from artists like Rufus Thomas & Ike Turner to newer stuff from Aceyalone, The Hold Steady, Rancid, Daniel Johnson, Cat Power, Favorite Sons etc...

Here's a free track that Emusic is currently offering as an exclusive bonus added to the The Favorite Sons new album released last month on Vice Recordings. It was originally recorded for broadcast via KEXP last May.

The Favorite Sons - Hang On, Girl

They also have an exclusive Emusiclive archive of shows recorded by the Digital Club Network at spots like the 9:30 in DC , Maxwell's in Hoboken and Schubas in Chicago that feature groups like My Morning Jacket, Gogol Bordello, Taj Mahal, J Mascis, Demolition Dollrods, The Long Winters, ShellShag etc.

All the industry press hype seems to go back and forth between Rhapsody ( formerly Listen.com ) and that Steve Jobs affiliated dealio... or offerings from WalMart & Best Buy while these guys lay low in Redwood City and just do it indie stylee, establishing a decent DRM-free downloadable library , available at a decent price.

So, now hear this ...E music . com

they be ok by me...

We're talking about an online repository of obscure & cool stuff you'd never stumble across on I-Tunes... things like raunchy old Blowfly, old Stax stuff including rare outtakes, Agent Orange covering Metallica, even the band Strontium 90, which is a pre-cursor to the Police etc.

How about this Todd Rundgren remix of sorts that fits my Monday mood perfectly...

It's from a release on Purple Pyramid records that sees Rundgren's old vocals combined with newer backing tracks, with bass here provided by Tony Levin ( known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson)


Todd Rundgren & Friends - Bang On The Drum All Day

Aside from creepy old dudes, you can also get the latest stuff from newer bands like The Raconteurs, Ladytron, Fischerspooner, Kaiser Chiefs, Nouvelle Vague, Sufjan Stevens and The Pipettes, along with longtime indie-esque faves like Pavement, NOFX, Yo La Tengo, Jeff Buckley and Meat Puppets.


That's not to say you can't find more well established artists galore, ranging from platinum acts like Los Lonely Boys & Johnny Cash, plus classic rock radio staples like Creedence Clearwater Revival , The Kinks, Pete Townsend & The Police to lots of New Wave faves and one hit wonders from the 1980's from Billy Idol to A Flock of Seagulls etc.

I mean looking for some hard to find Gary Numan tracks, Emusic has no less than 12 of his albums...

Of the many New Wave type bands, I was surprised to find these include acts that are often out of print on CD, that were on Stiff Records, like Dr. Feelgood, Wreckless Eric or even that crazy dame with the kooky voice known as Lene Lovich.

Download
Lene Lovich - Lucky NumberOne
(E-Music MP3, 192kbps)



Buy at eMusic

At I-Tunes that stuff costs ya at least .99 cents... but via Emusic... hey, about a 1/4th of that... which is maybe what it's really worth eh?

Plus, I guess today I'm linking that up for free... as a trial offer... to try out the trail offer thingy Emusic will do for ya as well... I'm not sure, but I think currently ya can sign up and get up to 50 free tracks...

A little of whatver ya like, blues, electronica, jazz , classical & even "crunk"...

Yes Yes Y'all...Hip Hop is represented there of course, ranging from Lil Jon on down to the old Delicious Vinyl back catalog, as well as the latest fom cutting edge crews like The Quanuum Records & Hieroglyphics camps. New stuff is added to the database every week... so you can stay fresh...

For the adventurous, there's also lots of Latin and World Music too...
I've delved into some classic boogaloo Latin music featuring albums by Ray Barretto, Charlie Palmieri, Machito & Joe Bataan as well as dub & reggae cuts from Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, Ernest Ranglin, and plenty others so all you feisty fans of Toots & The Maytals,

nor siree... y'all won't be left out either.

Toots & The Maytals - Pressure Drop

(a live DRM free MP3 encoded at Emusic.com's standard 192kbps,)

I guess I kinda enjoy the convienance of finding all sorts of classic tunes at my fingertips, with more selections uploaded & offered each week...both new & old.

It's like having an Amoeba that's open 24 hours a day...with free samples too...

Yeah, you can cruise around in yer undies and sample from albums that feature free promo tracks, like this week, I've grabbed tunes by Paul Pena, Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, Tom Waits, Yo La Tengo and more can all be had for free if you poke around on Emusic.com

Paul Pena - Jet Airliner

(this tune is the original demo version from the blind Bay Area guitarist that Steve Miller recut and took all the way into perpetual classic rock radio airplay...For more info on the amazing Paul Pena , ya gotta see the Academy Award winning doc Ghengis Blues... )

p.s I suggest whether you subscribe or not ya better save this link for daily browsing...it's always got something new...

Here's the Emusic free download of the day

Anyhow... I ain't gonna go on about this forever, but I just wanted to say that I find the subscription service to be a fine reliable & welcome time killer, always entertaining, with fairly high quality bit rate files to boot. I'm always finding out about new stuff through all the links to related albums & artists...either from fellow customers, Emusic's reviewers or just random searchable coincidences such as label, artist and genre links.

Plus it's way less guilt inducing & creepy than trolling around like a skeezer looking for random illicit downloads. At least you know some sort of tacit approval & royalties are involved with yer tunes...

Anyhow, I figure if you find my site... you are probably looking for music, and ya might wanna give their legit service a go as well...

For less than the cost of one new CD or I-Tunes album each month, basic members have access to dozens of tunes that ya can keep , burn, and move around from player to player without any proprietary DRM restrictions...

Here's just some of the artists I've grabbed legit DRM free mp3 tracks from recently...

A Flock Of Seagulls
Agent Orange
Albert King w/ Stevie Ray Vaughan
Albert King w/ Steve Cropper & Pop Staples
Alejandro Escovedo
Allen Toussaint
Amy Farris
Ann Peebles
Art Neville
Bad Manners
Barry Adamson
Bebel Gilberto
Ben Kweller
Billy Lee Riley
Black Nasty
Black Velvet Flag
Bobby Bare Jr
Bobby Charles
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bow Wow Wow
Brazilian Girls
Calexico
Carl Perkins
Chuck Prophet And The Mission Express
Clarence Reid
Cyndi Lauper
David Lee Roth
Dead Kennedys
Dee Dee Ramone
Def Jef & Tone Loc
D.O.A.
Doctor & The Medics
Dr. John
Easy All Stars
Eddie Condon
El Michels Affair
Fleetwood Mac
Flipper
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Gary U.S. Bonds
Green Day
Heaven 17
Helen Reddy
Ian Hunter
Ike And Tina Turner
Ike Turner
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
Jimmy McGriff
Joan Jett
Joe Strummer
Johnny Cash
Jon Langford
Kaiser Chiefs
Kim Carnes
King Pleasure
Kris Kristofferson
Lagwagon
Laurent Garnier
Lee Hazlewood
Lene Lovich
Lil' Jon
Los Fabulous Cadillacs
Los Lonely Boys
Louis Jordan & His Tympani 5
Lucinda Williams
Machito
Madeline Peyroux
Madness
Marginal Man
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Monroe
MDC
Michael Franti And Spearhead
Mojo Nixon
Mongo Santamaria
Nancy Sinatra
Nick Lowe
Odiorne
Orchestra Baobab
Otis Redding
Paul Pena
Paul Revere & The Raiders
Pavement
Pigeon John
Pointer Sisters
Psapp
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Ray Barretto
Ray Charles
Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise
Rockers Hi Fi vs Ella Fitzgerald
Rodger Collins
Ronnie Laine
Rufus Thomas
Rusty Bryant

Santana
Scissor Sisters
Shapes and Sizes
Ska Cubano
Skandalous All - Stars
Soul Asylum
Soundtribe Sector Nine
Strontium 90 (Police)
Stubborn All-Stars
Sufjan Stevens
Supersuckers
Syl Johnson
The Black Neon
The Futureheads
The Kinks
The Pretty Things
The Prisonaires
The Raconteurs
The Slackers
The Shangri-las
The Specials
The Waitresses
The Walkabouts
The Whispers
The White Stripes
Tokyo Police Club
Tom Heyman
Toots & The Maytals
Tower Of Power
TSU Tornados
Van Morrison
Visionaries
Wanda Jackson
Wasp
Wendy O Williams
Yo La Tengo
Young MC

Oh & Here's where that Toots track above came from, twas yet another disc you find at Emusic...

Reggae On The Rocks : Live & Direct available via Emusic & released on What Are Records

• Buy this at eMusic