top ten

Inspired to see what my ten most played tracks were in iTunes, I peeped at what my actual listening habits reveal about my taste in music and found there's nothing to be ashamed about. As a disclaimer, I have a tendency of purging older, even nostalgic, tracks and albums over time but much of what's here has lasted the lifetime of this Mac Book (since 2008).

1 -- Baustelle "L." (Montepulciano, Italia) : Followed by "Charlie fa surf" and "Baudelaire" amongst several other Amen-era tracks in my most played. This was the first album I discovered by the band and it appears that I listened to it a lot that year I lived in Italy.

2 -- Deelay Ceelay "No Vex" (Portland, Oregon) : From their debut EP Thank You, which you can download for free here. Their first full-length, Sunset Drumsets, just dropped.

3 -- Sigur Rós "Gobbledigook" (Reykjavík, Iceland) : Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust also came out in 2008 while I was living in Italy and I suppose I was preparing for my first ever Sigur Rós performance that summer at Southside in Germany. Their set was followed by In Rainbows Radiohead. Epic.

4 -- Phoenix "Lisztomania" (Versailles, France) : Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix brought Phoenix back into my consciousness, and everyone else's, with a much-needed resurgence in 2009.

5 -- Metric "Help, I'm Alive" (Toronto, Canada) : I remember stumbling across this early version of the song some six months before Fantasies would be released. Obviously, I couldn't stop listening to it.

6 -- Radiohead "15 Step" (Abingdon, England) : Although I can't remember what I paid (if anything) for In Rainbows, my mp3 of the opening track is well worn.

7 -- Cut Copy "Hearts on Fire" (Melbourne, Australia) : In Ghost Colours was another album from 2008, which was also the year I first saw the band perform.

8 -- Digitalism "Magnets" tied with "Idealistic" (Hamburg, Germany) : After keeping Idealism in heavy rotation, I was duly prepared to see Digitalism at that same Southside festival. And now they've finally got a new one out.

9 -- Mayer Hawthorne "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) : Couldn't resist this white boy's falsettic soul.

10 -- Rodrigo y Gabriela "Viking Man" (México, D.F., Mexico) : Who also appeared at Southside; my first time seeing them. But not last.

And the immediate runner ups include:

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside "Danger"
Sufjan Stevens' The BQE "Movement IV: Traffic Shock"
Yelle "Je Veux Te Voir [Club-Club Version]"

While Elbow's "Forget Myself," "Grounds For Divorce" and "We're Away" all tied with Foo Fighters' "See You" and Starfucker's "Laadeedaa," "Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second" and "Holly" ...followed by more Baustelle (hey, Amen had 17 tracks!), Cut Copy, Digitalism, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton (of Metric), one Hockey cut ("Song Away") and Jónsi… there's a pattern here.

What's in your top ten?

these are my twisted words

New Radiohead. Free download.

And create your own Twisted Woods art.

free music from artists

Do musicians approve of giving away their music on the internet now?

Many artists post new or demo songs, live performances, or other free music downloads their websites. Record labels are teaming up with magazines, like the Bloc Party vs NME CD where their new single "Flux" is remixed and the CD is attached to the cover of the magazine.

It's a great way to promote unknown artists and get cheap exposure. Everything from famous to obscure is posted on Spinner.com.

And Radiohead has the clout to subvert iTunes or any record label to sell their album by themselves on the internet. They even let fans pay whatever they want for the album.

So Saul Williams is following suit. But Saul doesn't have the reputation of Thom Yorke and Co., so you can get it for free... or 5 bucks.


Saul does create a cool hip-hop/rock fusion that is backed by producer Trent Reznor and features him on vocals in several songs. This is the most involved Trent has been in an project outside of NIN for a long time, so it's worth a listen for any fans out there. Plus, it's got a kick ass cover of Trent singing "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

Now I'd like to know the return on an endeavor like this. How many people pay upfront? How many download for free? How many pay after-the-fact because they liked the album so much? You decide. And in the meantime, check out Saul Williams... for free or throw him a couples bones.

Here's another innovative promotional piece that I grabbed from Saul's website. The content changes and you can download the album right here.