South by Southwest Music 2013: Free SXSW Downloads, Podcasts, Streaming Shows, & More

Hear live concerts and more from South by Southwest; see schedule below.

The music portion of this year's South by Southwest festival starts March 12th (running through the 17th), and as usual there are plenty of ways to sample music by the artists involved and the actual concerts down in Austin. Here are a few of the best ones (I'll post if I come across them):

* NPR Music's SXSW coverage is, as usual, pretty extensive; there are live webcasts of concerts and the keynote, interviews, and more. On March 13th there'll be live webcasts with Nick Cave, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Youth Lagoon, Alt-J, and more; the next day they'll stream Dave Grohl's keynote address. Other live sets include Divine Fits, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Iron and Wine, Dawes, and Charles Bradley.

NPR's Alt.Latino will broadcast live sets as well, featuring Café Tacuba, Molotov, and Bajofondo. And if you miss any of these live webcasts, don't worry: NPR tends to archive them online and make many of them available for download as free podcasts.

See the complete schedule of NPR Music's SXSW 2013 lineup here, and listen to their "Austin 100" playlist of songs (which you can also download individually, or in one big 800 MB zip file).

* Sample more than 1,200 songs by SXSW 2013 artists with this year's edition of The (Unofficial) SXSW Torrents. It's split into two files, the first is over 6 GB, the other a little over 1 GB.

* Amazon.com has two free SXSW 2013 samplers, one from Polyvinyl Records (featuring Deerhoof, Japandroids, Of Montreal, and more) and "Don't Mess with Texas" from The Orchard, with Loal Natives, Charles Bradley, The Virgins, Young Galaxy, Ra Ra Riot, and more.

* L.A.'s KCRW radio was one of the first radio stations to broadcast from SXSW, and it will have plenty of festival coverage as well. See the complete KCRW SXSW schedule here.

* The Alternate Side and its parent, WFUV, will have plenty of live music from SXSW on March 15th as part of the Public Radio Rocks SXSW Day Stage featuring Vampire Weekend, Divine Fits, Iron & Wine, Emmylou Harris, Dawes, Charles Bradley, and Pickwick.

* Fellow blogger Andriana of Gluttony is the New Black has put together a very thorough guide to the essentials of surviving SXSW for the website The Line of Best Fit. It covers music, of course, but also gives tips on the best food, open bars, parties, getting around, and more.

Free Streaming Christmas & Holiday Music - Something Traditional, Something Different

Looking for some options for listening to Christmas tunes and other holiday music free online? Last year I wrote about some options for listening to holiday music online, but didn't manage to post the article until the day after Christmas. I'm slightly ahead of the game this year, getting the information to you just before the clock marks the arrival of Dec. 24th in the Eastern U.S.

Web-Radio.fm offers a sleighfull of streaming Christmas radio stations.

As with last year, Web-Radio.fm has an extensive selection of all kinds of Christmas radio stations, from traditional to rock, classical, country, and R&B. And AOL Music's album-streaming service once again is featuring holiday music at this time of year, including "Glee: The Music: The Christmas Album Volume 3" and "Now That's What I Call Christmas 5," featuring seasonal songs by Carly Rae Jepson, Justin Bieber, Sara Bareilles, Lady Gaga, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, and many more. AOL's other two streaming holiday albums this year are "Bing Crosby Christmas" and "A Rat Pack Christmas."

For more information on Christmas music listening, you can check out the music section of the bulletin boards of Christmas 365.(see in particular the posts "Christmas Music/Radio Odds and Ends" and "The Week Link - Yule Audio Sources all year!").

If (mostly) classical music and carols are more your taste, check out the special 24-hour stream of seasonal music from New York's classical radio station, WQXR. (It'll be running until Jan. 6th.)


Darlene Love performing "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home" on Letterman last week.

One of the most sought-after Christmas music collections from last year was Bill Adler's "Christmas Jollies," a mix CD of off-the-beaten-track songs that the New York City record collector and former record-company executive put together for his friends.

I've searched online a number of times in recent weeks but can't find mention of what songs are on the 2012 edition of "Christmas Jollies"—perhaps the publicity over last year's collection brought too much media attention to Adler's door, intruding on his own holiday enjoyment. In any case, you can hear the 2011 version of Bill Adler's "Christmas Jollies" here (playing each tune one at a time). P.S. If anyone reading this knows where to hear the 2012 edition of Adler's mix, leave a comment for us below.

Though you may not be lucky enough to spend Christmas in Hawaii with the President of the United States and his family, you can enjoy a bit of an island holiday with another item I featured in last year's post, "Aloha, Merry Christmas From Hawaii" by Ian Stearns (disclosure: we're related).

  Aloha, Merry Christmas From Hawaii by IanStearns

Choose your favorite holiday music stream, grab a mug of spiked eggnog, and enjoy. Merry Christmas, all!

South by Southwest 2012: Free SXSW Downloads, Podcasts, Streaming Shows, & More

See what's happening the the SXSW Music Festival below.

The music portion of this year's South by Southwest festival starts March 13th (running through the 18th), and as usual there are plenty of ways to sample music by the artists involved and the actual concerts down in Austin. Here are a few (I'll add more as I come across them):

NPR Music's SXSW coverage grows each year, with live webcasts of concerts, podcasts, and more. Stream or download their SXSW preview podcast here, which notes some of the musicians they're most interested in seeing. Check out their "Austin 100" playlist of songs, see their full SXSW broadcast schedule, and visit the NPR Music SXSW home page for all the latest news, streams, and downloads.

SXSW coverage from L.A.'s KCRW radio includes news, reviews, and tracks to listen to, including those from its own nightly showcases, such as Oberhofer and Temper Trap.

The Alternate Side and its parent, WFUV, have SXSW coverage including Bruce Springsteen's keynote address (1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 15th) and live and recorded music sets from Sharon Van Etten, Alabama Shakes, Shearwater, The Magnetic Fields, and many more.

Spinner.com takes a look at the breakout bands of SXSW 2012, as chosen by music bloggers and writers including those from Billboard, Spin.com, Rawkblog.net, and Consequence of Sound.

Spin.com has a free download of songs from 30+ artists who'll be getting lots of attention at SXSW this year; this "Austin Power" collection has tunes from Hospitality, Sharon Van Etten, Screaming Females, Pujol, The War on Drugs, Widowspeak, and more.

Concert listing website Oh My Rockness has a guide to SXSW music featuring its 10 must-see bands, a guide to free shows, listings of what it considers the best unofficial SXSW gigs, and more

Canada's Arts and Crafts record label has a Soundcloud sampler of songs from its artists, including Dan Mangan and The Darcys.

Fellow music blogger Andriana (Dre) at Gluttony is the New Black has her own SXSW Soundcloud page with picks of musicians she wants to see, including Matt Easton and Fanzine.

Free Streaming Christmas & Holiday Music - Still Tasty the Next Day!

Like leftover turkey and cookies, holiday music is still with us after Christmas or Hanukkah have ended... and sometimes these tunes are just as tasty after the fact. Since there are no new albums available for free online streaming this week (a usual Podcast Party feature on Monday or Tuesday), I thought I'd offer some streaming and/or downloadable holiday music to listen to if, like me, you enjoy hearing it after the actual holidays.

Spinner has an all-holiday group of album previews this week (as of Dec. 26th, at least).

Over at Spinner.com, a variety of holiday albums are still up for streaming, including some I've mentioned before like "A Brushfire Holiday, Volume 2" by This Warm December (featuring G. Love, Zee Avi, Matt Costa, and more). There's also "The Beach Boys' Christmas Album," "Christmas in California" by Ash Reiter, the four-song EP "Tennessee Christmas" by Lindi Ortega, Shonen Knife's three-track EP "Sweet Christmas," and one that sounded odd to me: "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," a collection of traditional Christmas songs by Scott Weiland, the troubled singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver.

TV viewers may want to check out AOL Music's streaming offerings, including "Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2" and "The Sing Off: Songs of the Season" (with performances by Pentatonix, the Dartmouth Aires, season two winners Committed, and many more). Also on AOL Music is "Now That's What I Call Christmas 4," featuring seasonal songs by contemporary artists such as Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood, and Maroon 5 and by old-timers like Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, and Burl Ives.

Note: there's no telling how long the Spinner and AOL Music holiday albums will be streaming, so you might want to check them out sooner rather than later.

The cover of the 2011 edition of Bill Adler's eclectic "Christmas Jollies" mix.

The homemade mix tape "Christmas Jollies" by Bill Adler was the subject of an NPR story yesterday, and it has gotten a lot of holiday love via re-tweeting and other forms of online sharing. Adler does a "Jollies" mix each year and distributes it to friends; this year's edition includes songs from Peggy Seeger, Solomon Burke, The Beach Boys, and more. You can read the transcript of the NPR story here, hear excerpts from each of the songs here (with notes from Adler), and see the complete track listing here.

(Oh, and to answer the question everyone's asking, "Where can I buy the 'Christmas Jollies' CD?!," the answer is: you can't. Apparently Adler burns CDs for his friends, but otherwise doesn't distribute the mix on physical media [due to copyright issues, I'd guess]). 

Also from NPR Music is the collection "Jingle Jams:  A Holiday Mix For The Rest Of Us," what it calls off-the-beaten-path holiday songs for folks having hard times during the season (the mix is co-curated by Adler). It's billed as a set for those who "get dumped or lose their jobs, or spend the night in jail." The artists include everyone from the Andrews Sisters to Paul Simon, Lady Gaga, and The Pogues, and includes one of my favorite modern holiday tunes, "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses.

If you're interested in listening to Christmas music year round, check out the 400 or so streaming stations at www.web-radio.fm/christmas. You'll find genres from traditional to rock, R&B, classical, Christian, Latin, jazz, and more

And since family is a major theme of the holiday season, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention "Aloha, Merry Christmas From Hawaii," a catchy Christmas song which, in the interest of full disclosure, was written and performed by my nephew Ian Stearns. Yes, I know what you're thinking, but he is an accomplished musician who has been honing his chops in various bands over the last two decades, including the bluegrass group Brooklyn Playboys.

Take a listen to it below. It's got a nice, warm island vibe, and who couldn't use a little warmth (or the musically induced reasonable facsimile thereof) this time of year?

  Aloha, Merry Christmas From Hawaii by IanStearns

Look for a batch of new albums for free streaming early next week, as the holiday season wraps up and labels start pushing out their new releases.

Music Notes: Stream Wild Flag & Zola Jesus Concerts; CMJ's Last Hurrah; Dum Dum Girls Play Maxwell's

Stream Wild Flag's Washingotn, D.C. concert at NPR Music (below).

Intrepid rock fans are preparing for the final day (and night) of CMJ 2011, but in the New York area the live music continues every day. A few CMJ-related items of note...

• If you missed Wild Flag at CMJ or their other NYC appearances, you can still get a feel for what their live show is like because NPR Music has posted a stream of the gig they played in Washington, D.C. earlier this week (it was webcast live).
  
  The setlist is pretty similar to the one from Tuesday's CMJ show at Bowery Ballroom, including one of their cover tunes (Television's "See No Evil"). The web page for the Wild Flag concert stream has the setlist as well. It doesn't appear than you can download this show, however.
  


• The singer known as Zola Jesus performed at Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday as part of CMJ, and you can stream or download the set here from NPR Music.
  
  
• The Dum Dum Girls show at CMJ last night sold out well in advance, but the good news is that they're playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken on Monday night the 24th, and as of this writing there are still some tickets left. Crocodiles and Royal Baths are also on the bill. (Link to Dum Dum Girls tickets at Maxwell's.) You can stream "Only in Dreams" by the Dum Dum Girls here at TheFader.com.
  
  
• CMJ 2011 is going out with a bang on Saturday, with more than 12 hours of live music at venues all over the City. Check the CMJ Music schedule for listings by time, or search CMJ gigs by artist, venue, etc.
  
  And don't forget, a lot of the CMJ shows won't cost you a thing (see the Oh My Rockness listing of free gigs, CMJ and otherwise). Bands performing on Saturday include DOM, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Shonen Knife, Givers, Wavves, Purity Ring, Nicole Atkins, Wise Blood, Casiokids, Memoryhouse, Cold War Kids, and a couple of bands with two of the more inventive names, Diarrhea Planet and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

2011 CMJ Music Marathon Kicks Off Today

Yes, it does! The 2011 CMJ Music Marathon kicks off at noon.

That annual unwieldy explosion of live music known as the CMJ Music Marathon kicks off today, and in all there will be more than 1,000 bands playing between now and the end of the festival on Oct. 22nd. How to find out what to see amid all those offerings? One way is to check out the picks of various critics and publications (see some selections after the photo), and decide what sounds interesting to you (and which gigs you can get to, dashing between various far-flung venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn).

If you want to just plunge into the massive listings, see the CMJ Music home page here, view the CMJ daily music showcase schedule, or search the CMJ site for artists, venues, or tags. You can also get an official CMJ 2011 smartphone app. And don't forget to download CMJ's 19-song sampler playlist.

Puerto Rico's Davila 666 (shown here at 4 Knots) plays the Knitting Factory Wed.

Here are some guides to help you choose what to see at CMJ:

• Spin offers "30 Can't-Miss Acts at CMJ 2011" (annoyingly presented in one-band-per-webpage format). Among their picks: Pujol, King Krule, Davila 666, Jacuzzi Boys, Machine Gun Kelly, and Stepkids. (Download Spin's free 20-track CMJ 2011 mixtape)
  
  
• NPR Music offers a stream of selections from this year's CMJ bands, with songs by acts including Balkans, Capybara, Davila 666, Dum Dum Girls, Neon Indian, Peelander-Z, Portual. The Man, Shonen Knife, We are Augustines, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and Wild Flag.
  
  
• Brooklyn Vegan will have frequently updated coverage of CMJ 2011; currently you can checkout its picks for the daytime Tuesday shows (most, if not all, are free). Brooklyn Vegan is also sponsoring its own CMJ showcase once again.
  
  
• TimeOut New York has a CMJ 2011 guide with tips on how to get the most out of the festival, staff picks for the best shows to see, and photos from the gigs.
  
  
• NYCGO.com offers its own day-by-day list of recommended CMJ acts, along with a guide to CMJ venues throughout the City. Among its choices: Shonen Knife, Titus Andronicus, and Wild Flag (all playing tonight), as well as The Wombats, Metronomy, CSS, and Dum Dum Girls.

As for me, I'll be taking in Wild Flag and Eleanor Friedberger tonight at Bowery Ballroom and just winging it after that. I'm hoping to see The Duke Spirit in a daytime show tomorrow, and at least one show on the 22nd: CSS, Peelander-Z, or Shonen Knife.

If you're going to CMJ 2011, what acts are you going to see?

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Jeff Bridges, Beirut, Muppets Covers, & More

Above: Preview the self-titled first album by Jeff Bridges this week (link below). In the album trailer above, Bridges talks about the album (which drops today), with snippets from some of the tunes.

There's an unusual mix of old and new musicians in this week's free album previews. Pavement member Stephen Malkmus is back with his latest solo album with his backing band The Jicks, and Beirut returns with its third full-length release.

But there's also the first album from Jeff Bridges—yes, The Dude abides with his own disc of tunes, produced by T-Bone Burnett. Although Bridges says he's been playing music since he was 13, playing a country singer in the movie "Crazy Heart" left him with some songs and the impetus to record them.

And if you're a fan of The Muppets, you'll want to check out the album of pop and rock heavyweights (including OK Go, Weezer, Amy Lee, and My Morning Jacket) covering tunes made famous by the soft-and-fuzzy stars of TV and film.

As usual, the albums are generally available for free streaming only for a week (sometimes more); the exact date is listed if known.

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Mirror Traffic" by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks (available for streaming through Aug. 28)
"Ghostbird" by Zee Avi (streaming through Sept. 13)

NPR First Listen:
"The Rip Tide" by Beirut
"Apokalypsis" by Chelsea Wolfe
"Muppets: The Green Album" by various artists
"Neon Blue Bird" by Ollabelle

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin" by Breaking Benjamin
"Songs and Stories" by Guy Clark

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Jeff Bridges" by Jeff Bridges
"The Duke and the King" by The Duke and the King

And AOL Music and Spinner have many more new albums for free preview this week, including "Bright Lights" by Dead Man Winter (featuring Dave Simonett from Trampled by Turtles), "Shine" by Speed the Plough, "Burning Your House Down" by The Jim Jones Revue, "Out of Love" by Mister Heavenly (featuring members of Islands, Man Man, and Modest Mouse), and "Girl Graffiti" by Hotel Lights (featuring former Ben Folds Five drummer Darren Jessee).

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Gillian Welch, Eilen Jewell, & More

"The Harrow And The Harvest" by Gillian Welch (shown above with David Rawlings), which comes out June 28th, is available for free online preview. Photo: Flickr user furtwangl.

 
There are quite a few good new albums available for free preview this week, especially from AOL Music and Spinner. Among the ones I'm most looking forward too are the new CDs from three Americana singer-songwriters: Eilen (pronounced "feelin'") Jewell, Gillian Welch, and Jolie Holland (former of the Be-Good Tanyas).

There are many other new releases you can preview (as always, I've listed just a sampling below), and Spinner is also offering online streaming of some of the CDs its dubbed the year's best so far, including those by Adele, Fleet Foxes, Tennis, and Yuck (odd name, good album).

NPR First Listen:

• "The Harrow And The Harvest" by Gillian Welch

Spinner.com's Listening Party:

• "High Horses and Heels" by Marianne Faithfull
  
• "Phoenix Rising" by Deep Purple
  
• "Culture of Fear" by Thievery Corporation
  
• "Pint of Blood" by Jolie Holland
  
• ... and Spinner's Best of 2011 albums (so far), including "21" by Adele, "Arabia Mountain" by Black Lips, "Dye It Blonde" by the Smith Westerns, and "Helplessnes Blues" by Fleet Foxes

AOL Music Listening Party: 

• "Taking Back Sunday" by Taking Back Sunday
  
• "Queen of the Minor Key" by Eilen Jewell
  
• ... and a number of albums by artists I haven't heard of, but sound interesting, including: "Liquid Zoo" by 100 Monkeys, "Idle Ages" by Junior Battles, and "The Verge" by There for Tomorrow

Live Festival Music: Watch Bonnaroo's Final Day; Download Sasquatch Sets

Bonnaroo 2011 draws to a close today, but the good news is that you can watch live sets online from the final day (and night), with continuous music from different stages. From the other side of the U.S., There are also podcasts of live sets from Memorial Day weekend's Sasquatch festival that you can download from NPR Music (yeah, I'm a couple of weeks late to posting this, but there are plenty of good sets posted online, and they're still available).

First up, the live webcast schedule for today's Bonnaroo finale:

• 4 - 4:30 p.m. ET - Bootsy Collins
  
• 4:30 - 5:15 - Chiddy Bang
  
• 5:15 - 6 - Galactic
  
• 6 - 7:15 - Cold War Kids
  
• 7:15 - 7:45 - Warren Haynes Band
  
• 7:45 - 9:15 - The Strokes
  
• 9:15 - 9:45 - Explosions in the Sky
  
• 9:45 - 12:15 - Widespread Panic

About 40 live sets from Sasquatch 2011 are available for streaming (and many for download too, it seems). Among the ones I'll be checking out in this abundance of live music are the sets by:

• Bob Mould
  
• The Thermals
  
• Death Cab for Cutie
  
• Death from Above 1979
  
• Guided by Voices
  
• Foo Fighters
  
• Basia Bulat
  
• Flogging Molly
  
• The Flaming Lips
  
• Wye Oak
  
• Deerhunter
  
• Rodrigo y Gabriela
  
• Rebecca Gates
  
• Sharon Van Etten
  
• The Head and the Heart 

Happy listening!

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Thurston Moore, Joseph Arthur, Ben Harper, Laura Cantrell, & More

Thurston Moore's new solo album (out May 24th) is now available for free preview.

I didn't expect to post another sample of free album previews so soon, but most of the ones I mentioned last week are no longer available. Obviously it's good to post these sooner rather than later, lest they disappear, so I'll try to post new ones each Monday, which is when they seem to be offered for preview.

Some of the latest free album previews that got my attention when I saw them: a new solo album by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore; new CDs by singer-songwriters Joseph Arthur and Ben Harper (hear an interview with Harper here); a disc of Iggy Pop bootlegs; several reissues from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on Spinner.com; and an album of Kitty Wells tunes by Laura Cantrell, the singer and former host of WFMU's much-loved Radio Thrift Shop show.

And contrary to what I mentioned in last week's post of free album previews, Spinner and AOL Music are still doing separate (though overlapping) listings of album previews. Here's a selection of some of the albums available for preview this week:

NPR First Listen:
Demolished Thoughts by Thurston Moore
The Graduation Ceremony by Joseph Arthur

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
Roadkill Rising: The Bootleg Collection 1977-2009 by Iggy Pop
Euphoric Heartbreak by Glasvegas
Pink Strat by Bahamas (Afie Jurvanen, Feist's guitarist)
Give Til Its Gone by Ben Harper
Diaper Island by Chad VanGaalen
Daydream Nation Soundtrack by various artists (includes tracks by Devendra Banhart, Sebadoh, Emily Haines, Lou Reed, and the Constantines)
Cosmic Ocean Ship by Mia Doi Todd
Let Love In by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (one of several reissues of the band's albums available on Spinner)
Bury Me in My Rings by The Elected (led by Rilo Kiley's Blake Sennett)

AOL Music Listening Party: 
Kitty Wells Dresses by Laura Cantrell
The Dreaming Fields by Matraca Berg
Cicada by Hazmat Modine

Music Notes: Google Music Beta Announced; Groupon & Live Nation to Offer Discount Concert Tickets

Google Music is now in beta, and you can apply to be part of it.

The music landscape continues to shift and change, the last couple of days have seen several big companies jockeying for position.

* Google announced its music streaming service today at the Google I/O conference (a meeting of Google software developers). The service, currently called Google Music beta, is in limited use now, but when it goes live it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against Amazon's cloud player and cloud drive, which the online store launched last month. Ironically Apple, which is the 800-pound gorilla in selling music online, has yet to stake its claim in the streaming/music cloud turf.

The Google music service is similar in some ways to Amazon's cloud player. It will let users stream music and rent movies over their Android devices. According to the L.A. Times, users will be able to upload up to 20,000 songs to their computers and mobile devices. Unlike Amazon, however, users will not be able to buy music from Google's service. Amazon allows customers to buy music and other digital content and immediately store it on their cloud account. Users of Google Music beta will have to manually upload the music they already own to the service.

An interesting note is that Google, like Amazon, does not have licensing deals with the music labels for streaming the content, and decided to proceed without it. This could raise certainly some legal issues. You can sign up for the Google Music beta at music.google.com/about.

The Times article says that at first the Google music service will be available by invitation and only in the U.S., and will be free in beta. It's not clear what charges there may be when the service comes out of beta.

* Groupon and Live Nation are teaming up for discount concert tickets. The group-buying concept of Groupon and LivingSocial has been a huge hit for all kinds of products and services, and now it's coming to concert tickets. The service, called GrouponLive, was rolled out on Monday, and will officially launch in the summer, according to an article in the L.A. Times — just in time for the outdoor concert season. "GrouponLive will sell tickets to Live Nation concerts, as well as for companies that sell tickets for concerts, sports, plays and other events through the Live Nation-owned Ticketmaster," the article says.

You can sign up for GrouponLive at www.groupon.com/live.

The live music industry has been clobbered the last few years. While some big-name acts have done well, many others have had to pare back or cancel their tours. Live Nation is no doubt hoping to use discounts to boost sales that have slowed in part due to what's perceived as ticket prices that are too high in a soft economy. There was widespread discounting at outdoor venue shows last summer, with places such as New Jersey's PNC Arts Center offering $40 lawn tickets for $10 for some shows.

Free Live Music Podcasts: PJ Harvey, Land of Talk, Great Big Sea, & More

Here are some recent live music podcasts for your listening enjoyment. These free, fun performances span a wide range of musicians and styles, but all of the artists are veterans at the top of their game.

* PJ Harvey live in San Francisco — this excerpt from a recent concert has the British singer-songwriter playing songs from her acclaimed new album, "Let England Shake."

* Land of Talk live in Toronto — Liz Powell leads the Montreal-based indie-rock trio in a set at Canadian Music Week, including tunes from its latest album, "Cloak and Cipher."

* Great Big Sea live in Edmonton, Canada — the Celtic-influenced rock band always gets the audiences up and dancing with its guitar, mandolin, and fiddle party music.

* Booker T. Jones live in the NPR offices — the legendary leader of Booker T. and the M.G.'s performs a 17-minute set in the radio network's offices.

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Paul Simon, The Raveonettes, Vivian Girls, & More

Paul Simon's "So Beautiful or So What" (out April 12th) is one of the new albums now available for free streaming.

There's a lot I want to check out in this week's slate of albums for free online streaming. The legendary Paul Simon is back with his first album in five years, to start things off. In addition, there are new discs by the Vivian Girls, the Brooklyn-based Danish duo The Raveonettes, and UNKLE, a collective whose new EP features Liela Moss of the Duke Spirit and Nick Cave.

As always, what's listed here is usually only a sampling of what's available; see each station or service's website for the full listings.

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Build a Rocket Boys!" by Elbow (streaming until May 3) — The fifth album from the Manchester, England band
"Euphoric / Heartbreak" by Glasvegas (streaming until May 3) — The Scottish band recorded this new album near KCRW's headquarters; the station wonders if the sunny climate was responsible for the album's more optimistic, less melancholy sound

NPR First Listen:
"So Beautiful or So What" by Paul Simon (streaming until April 12) — "Rhymin' Simon" is back with his first new album in five years
"Share the Joy" by the Vivian Girls (streaming until April 12) — The Brooklyn rock trio's third album
"Tomboy" by Panda Bear (streaming until April 12) — The much-anticipated solo album by the frontman of Animal Collective

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Blood Pressures" by The Kills
"Only the Lonely" by UNKLE
"Raven in the Grave" by The Raveonettes
"Love Notes / Letter" by The Submarines
"And I Feel Fine...The Best of the I. R. S. Years 1982-1987" by R. E. M. (reissue)
"2011" by The Smithereens

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from The Strokes, J Mascis, Peter Bjorn & John, Keren Ann, & More

Captivating singer-songwriter Keren Ann is back with a new album, "101," that's now offered for free streaming.

The return of J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr.) and The Strokes are two of the most notable new albums available for free streaming this week. Also, the new one from the captivating Paris/New York singer-songwriter-composer Keren Ann, who has been acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic. Here are some of the other interesting albums offering free album previews right now:

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Several Shades of Why" by J Mascis (streaming until April 8; released March 15) — the indie-rock guitarist and leader of Dinosaur Jr. is back with a new solo album
"101" by Keren Ann (streaming until April 13; release date: March 22) — the Israeli-born, New York- and Paris-based singer-songwriter returns with a new album (see a recent New York Times Magazine story on her)
"Gimme Some" by Peter Bjorn and John (streaming until April 19; release date: March 29) — the Swedish trio that burst on the scene with the song "Young Folks" releases its first album in two years, with its familiar hook-laden songs but a "guitar-heavy attack," says KCRW
"The Most Incredible Thing" Original Score by the Pet Shop Boys — yes, the '80s pop-dance duo is back, and with a score to a ballet based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Angles" by The Strokes — the New York band is back with its first album since 2006
"Sucker Punch" Soundtrack by various artists — the soundtrack for this new action movie features Alison Mosshart, Emily Browning, Emiliana Torrini, and Bjork
"Salt on Sea Glass" by If By Yes — the first album by the band featuring Petra Haden (formerly of That Dog) and Yuka Honda (formerly of Cibo Matto), this CD features special guests David Byrne and guitarist Nels Cline.

South by Southwest 2011 (SXSW): Free Music for Download and Streaming

The music part of the South by Southwest festival gets underway in Austin, Texas tomorrow, but you can enjoy a lot of the music in the comfort of your home with free podcasts and online streaming. Here are some of the choices available. The SXSW Music festival runs from March 15th through the 20th.

* The official 2011 SXSW Music website has links to free iTunes downloads and the SXSW Shoutcast radio stations. You can also subscribe to the SXW Music Blog feed and get updates by connecting to SXSW on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

* As usual, there's a huge collection of songs by SXSW artists to download via torrent (this year's is over 6.5 GB). (From what I've been told this download is legal, though I can't find any statement explicitly stating that.)

* NPR Music will once again be offering extensive SXSW coverage, including live concert webcasts (mostly audio, but there may be some video) that are usually archived for streaming or podcast download later. See their SXSW Music site for the Austin 100 Mix, a streaming collection of new songs by artists playing the festival, and see their SXSW preview (streaming or podcast) for the artists the NPR Music staff is most looking forward to.

* L.A. radio station KCRW will have a big presence in Austin as well, and you can find their schedule, a free SXSW sampler, and more at their SXSW site. "Morning Becomes Eclectic" host Jason Bentley will be broadcasting the show live from Austin, too.

* Amazon.com has a selection of free SXSW music samplers, including Bloodshot Records and Saddle Creek Records.

* Pitchfork has a link to a compilation Bandcamp has done of  "467 SXSW artists that host their music on the site, complete with a huge grid of images assigned to said bands, a streaming player, and a counter telling you the amount of music you still have yet to listen to." I haven't checked that out yet, but it sounds very promising.

* Due to its location, it's not usual that SXSW has a decent selection of Latin music. As a fan of Latin rock and pop music, I was glad to see that the Remezlca Music website has a free 10-song SXSW Latin music sampler that you can stream or download. Artists include Mexican Institute of Sound and David Garza.

* Paste has an article covering "20 SXSW Bands You Might Not Know (But Should)," with links to free MP3 downloads for each one.

* Also check out Spinner.com's SXSW free song sampler and AOL Music's SXSW website.

There are plenty of ways to enjoy SXSW with free podcasts, webcasts, and downloads—no need to catch a plane and deal with lines, crowds, heat, or spilled beer!

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from R.E.M., Mike Watt, Exene Cervenka, & More

 
Above: Video for "ÜBerlin" from R.E.M.'s "Collapse Into Now," which is streaming online until its release on March 8th.

There's a great selection of free album previews online this week, led by the first new R.E.M. album in years—and many are calling it their best in more than a decade and a half. Also: new albums by Exene Cervenka, Dropkick Murphys, and Minuteman co-founder Mike Watt.

Here's a sampling of what's streaming right now; as always, check out each site for the full selection of free album previews available.

NPR First Listen:
* "Collapse Into Now" by R.E.M. (streaming until March 8, its release date)—this is said to be their best release since "New Adventures in Hi-Fi," which was the last R.E.M. album that I enjoyed all the way through
* "All Eternals Deck" by The Mountain Goats (streaming until March 29)—I haven't liked everything this band has done, but am always willing to give them a try
* "Smoke Ring For My Halo" by Kurt Vile (streaming until March 8)—I've only heard a few songs from this singer-songwriter from Philly; this will be a good chance to listen to get a feel for his work

KCRW Album Preview: 

* "Different Gear, Still Speeding" by Beady Eye (streaming until March 24)—first album from the new group featuring Oasis singer Liam Gallagher and several other members of the band

* "The Excitement of Maybe" by Exene Cervenka (streaming until March 29)—the latest solo album from the co-founder of the legendary L.A. punk band X

Spinner.com's Listening Party has albums including:
* "Volume 2 - High and Inside" by The Baseball Project—the second album by the baseball-themed band that includes indie rock all-stars Craig Finn (The Hold Steady), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), and Ira Kaplan (Yo la Tengo).
* "Going Out in Style" by Dropkick Murphys—the latest effort from the Celtic-meets-punk band
* "Long Player Late Bloomer" by Ron Sexsmith—he's a singer-songwriter, but not always a folkie, and this new album is produced by Bob Rock (known for his work with Metallica)
* "The Valley" by Eisley—glad to see a new disc by this brothers-and-sisters folk/pop band
* "hyphenated-man" by Mike Watt—the latest album by the bassist and co-founder of The Minutemen and fIREHOSE

AOL Music Listening Party has album previews including: 
* "Original Sin" by INXS—the '80s and '90s hitmakers do an album of their own tunes as a tribute to their late singer, Michael Hutchence. Features guest vocals by Rob Thomas, Ben Harper, John Mayer, and more

Free Music: Live Streaming Concerts by Best Coast & Wavves, The Decemberists, Sarah Harmer

Sarah Harmer (show here at the last year's Vancouver International Folk Music Festival) has a recent free concert available for download from CBC 2. Photo: Penguinstorm

A few recent live concerts are now available for streaming (and download, in a couple of cases). One is by the acclaimed new surf-rock revival group Best Coast, another is by The Decemberists, and the third is by longtime Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, who's long been a favorite of mine. (By the way, if you like Best Coast, the MP3 version their album "Crazy for You" is only $5 at Amazon.com for the rest of Jan. 31st (you've got until 3 a.m. Eastern time on Feb. 1st).

* Best Coast and Wavves live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Available for streaming and download.

* The Decemberists live in their hometown of Portland, Oregon earlier this month. Audio and video streaming.

* Sarah Harmer live from Massey Hall in Toronto. Available for download and streaming (song by song or entire concert)

* as a bonus, here are twin singer-songwriters The Watson Twins doing a three-song live mini-set for Daytrotter.com (including a cover of Sade's "Sweetest Taboo"). Streaming or download.

New Music Podcasts: Favorite Cover Tunes, Elvis Costello Live, Gospel Christmas Tunes, & More

Check out the free music podcasts below for holiday and non-holiday music for your Christmas travels. Photo: SteveStrummer 

Since lots of folks are traveling around Christmastime, how about some downloading some music podcasts to listen to to occupy the time? Here are a bunch of them, enough (we hope) to drown about the all loud cellphone conversations of the people around you at the airport or on the train. And the more raucus holiday arguments at the dinner table.

* Over at Coverville, you'll find a stocking full of recent podcasts. First off, there are the first two parts of the podcast's annual countdown show of listeners' 40 favorite cover tunes. Included is recent NBC "Sing-Off" contestant On the Rocks performing their a cappella rendition of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance."

Also on Coverville is the two-part tribute to the Talking Heads, performed by the podcast's listeners. As you'd expect, the quality and styles vary widely, but Coverville clearly has some very talented listeners.

And finally, Coverville offers its Christmas Cover Show 2010, with new versions of not-your-average holiday tunes, including remakes of "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses and "Last Christmas" by Wham.

* The CBC Radio 3 podcast presents Home for the Holidays, a show in which listeners from all over the world make long-distance requests of their favorite songs by Canadian artists to send out to their loved ones.

* If your taste in Christmas music runs to the sacred side, download the podcast of the annual Christmas Eve Gospel Music program on WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show. It includes tunes like Mahalia Jackson singing "Silent Night" and the Swan Silvertones doing "Great Day in December."

Also, the Lopate show today rebroadcast (and reposted the podcast of) a live set by Elvis Costello and band at WNYC from back in November. He plays tunes from his latest album, produced by T-Bone Burnett, which shows the country/bluegrass side of the British rocker.

* KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic has a new in-studio live set with Jamie Lidell, the British producer who, the station says, can be found "sliding into neo-soul songs as easily as he slices through spacey folk-blues." For some reason recent MBE podcasts don't show up on their webpage, bou can download the podcast through iTunes (and probably other podcast download programs as well).

Merry Christmas!

Free Album Streaming: New Music by Graham Parker, Diane Birch, Deadmau5, & More

Here is the latest in my semi-regular listing of new albums (mostly) that are available for free streaming online. In particular, Spinner.com has some tasty albums including the latest releases (though they aren't necessarily brand-new anymore) by Broken Social Scene, Local Natives, and Superchunk.

See the respective websites for a full listing of album previews being offered. The date that streaming ends is given, when known.

KCRW Album Preview: 
"December Songs" by a cappella group Sonos (streaming until Jan. 4, 2011)
"Suave Patria" by Mexican Institute of Sound (until Dec. 28th)

NPR First Listen:
"We'll Never Stop Living This Way" by various artists: collection from the label Ghostly International, with songs ranging from rock to ambient to electronica by Mobius Band, Gold Panda, School of Seven Bells, and many others (until Dec. 14)

Spinner.com's Listening Party has albums including:
"Dark Night of the Soul" by Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
"Root for Ruin" by Les Savy Fav
"Gorilla Manor" by Local Natives
"Lucky Shiner" by Gold Panda
"Sigh No More" by Mumford and Sons
"The Budos Band III" by the Budos Band
"Infinite Arms" by Band of Horses
"Forgiveness Rock Record" by Broken Social Scene
"Tourist History" by Two Door Cinema Club
"Majesty Shredding" by Superchunk
"Teen Dream" by Beach House

AOL Music Listening Party has album previews including: 
"Dharohar Project" EP by Laura Marling & Mumford and Sons
"4x4=12" by Deadmau5
"The Velveteen Age" by Diane Birch with the Phenomenal Handclap Band
"Wonders of the Younger" by Plain White T's
"Live at the FTC" by Graham Parker and the Figgs
"An Open Letter to Thelonius" by Ellis Marsalis
"The Minnesota Beatles Project by various artists (Beatles covers by artists including Soul Asylum, the Meat Puppets, Mason Jennings, and Corey Chisel)

Free Music: KCRW Live Streaming Sets from School of Seven Bells, Pete Yorn, Best Coast, & More

KCRW's great in-studio performance program Morning Becomes Eclectic has a new podcast up of a live set with School of Seven Bells, the project that features Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines with the twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza.

I first heard of them in their previous visit to Morning Becomes Eclectic, but while the music in that performance was more electronic and dance-oriented, this latest appearance has a more stripped-down, acoustic sound. The band plays tunes from its latest album, "Disconnect from Desire," which came out this summer. You can download the School of Seven Bells live set here, or through iTunes.

School of Seven Bells will be playing live in New York at the Zero Film Festival in Brooklyn on Sat., Nov. 20th and at Terminal 5 on Thurs., Dec. 2nd (supporting The Walkmen).

Other recent MBE performances that you can stream (but not download) include: Pete Yorn (from Nov. 19th), Best Coast, Clinic, and KT Tunstall.