Free Streaming Albums: New Music from Magnetic Fields, Memoryhouse, & More

Probably the most anticipated of the new albums streaming online this week is the latest release from The Magnetic Fields, "Love At The Bottom Of The Sea," the group's first album since 2010's "Realism." Leader Stephin Merritt has a history of making abrupt changes in the band's sound from album to album, and NPR Music says this new work is a return to its earlier synthesizer-based approach.



Video for "Andrew in Drag," from the new Magnetic Fields album.

But don't expect to settle in with any of the songs for very long: NPR's review says, "These 15 songs feel slight by design—the longest track is a brisk 2:39, and the whole enterprise clocks out at about 34 minutes—but there's a world of wit in their brevity."

Also streaming online this week is "New Multitudes," another album of Woody Guthrie lyrics set to music by modern artists, this time Jay Farrar, Jim James (of My Morning Jacket, under his oddball alter ego "Yim Yames"), Will Johnson, and Anders Parker.

Other notable streaming albums including the latest from two newly popular Canadian outfits, Memoryhouse (its first full-length) and Plants and Animals, and new releases from Andrew Bird, Anais Mitchell, and Amy Ray (half of the Indigo Girls).

You'll also get a second chance at hearing "Ghostory" by School of Seven Bells, which KCRW and NPR had featured earlier.

As always, the albums listed below are just a sampling of those streaming this week; check the websites for full lineups. Albums are generally available for streaming for a week or eight days, beginning each Monday, though sometimes they may be available a day or so longer.

Let us know in the comments section which ones below you like, or what other new or upcoming releases you're enjoying.

NPR First Listen:
"Love At The Bottom Of The Sea" by The Magnetic Fields
"Milk Famous" by White Rabbits
" Break It Yourself" by Andrew Bird
"Ekstasis" by Julia Holter

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Lung of Love" by Amy Ray
"The Slideshow Effect" by Memoryhouse
"Myth" by Geographer
"Ghostory" by School of Seven Bells
"Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun" by The Wooden Sky
"New Multitudes" by Jay Farrar, Yim Yames, Will Johnson, Anders Parker
"The End of That" by Plants and Animals
"King of the Waves" by Little Barrie
"Those of Us Still Alive" by Tiny Victories

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Perfect Crime" by Magnolia Memoir
"Young Man in America" by Anais Mitchell

Smithsonian Folkways Podcasts FREE on iTunes

The Smithsonian Folkways collection is a vast treasure trove of the history of American music from the last century or so. Now iTunes is making available FREE a series of 24 one-hour video episodes from the Folkways collection, consisting of music, spoken word, and sound recordings. The episodes are available in the iTunes University section of iTunes.

The Folkways recordings episodes cover music styles from country to bluegrass to blues, and each covers a particular artist. This is a great way to get an education (and a free one, at that) about the history of American musical styles and forms. As the iTunes description notes, "the music of modern day giants like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Ani Difranco is interwoven with original Folkways recordings to demonstrate the lasting legacy that Folkways Records has on popular music."

Of course, you'll find older musical pioneers including Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Leadbelly, as well as the noted author Studs Terkel.

You can learn more about Smithsonian Folkways and their projects, and buy their recordings, at the Smithsonian Folkways Web site.

Woody Guthrie Nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award

It's been 40 years since he died, but folk music pioneer Woody Guthrie is nominated for a 2008 Grammy award for a rare live recording of his, The Live Wire - Woody Guthrie In Performance 1949.

A native of Okema, Oklahoma, Guthrie is known for many classic American songs, most notably This Land Is Your Land. When he died of Huntington's Chorea in 1967, he left behind hundreds of lyrics for songs.

Woody's son Arlo Guthrie was a popular folk singer in the 1960s and 1970s who is best known for the song "Alice's Restaurant." Woody's daughter Nora Guthrie manages the Woody Guthrie archives, and about a decade ago she enlisted the British singer Billy Bragg and the American alt-country band Wilco to put music to some of the many pages of lyrics by Woody Guthrie that had no music. You can learn more about Woody Guthrie and his archives at www.woodyguthrie.org.

Sarah Lee Guthrie, a daughter of Arlo Guthrie, makes music with her husband Johnny Irion.

Woody Guthrie died of Huntington’s Chorea in Queens, NY on October 3, 1967. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 in the "Early Influence" category.

The 1976 biography "Bound for Glory" starred David Carradine as Woody Guthrie.