Free music for your iPhone
Attention, anyone who is living under a rock: the Apple iPhone is now available. Not that we at Download Music have actually acquired one yet, but we have been nagging our friends to lend us theirs. In the meantime, we've been digging through our free MP3 collection to figure out which tracks would, in the event one does land on our desk, get iPhone honors first. The playlists below feature a mix of our favorite up-and-coming and popular artists. Stream now (while you work), then visit the artist pages to download the songs for your iPhone…or any other MP3 playing device, of course.
Spoon, "The Underdog" No longer indie-rock's favorite underdog, Spoon has become an unstoppable powerhouse of a band. Singer/guitarist Britt Daniels shed all insecurities and affectations a few albums back, and his confidence and conviction is exhilarating. Spoon takes incongruous ideas (funky beats, angular guitars, pop hooks) and makes them sound absolutely necessary.
Jill Scott, "Hate On Me" Philly's Jill Scott first blew us away with a mix of hip-hop sense, vintage soul singing, and a poet's wisdom. Scott's latest builds on those themes and expands their scale. As horns blare, Scott belts it out like an earlier generation of soul divas. She no longer recalls them: she's one of them.
Gym Class Heroes, "Taxi Driver" The expanding school of hip-hoppers who rock rhymes over lively instrumentation should welcome these classmates. In addition to making us envious with their skill on the dodgeball court, they've also garnered our respect playing energetic human-generated beats doused with stimulating wordplay.
Bright Eyes, "No One Would Riot For Less" Hailing from the flats of Omaha, Neb., Conor Oberst delivers angst-filled songs with a quavering-yet-melodic lyrical style. He has the range to captivate a festival crowd with just his voice and an acoustic guitar as well as engage his dedicated following with a full-on band.
Arcade Fire, "Black Mirror" As authors of hipsters' last consensus album of the year (2004's "Funeral"), Montreal's Arcade Fire set the bar impossibly high. But on "Neon Bible," they prove to be Olympian pole-vaulters. The LP mixes orchestral angst with currents of classic-rock nostalgia.
Great Lake Swimmers, "Your Rocky Spine" All the elements to complement countryside daydreams are here. Harmonica, banjo, and indie-rock guitars are delicately arranged by leader Tony Dekker. Listening to Great Lake Swimmers will make you want to go skinny-dipping in a cold body of water (as the band name may or may not suggest).
Skeletons And The Kings Of All Cities, "git" Its latest record inspired by driving through the big states in the Midwest, Ghostly International artist Skeletons and the Girl-Faced Boys makes music that sounds almost as unique as its name. Echoing a slighted, lonely vibe via hollow vocals and glitchy production, if Air ever decided to produce more left-field electronica, it would probably sound something like this--with maybe a tinge of influence from Solvent and Schneider TM.
Dntel, "Dumb Luck" You'll recognize his haunting voice from his acclaimed project as one-half of The Postal Service and hear traces of those melancholy beats he mastered as James Figurine. But all that started out 13 years ago when Jimmy Tamborello was Dntel. The last studio album under that moniker came out on Plug Research more than six years ago, but Tamborello's back with those calculated minimal beats, still waltzing drunkenly behind lethargic, unstrained vocals.
Nick Drake, "They're Leaving Me Behind" Nick Drake did what we all secretly believe we could. He stayed up in his bedroom, got out a notepad and a battered acoustic, and wrote melodies whose quality increased with the lateness of the hour. New release "Family Tree" compiles the early efforts of a young man who would master the solo confessional without ever graduating from it.
Nick Lowe, "The Club" Equally channeling Patsy Cline, Elvis Costello, and whatever they're pouring at the corner pub, Lowe's long-awaited new LP is a broken-down, elegant sort of waltz. Few meld gritty ditties with country trappings--honky rhythms, shambling horns, plucky banjos--like the languorous Lowe.
Avett Brothers, "Will You Return?" This is not your father's country music. With twangy arrangements and indie rock-approved vocals, the Avett Brothers inspire thoughts of a traveler who is somehow both homesick and sick of being home. If there's a future for bluegrass, this remarkable trio will lead the way.
D-Sides Vol. 6: D-Sides To Go The first-ever downloadable D-Sides mix includes a wide range of hip-hop artists from all over the map. Artists include Soul Position, A.G., DJ Sat-One feat. Bahamadia, J-Live feat. Thes One, People Under the Stairs, Masta Killa, Mathematics, Tha Alkaholiks, Sharkey, and DJ Zeph feat. Raashan Ahmad. Of course you can also download every track in this mix individually if you prefer--we just made it easier for you.
