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| Copyright Spencer Higgs 2013 |
Death and Taxes... and Music
Not everyone loves music. I know, right. Weirdoes. But those who do, do. They get it. It gets to them. Music, incidentally, is like people: some being likeable, some deplorable; the distinction intrinsic to whomever is the listener. My girlfriend, Hailey, (who, apropos to nothing, is beautiful and lovely and a wild dancing fool-angel of cool, and best not forget it) once harangued me for referring to pop songs on the radio as "shit music". She argued no music is shit music; it means something to someone. Indeed, she's right, and I haven't used the term since... in her company.
Further personifying tunes, good songs become good friends. And unless you are a frat boy (and if you are, it's cool, dude-bro, I'm not hatin'), you probably don't like paying for friends. (Okay, I'm hatin' a little bit.) The point is, everyone loves free music. And while musicians are by each passing day facing the day when welfare and food stamps will soon be the near-norm for even the fleeting few popular acts, the Internet Age has opened listeners' doors to vast exposure and vast access. And the cool part is, so much of it is free these days--legally!
Free Music Archive: An awesome compendium of independent artists, spanning many genres (even delving into spoken-word poetry). Most of it is shi... not quite what you're looking for, or, rather, a good example of musicians on the brink of becoming good musicians. However, there's talent in the atmosphere, undoubtedly. FMA's blog will keep you posted on new bands and recent & popular downloads. Download one song, or whole albums.
Last FM: Technically another online radio station/service, Last FM offers up demos of free and purchasable downloads. Definitely want to tune into its radio, though. Downloads route through Amazon, which, if you're willing to weed, also allows to freely uncover some pretty cool grooves.
Groove Shark: Speaking of grooves, Groove Shark lets you to create your own online playlist. While this concept is nothing new, and hardly unique, what allows Groove Shark to stand out is that it works by allowing anyone to upload songs into the database. Wanna download some Tom Petty? Well, if someone's uploaded "House in the Woods", you can add it to a user-friendly, drag-and-drop playlist. Wanna hear a classical quartet rendition of Tom Petty? Well, if someone's uploaded their musical foursomes' horse-hair-and-string recording, it's yours to play in your playlist to your little hearts content. Great way to open your eyes to good sounds.
(P.S. Groove Shark was formed in Gainesville. Tom Petty's from G-ville... go Gators... just sayin'.)
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