Category: Downloads (Page 11 of 13)

Steal This Song: Carlon, “Cantaloupe”

September 2, 2008 / David Medsker

Holy “Jesus Was a Crossmaker,” Batman.

New Jersey: It’s not just for bar bands anymore. This quartet does the best Hollies impression we’ve heard in ages, good enough to blow away anything by Band of Horses, to whom the band is favorably compared in their press release. Now, we like that Band of Horses album as much as the next guy, but there isn’t anything on Cease to Begin that comes close to matching the beauty of “Cantaloupe.” Is it just us, or does everyone else hear Christopher Walken’s voice when they see the word ‘cantaloupe’? Blame it on too many viewings of “True Romance.”

The band’s full-length debut, Johari Window, comes out September 30. We can’t wait to hear the rest of it.

Carlon – Cantaloupe

Americana, Artists, CD QuickTakes, Downloads, External Music, Songs

Steal This Song: Jem, “On Top of the World”

August 17, 2008 / David Medsker

Ooooh, her music is so dreamy. And she’s not hard on the eyes, either.

The press release for Jem’s upcoming album Down to Earth threatens that it will be a disturbingly eclectic affair, using choirs, banjos, Latin beats and even Cut Chemist doing his thing. Her blog-approved song “On Top of the World,” however, is all about the blissed-out pop. Not that there is anything wrong with that. St. Etienne’s best-of receives near-daily play at Chez Medsker, so this sounds just fine to me. I will reserve judgment on the “funky banjo” track until I hear it, though.

Jem – On Top of the World

Artists, Downloads, External Music, Pop, Songs, Soul

Steal This Song: ism, “Sacred Cows”

June 19, 2008 / David Medsker

Anyone who needs a temporary fix to tide them over until Muse drops their next album (rumored to be slated for late fall), this should do the trick. In fact, New York quartet ism are a little too good at the, um, Museisms, to the point where they have little identity of their own to speak of. The title track of their upcoming album, Urgency, takes elements of three Muse songs – “Time Is Running Out,” “Apocalypse Please,” and “Butterflies and Hurricanes” – and rolls them into one. They’re not awful – they just need to figure out who they really are. If there is one takeaway moment from the album, it’s this. And we’re giving it away for free download. Dig in, Museies.

Ism – Sacred Cows (Radio Edit)

Alternative, Artists, Downloads, External Music, Rock, Songs

Steal This Song: Black Crowes, “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution”

March 5, 2008 / David Medsker

Those Black Crowes are a quirky bunch. They refuse to send review copies of the new album Warpaint to the press to prevent the album from leaking (though that didn’t stop Maxim from running an “educated guess preview” review of the album anyway), yet they have an open door policy when it comes to taping shows. Now, with the album safely in stores, the band has granted the use of their latest single, “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution,” for free download on blogs. They went from “No one can hear it” to “Everyone can have it for free” in 4.8 seconds flat. Huh.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the foremost spokesperson for the Black Crowes on staff, so I don’t really know how this fits in with the material from their previous album, Lions. I can tell you this, though: this is as good a Faces impression as you’re likely to find. Pretty damn good, if you ask me. So what if it “didn’t leave the band much room for growth,” as Maxim hilariously presumed. It’s only rock and roll, but I like it. Yes, I do.

Black Crowes – Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution.mp3

Artists, Downloads, External Music, Rock, Songs

Steal music from the Counting Crows. (It’s okay, they want you to.)

January 16, 2008 / David Medsker

Man, we love it when these kinds of emails come along. Most established bands will only grant us access to a stream of their latest single (see my Lenny Kravitz post from a week or so ago). Not so, Adam Duritz and his Counting Crows. To promote their upcoming album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, the band has given us .mp3s of two songs, “1492” and “When I Dream of Michaelangelo.” Dig in.

To download the songs, click here.

Artists, Downloads, External Music, Pop, Rock, Songs