Ektoplazm is now the world’s largest distributor of free (and legal) psytrance music specializing in high-quality Creative Commons-licensed content from netlabels and independent artists, all released in MP3 and lossless CD-quality FLAC and WAV formats.
posted by Trurl on May 23, 2012 - 47 comments

Nants ingonyama bagithi baba! It's been nearly two decades since that glorious savanna sunrise, and once again The Lion King is at the top of the box office. It's a good chance to revisit what made the original the capstone of the Disney Renaissance, starting with the music. Not the gaudy show tunes or the Elton John ballads, but the soaring, elegiac score by Hans Zimmer which, despite winning an Oscar, never saw a full release outside of an unofficial bootleg. Luckily, it's unabridged and high-quality, allowing one to lay Zimmer's haunting, pulse-pounding, joyful tracks alongside the original video (part 2, 3, 4), revealing the subtle leitmotifs and careful matching of music and action. In addition, South African collaborator Lebo M wove traditional Zulu chorals into the score, providing veiled commentary on scenes like this; his work was later expanded into a full album, the Broadway stage show, and projects closer to his heart. Speaking of expanded works, there were inevitable sequels -- all of which you can experience with The Lion King: Full Circle (download guide), a fan-made, three-hour supercut of the original film and its two follow-ups. Want more? Look... harder... [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Oct 1, 2011 - 22 comments

Since 2008, NPR's All Songs Considered has been doing the Tiny Desk Concert series in which they invite a musician or band or very large group to come and play a song behind the desk of the show's host, Bob Bollen, with the video camera running. The result can be intimate, absurd, raucous and just plain enjoyable. A browseable archive of all 150+ shows is here. [more inside]
posted by 1f2frfbf on Aug 14, 2011 - 42 comments

Twenty years ago today, the gaming world saw the launch of a truly landmark title: Sonic the Hedgehog. Developed as a vehicle for a new Sega mascot, the fluid, vibrant, cheery-tuned wonderland swiftly became the company's flagship product, inspiring over the ensuing decades an increasingly convoluted universe of TV shows, comic books, and dozens of games on a variety of systems (all documented in this frighteningly comprehensive TVTropes portal). And while in recent years the series has turned out more and more mediocre 3D and RPG efforts, the original games remain crown jewels of the 16-bit era. So why not kick off this anniversary by replaying the titles that started it all for free in your browser: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), Sonic & Knuckles (1994). Or click inside for music, remakes, and other fun stuff! [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Jun 23, 2011 - 71 comments

"Welcome to the Zion Archive. You have selected Historical File #12-1: The Second Renaissance." So begins the short film of the same name by Mahiro Maeda [Flash: 1 2 - QuickTime: 1 2] -- a devastating yet beautiful work of animation. Originally produced to explain the backstory behind the Matrix trilogy, Maeda's project ended up telling a story far darker and more affecting than any blockbuster. Using a blend of faux documentary footage and visual metaphor, his serene Instructor relates in biblical tones the saga of Man and Machine, how age-old cruelty and hatred birthed a horrifying, apocalyptic struggle that consumed the world. Packed with striking imagery and historical allusions galore, this dark allegory easily transcends the films it was made for. But while "The Second Renaissance" is arguably the best work to come from the Matrix franchise, it's hardly alone -- it's just one of the projects made for The Animatrix, a collection of nine superb anime films in a wide variety of styles designed to explore the universe and broaden its scope beyond the usual sci-fi action of the movies. Click inside for a guide to these films with links to where they can be watched online, along with a look at The Matrix Comics, a free series of comics, art, and short fiction created for the same purpose by some of the best talent in the business. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Feb 14, 2011 - 54 comments

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez drops his fifth solo album of 2010, in Tychozorente, which is available to stream as well as purchase (for a minumum of $6.99) from the link. [more inside]
posted by opsin on Sep 15, 2010 - 35 comments

Stand up comedian and Community star Donald Glover made Internet waves as an unsuccessful candidate to play Spiderman, but his fans may miss his rap career as Childish Gambino, where Glover addresses his struggle to be taken seriously as a musician, the perils of wealth, growing up a nerd, and being in love. Rap lyrics and stand up NSFW. [more inside]
posted by l33tpolicywonk on Jul 22, 2010 - 17 comments

Forró is popular dance music from northeastern Brazil. Forró em Vinil is a blog with out of catalog forró gems for download. But wait, is this legal? [more inside]
posted by Tom-B on Jul 10, 2010 - 11 comments

Omar Rodríguez López of Mars Volta fame has released an album in collaboration with the wonderful John Frusciante which sounds exactly like you imagine it would. It's available as a name-your-price download (also for free) and any amount you pay will be donated to a good cause. Frusciante was also involved in López' latest production which is available under the same conditions.
posted by cronholio on Jun 9, 2010 - 15 comments

Do you like free music, and a whole lot of it? You might want to check out netlabels.
23seconds is a netlabel from Sweden, with music ranging from introspective but fun indietronica to brash electroclash to feel-good Gothenburg disco, all for free (as in beer.)
But what's a real goldmine is their massive netlabel catalogue, with a listing of over 150 labels. Happy downloading! [more inside]
posted by dunkadunc on Apr 28, 2010 - 18 comments

The British music industry is taking the carrot, rather than stick, approach when talking about downloading music. They have created a series of animations about various artists (Blind Willie Johnson, Kate Bush, Nick Cave, The Jam etc - I particularly like the Sigur Ros one) that proclaim 'music matters' and their 'trustmark' will appear on legitimate music downloading sites.
posted by meech on Mar 26, 2010 - 59 comments

Del The Funky Homosapien has two song packs available for free download. His newest album, Funk Man (the stimulus package), is available for the price of your email. All available at Bandcamp.
posted by P.o.B. on May 22, 2009 - 22 comments

We Are Smug is the side project of former Savage Garden frontman turned electropop showman Darren Hayes and collaborator and fellow electronic musician Robert Conley. Hayes and Conley had been working on this project secretly for about two years before releasing it online for free on Hayes's birthday. There are no current plans to tour or sell this album, aside from the free download, but there are already official music videos. (Warning: last link potentially triggering.)
posted by divabat on May 17, 2009 - 14 comments

WFMU's Free Music Archive, "an online digital library of music that will allow music fans, webcasters and podcasters to listen, download, and stream for free, with no restrictions, registration or fees. And it will all be legal." Still pre-launch, but there's already quite a bit of music available on the site, including a sampler CD.
posted by cog_nate on Jul 15, 2008 - 18 comments

Geek Pop '08. Online science music festival at the Null Hypothesis science blog, with mp3 downloads. Featuring the immense Dark Matter by Johnny Berliner. [more inside]
posted by algreer on Mar 7, 2008 - 3 comments

Trent Reznor releases a new Nine Inch Nails album out of the fucking blue called Ghosts. The first 9 tracks are free, and it's on The Pirate Bay. The whole thing is $5 (with a slew of other order options) which you can get on their website (which is getting hammered right now), or on Amazon. The digital downloads are 320kbps MP3/FLAC/Apple Lossless. All DRM-free. [more inside]
posted by booticon on Mar 2, 2008 - 88 comments

Hungry for some retro and slightly offbeat music? Visit Thrift Store DJ (owned and operated by Metafilter member Otis) and download or listen to streams of albums from many different genres such as Bossa Nova, Caribbean, Exotica, Flamenco, General Fruitiness, Greek, Hawaiian, Latin, Mambo, and Polka. Via (in a roundabout way)
posted by cog_nate on Feb 13, 2008 - 14 comments

Is the music industry embracing free, legal music downloads? Qtrax is now in beta.
posted by The Deej on Jan 27, 2008 - 53 comments

Ninjatune podcasts including Coldcut and Big Dada podcasts, a Ninjacast which delves into the record crates of various ninja artists, and of course a Solid Steel podcast with 60-odd mixes available.
posted by nthdegx on Nov 10, 2007 - 16 comments

First the Sub Pop Single of the week club brought us Nirvana, then the Moshi Moshi Singles Club, brought us Kate Nash; now more and more labels are having a go. What's more, the kids are buying seven inch singles again. Is this a backlash against digital downloads? Or just nostalgia for the 45?
posted by MrMerlot on Aug 28, 2007 - 43 comments

Fuck Yuo I Am a Robot are offering their album Compensator for the Accelerator for free download from their site. Infectious ass-shakin' Estonian electro-pop. Lyrics to track 2 NSFW, likewise sleeve art jpgs if you opt for the .zip download. You can sample one of the tracks, Hydraulic, on YouTube if you don't know them and would like to check them out first, though personally I can't get enough of Zukunft (direct mp3 link).
posted by nthdegx on Jul 12, 2007 - 18 comments

OK X - Radiohead's OK Computer covered by 12 modern artists. Free download.
posted by puddleglum on Jul 11, 2007 - 50 comments

The major label machine sucks in and churns out young bands all the time, leaving plenty of good music unheard by the public. Boston's trip-hoppy Splashdown were one of the acts brought low by this process, disbanding two years after Capitol decided not to release their major label debut LP. The late 90's were a commercially bad time for female-fronted electro-pop, of course, but the band found an outlet for their material by releasing it for free online -- their whole catalog, including three LP's, two EP's and some double-secret-unreleased tracks, is available with the band's blessing. Members have since joined other bands -- Freezepop, Universal Hall Pass -- which hopefully will avoid the trouble Splashdown had.
posted by aaronetc on Feb 24, 2007 - 37 comments

Iannis Xenakis Lives On
posted by hama7 on Jan 26, 2007 - 17 comments

Amie Street: "[A] recently launched music Web site that carries independent -- and mostly little-known -- artists, is trying an unusual model for selling music. Instead of selling songs at one fixed price, the site determines prices for songs based on how frequently they're downloaded." [WSJ link].
posted by pfafflin on Oct 20, 2006 - 6 comments

The Broad Band has released an on-line protest song: God Save the Internet. Jill Sobule, Kay Hanley, and Michelle Lewis are trying to stir up a webgrass protest against what may already be a done deal. They are in favor of Net Neutrality, by the way.
posted by mmahaffie on Jun 13, 2006 - 30 comments

Properly Chilled, "a great guide to the downtempo music scene/lifestyle, spotlighting not only the essential release reviews, label/artist profiles and other data on the genre but also exclusive DJ mixes and all kinds of other goodies" (via). Check out the totally free, totally chill Radio Jazztronica #3 mix from DJ Chicken George. It's 55+ minutes of "unpredictable, energetic and heart-felt" downtempo that packs a serious punch. Did I mention it's free?
posted by JPowers on Feb 8, 2006 - 19 comments

Illin'-Noise! is the new remix of Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois by mc DJ; a torrent is available, as is cover art. It's not quite like Hippocamp Ruins Pet Sounds (previously on Mefi) -- it's not nearly as noisy, and not quite as good, although it's still worth checking out, particularly "Chi-Town" (from "Chicago"), "Zombies" (from "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!") and "Jacksontown" (from "Jacksonville"). [prev.]
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me on Sep 12, 2005 - 26 comments

fleep.com is a wonderful repository of deep house electronic dance music mixes from Tokyo. The fleep.com mix archives is where you can find my favorite mixes such as "7am Sessions," "Situation Satellite," and the newest one, "4th Floor." Enjoy!
posted by gen on Aug 15, 2005 - 14 comments

gameboyzz orchestra project, live @ paris. Don't be put off by the first track of the Paris set - that's just a warm up.
posted by nthdegx on Oct 19, 2004 - 4 comments

Holy illegal downloads, Bibleman! Christian music fans are pirating songs, too! What would Jesus download?
posted by wfrgms on May 4, 2004 - 25 comments

Bedroom Music for Bedroom People A veritable treasure trove of hours and hours of mixes of fine abstract headphone-fodder of varying flavours, be it compelling hiphop or weirdo IDM or just etcetera. A fine way to pass a lazy Sunday away ...
posted by syscom on Apr 18, 2004 - 12 comments

Labels seek end to 99c music per song download
"...the major five labels think that 99 cents per song is too cheap, and are discussing a price hike that would increase the tariff to $1.25 up to $2.99 per song." How about free legal downloads for $6 a month. DRM free. The artists get paid.? Will the RIAA ever see the light?
posted by diVersify on Apr 11, 2004 - 37 comments

whatsthedownload.com "If we download from one of the many cool legal sites no problem." and "Music downloading ain't a black and white issue."
posted by hypnorich on Feb 8, 2004 - 36 comments

The hugely popular iTunes is a success story. But not for Apple, which makes virtually no revenue from the online download service. "When that 99 cents leaves your wallet, the RIAA monopoly swallows most of it, and the credit card companies swallow the rest. As the supplicant in this relationship, Apple is left holding the can." Steve Jobs - "We would like to break even/make a little bit of money but it's not a money maker,"
posted by Blue Stone on Nov 7, 2003 - 57 comments

Everybody needs a 303.
posted by nthdegx on Oct 27, 2003 - 9 comments

Psst! Wanna download some mp3s? Now you can do so without looking over your shoulder to see who is watching. Creative Commons has compiled a selection of tracks utilising their licensing system for free download. The ability to create derivative works and share them around has resulting in some interesting remixes of one of the original tracks, also. via A Whole Lotta Nothing
posted by dg on Oct 22, 2003 - 10 comments

Gee, this a good idea (NYT reg req) - The New York Times discusses the growing popularity of .zip whole album downloads on Audiogalaxy. The article is also kind enough to include a step-by-step how-to for idiots like me who want free music but haven't thought of this before. Thanks!
posted by dydecker on Feb 25, 2002 - 37 comments

"That's one slurpee and five mp3s. . . " Music Tellers will happen one way or another, I'll bet. And there will be places--legal or not--where fast downloading of whatever will be available for a price. (It's been a long time--7-11s still have surpees don't they?)
posted by aflakete on Feb 25, 2001 - 2 comments

free music? Stumbled on this, it seems like a good idea the artists actually approve the download of their mp3s...
posted by jonpanky on Feb 5, 2001 - 3 comments

While we're still mulling over possible country-wide internet taxes in the states, the European Union is proposing a digital sales tax on any downloads of music, software, or videos from outside the Europe. It's just a proposal though, we'll have to wait and see if it actually goes through.
posted by mathowie on Mar 2, 2000 - 5 comments