The variety and quality of free music available on the Internet is simply staggering. The motherlode of music blogs out there donating MP3 freebies of rare, out-of-print and previously unissued recordings make this historical moment the goldenest age ever for music obsessives. As anyone who's done a bit of online audio prospecting knows, the problem isn't just finding the stuff, it's finding the time to excavate the many armloads of albums you absolutely, desperately, ravenously must have.
And that's where this new venture comes in. Since I'm already spending practically every waking moment trawling for tunes (just ask my wife and kid), I thought I'd offer—on a regular basis—a dynamite list of the best of what I'm unearthing. So stash the fancy helmet with the headlight, settle into a comfy armchair, and feast your ears on this first installment of:
Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)
Iconic Old-Timey Brother Act
Complete Allen Brothers 1927-1934
(From: Lonesome Lefty's Scratchy Attic)
Afrobeat Unheard Since '65
Unreleased Fela Ransome-Kuti
(From: Voice of America)
'70s Funk from the Islands
Rare Afro & Caribbean Funk, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
(From: Music Is So Special and Hasta Luego Baby!!!)
Mambo Maestro's Masterpiece
Perez Prado, "The Voodoo Suite"
(From: El Diablo Tun Tun)
[password = eldiablotuntun.blogspot.com]
Psych-Folk from '60s Detroit
Spike-Drivers
(From Música Ácida)
Blue-Eyed Soulster's Outrageous Resurrection
Tony Joe White, "The Beginning"
(From: Bluestown)
[password = bluestown.blogspot.com]
Boffo Big Bands from Britain 1931-1946
Various, "Black British Swing"
(From: Pathway to Unknown Worlds)
[Must use Megaupload—the other services are deleted]
Peruvian Garage Mania
Los Yorks', "Los Yorks' 67"
(From: Garage Mania)
Japanese Fuzz-Freakout with African Percussion
Uganda, "Uganda
(From: Crotchbat)
Enchanting Polyphony from Sardinia
Tenore de Orosei, "Amore Profundi"
(From: Italian Folk Music)
Check out every installment of Mining the Audio Motherlode
Give the Drummer Some, Fridays on WFMU, 9 to Noon (ET).
A few helpful words about the downloads:
Follow the links provided to blog pages offering the downloads. Look for the download link on the page. (Occasionally, the link is listed in the Comments section. Also, if the original download link is no longer active, check further down in the string of comments; a new download link may be posted there.)
Some downloads deposit a folder on your desktop; others leave an rar. file, which needs to be opened using special software. This software is FREE and available online. (If you use a Mac, I highly recommend UnRarx.)
Some blogs provide passwords, which then must be entered when opening the rar. file. The password is typically listed right next to the original download link.
Be sure to search the archived pages at each individual blogs to find more musical gems. Also, check the blog rolls at each blog for leads to other great blogs.
Searching for a specific artist or album? Use Google's BlogSearch or try Captain Crawl.
Posted by: Doug Schulkind | January 28, 2009 at 12:07 PM
I hate you for this post. I already have a laundry list of great sites that I check daily, and now I have a dozen more. Thanks a lot. This should just about complete my wife's grounds for divorce. I'm so overstuffed, that sometimes I'm actually happier when something that I've downloaded is terrible and I can throw it away -- and none of your selections are terrible. You suck.
Posted by: john mick | January 28, 2009 at 01:32 PM
John,
I suggest you consider using Google Reader for managing your blog visitations. It won't reduce the hours of downloading (I currently have more than 500 items queued up ready to go), but it does put everything in one central location.
Posted by: Doug Schulkind | January 28, 2009 at 01:52 PM
Wow Doug, this series is going to be great!!
Posted by: Jason Sigal | January 28, 2009 at 03:48 PM
Doug, thanks, these are great. Rare Kimio Mizutani, I am so there! There are at least 2-dozen music blogs I already keep tabs on, but these that you've posted are all new to me.
Posted by: WmMBerger | January 28, 2009 at 05:10 PM
Thanks a lot Doug -- very glad you're doing this for those of us with crazy-hours straight jobs who don't have much time for blogmining
Posted by: Dan Bodah | January 29, 2009 at 01:47 AM
Does anybody know how to DL the Fela tracks? They appear to be streaming only.
Posted by: nikkos | January 30, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Nikkos,
Try disabling the JavaScript on you browser, then try it again.
Cheers!
Doug S.
Posted by: Doug Schulkind | January 30, 2009 at 12:14 PM
THANK YOU!
Posted by: nikkos | January 30, 2009 at 02:27 PM
I'm right with you man, my bookmark's folder, and it's sub-folders, are all filled up with great music that is just waiting to be mined. Nice work too.
Posted by: David | January 30, 2009 at 09:07 PM
For those interested in vintage/psych folk, but value your free time and your spouse, don't go here:
http://time-has-told-me-artist.blogspot.com/
Especially don't go digging through the 11 Kazuki Tomokawa entries.
Posted by: EC Brown | January 30, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Nikkos, Doug: the Fela tracks are streaming only. None of the audio content on African Music Treasures (Voice of America is not the name of the blog) is downloadable.
Posted by: tom | January 31, 2009 at 07:53 AM
Pick up the track name in source and add to the base URL?
Example:
http://www.voanews.com/english/africa/blog/images/Media/FELA_magbeyenwa.Mp3
Posted by: 1mckrs | January 31, 2009 at 12:35 PM
The Fela tracks appear to be downloadable after all. I suck.
Posted by: Tom | February 02, 2009 at 05:19 AM