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Free Top Music Downloads

Stereogums 50 Most Popular MP3s of 2008

The Stereogum blog has put together a compilation of the MP3s that have been downloaded the most from their Website this year (over a millions times!). These are mostly promo tracks that give you the chance to download free MP3 album music from new bands. People really appreciate the excellent music that Stereogum selects for their blog postings and the free MP3’s actually make them buy more CDs!

MP3.com Charts

The top MP3.com music charts are updated daily based on how many downloads and plays a certain song gets within 24 hours. A download is ranked as more important than a play for the list. They show the song’s most recent rank and the highest it has ever been. This is a great way to see what all the users of MP3.com have filtered out as the best by the year end.

Jangle Pop’s Best Downloads of 2008

Jangle Pop has put up a compilation of 19 songs based on what readers thought were the best downloads. You can get all the tracks in a zip file and check out the album art for the project which is pretty cool and lists the MP3s and artists in the collection.  If you need zip file software my free favorite is tugzip.

I wrote an acoustic love song called “It’s You” that I recorded in English playing solo and I decided to mix in an ambient track and remaster it to make the recording sound a bit fuller.

Free Music Download: It’sYouAmbientMix.MP3 - CC Licensed - More

Lyrics and Chords

It’s You

| D D7 | G Gm |

Thanks for coming over last night
I loved the movie and your eyes in the candlelight
I heard your song on the radio and I smiled the whole time
Oh Lord, the trouble we can find

Whether the sun shines, or whether it rains
It’s you, you’re a part of me
When I’m not with you I feel you in my veins
It’s you in the very heart of me

I feel a bit silly for drinking and crying
I guess there is still so much sadness underlying my gladness
Thank you for being so sweet to me through it
Just wanted you to know that my spirit is lifted

Whether the sun shines, or whether it rains
It’s you, you’re a part of me
When I’m not with you I feel you in my veins
It’s you in the very heart of me

I feel like I have been away from you for so long
Like love that waits a minute and can’t wait no more
On the shore with no protection opened up to the world
In an ocean so endless, every tear drop
Makes ripples into waves and waves into worlds
Worlds that come and go while I wait for you

I really loved waking up with you today
I only wish we could have had the day to play
It’s just a shame that we couldn’t sleep in together
All tangled up and safe from the snowy weather

Whether the sun shines, or whether it rains
It’s you, you’re a part of me
When I’m not with you I feel you in my veins
It’s you in the very heart of me
It’s you, you’re a part of me
It’s you in the very heart of me, it’s you

In addition to writing standard pop rock songs I like to create loop-based instrumental ambient and techno electronic music sometimes. I use Fruity Loops, Acid, and tons of wav samples to produce these download-able recordings.

You can also register to get a new track by email as soon as I finish an MP3.

My Free Techno Music Downloads this Week:

This one is called “Copper Mountain” and it has a dark ambient world beat feel.

CopperMountain.mp3 - CC Licensed - More

“Snapsphere” is more of a classic old school techno mix.

SnapSphere.mp3 - CC Licensed - More

“Rapid Arc” is an industrial trip hop futuristic sounding track.

RapidArc.mp3 - CC Licensed - More

This song “In the Deal” has some hip hop beats with jazz sax loops.

IntheDeal.mp3 - CC Licensed - More

The drum and bass MP3 track “Dublin Forever” is one of my free dance mixes with reggae style vocals.

DublinForever.mp3 - CC Licensed - More

You have my permission to legally download these tracks under the creative commons music license for listening or royalty free background music.

Free Music Download Tutorial

I came on this great tutorial for IPod and iPhone from iLounge that details the ins and outs of how to download MP3s from iTunes, Amazon, Walmart, Napster, eMusic and Rhapsody.  By the way if you don’t already know when you download MP3s you want what is called “DRM-free” audio because that places no restrictions on your ability to burn to CD, make copies for yourself or whatever else you want to do with the file.

The Latest MP3s Around the Web

I also found this free music download from a band called Funeral Party that I think is really upbeat, fun rock with a bit of a gritty, funky edge to it.  Also, I discovered the Friendly Foes MP3s, an indie alternative band with a fresh sound that I liked too.

If you like Hip-hop, check out the CraveOnline December Free MP3 Roundup.  I dig DJ Babu’s track “Dearly Departed” which has a very unique new style that combines a Latin feel with rap.

If you like to workout and you are always looking for new electronic music to get moving then check out FitMusic.  The music is kind of generic but it’s programmed to be uptempo and easy to listen to so, and I thought I would mention it because you can also subscribe to the iTunes podcast.

Music Download Controversy in Schools

If you or someone you know is in college you have probably heard of the music industry’s new idea for college students to be able to download unlimited music for a monthly fee.  This is sparking a lot of controversy that you can read about here.

Related Free Music Downloads Articles:

• eMusic hits 250 million downloads
• eMusic: 250 Million Songs Downloaded. iTunes: 5 Billion+
• AT&T; offers Napster music
• O2 signs up with Napster
• More Music Sites (Part 3)
• SanDisk Sansa Clip MP3 Player: Best buy

Bob Dylan at Lida Festival
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My New Rock Acoustic Free Song Download “The World Will Break Apart”

I was listening to an acoustic version of the song “Glycerin” by Bush and I loved the simple sound of a few chords and cool lyrics just with the acoustic guitar.  So I set out to write something in that style and what came out is a song called “The World Will Break Apart”.  It doesn’t sound like “Glycerin” at all, but I was just learning “Heart Shaped Box” by Nirvana, so that feel also came out when I was writing.

MP3 Download:  TheWorldWillBreakApart.MP3 - CC Licensed - More

The lyrics are inspired by a book by Eckhart Tolle called “The Power of Now“. “The World Will Break Apart” sounds like a negative title, but in fact it refers to letting go of the “false” world constructed by society and our own preconceived idea of ourselves.  In my mind Tolle is really a modern Buddhist teacher and you can learn more about him at FreshCreation.com.

Rock Chord Progression Observations

This song reflects a growing simplicity in my writing style that has occurred over many years.  In fact, I have noticed more and more modern rock songs have fewer and fewer chord progressions:

For instance, Cold Play’s Viva La Vida sounds like an orchestral masterpiece, but when I learned it I was amazed to find that the ENTIRE song is only four chords - C D G and Em.  There is absolutely no variation between the verses, chorus and bridge.

Another very simple modern rock song, that was also a #1 single is “Supernova” by Oasis.  Everything but the bridge is A A/G A/F# E.

This one progression style is how some people wrote in the 60s - for instance “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix and “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan.   Also of course the most famous song in the world - the blues - is just one progression.  The point is that one set of chord changes is inherently catchy and easy to play.

Also on my Internet music radar this week…

New Free Music Download Tools

Song Beat Player

I’ve been reading here that the latest in finding music and discovering new artists and music online is the SongBeatPlayer.  It lets you listen to and record streaming radio stations, make mixtapes and download free mp3 files.  The big deal about it is how simple it makes searching many music sites all at once.  But you should use it at your own risk for anything other than listening.

Sounds like a great idea, however, I have to agree with songbeat.com and musically.com that it could get you into legal trouble.  The software itself is not a bad thing, it’s just that it enables you to copy music that may not be allowed by the copyright holder.  Indie artists like myself often give people that permission, but record labels do not as a rule.

Yahoo Music Streaming in Search Results

I think Yahoo has come up with the quickest way to stream an artist or band’s music for free.  Just go to Yahoo.com search and type in the name of your favorite act.  You will now get immediate streaming tracks right in your search results!  Read the details and give it a try, it’s really cool.  Yahoo is trying to beat Google lately.

Backstage

Also, keep an eye on the site called Backstage.  They are attempting to make a business out of charging bands to give away free music in order to promote themselves.  In fact if you go to the backstage site they already have some new songs available.  I classify this under “things that make you go hmmm”.