» Amazon is giving away more than 3,000 MP3s; Christopher Porter is culling through them for a series of mixtapes. Click here to see all the MPFree entries.
REGGAE SINGER GREGORY ISAACS' great, charismatic and distinctive voice is gentle but not too smooth, seductive but not creepy and soulful without being bombastic.
He's not known as the "Cool Ruler" for nothing.
One of the most popular and prolific singers in Jamaican music history, Isaacs can buckle the knees of women with his love songs, which are plentiful — dude has never met a tune or a recording studio he doesn't like.
Below are six free Gregory Isaacs MP3s from Amazon; click on the song title, which will open up a new window and you can download the track gratis from the Internet megastore.
Continue Reading "MPFree: Gregory Isaacs (Amazon Mixtape)" »
» Amazon is giving away more than 3,000 MP3s; Christopher Porter is culling through them for a series of mixtapes. Click here to see all the MPFree entries.
YOU KNOW THE MUSIC of John Holt even if you don't know his name. As the lead singer of the great Jamaican vocal group The Paragons, Holt was the voice behind such reggae hits as "On the Beach" and "My Best Girl," but it was Blondie's cover of his composition "The Tide Is High" that has put royalties into his pockets for years (or so one hopes).
But it was as a solo artist, singing covers and lovers' rock, that Holt became a superstar in England in the '70s. He returned to more rootsy material in the '80s, and to this day the ultra-prolific veteran vocalist navigates between sweet soul-reggae and deeper Rasta-steeped tracks — but people respond to the honey-voiced crooner no matter what he's singing.
Below are 13 free John Holt selections from Amazon; click on the song title, which will open up a new window and you can download the track gratis from the Internet megastore.
» "Hey Love" (from "Peacemaker")
» "Survival Time, Part 2" (from "Peacemaker")
» Amazon is giving away more than 3,000 MP3s; Christopher Porter is culling through them for a series of mixtapes. Click here to see all the MPFree entries.
DENNIS BROWN IS the second most popular Jamaican singer behind Bob Marley.
His tunes cover everything from roots reggae to lovers' rock, and he recorded approximately 400 godzillion songs — all of them seemingly hits: If you've ever been in a club when a Dennis Brown track is dropped, the shrieks of "Big chune!" can be deafening.
Also like Marley, Brown died young, but he was insanely prolific during the 42 years he spent on Planet Earth. Below are seven free Dennis Brown selections from Amazon; click on the song title, which will open up a new window and you can download the track gratis from the Internet megastore.
» "Lovers Paradise" (from "Lovers Paradise")
» "Your Heart's Desire" (from "Lovers Paradise")
» "That's No Lie" (from "Lovers Paradise")
» "No Matter What You Do" (from "Lovers Paradise")
Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."
BAND: Prints
SONG/ALBUM: "Yippy" | "Just Thoughts" EP (Temporary Residence)
SOUNDS LIKE: Slow groove electronic pop with high, spirited crooning
D.C. BOUND: I don't think so, Bucky.
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Continue Reading "MPFree: Prints, Crystal Stilts, Chandeliers, The Silent Years, Obi Best" »
Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."
BAND: Jihae
SONG/ALBUM: "Simple Man" | "Afterthought" EP
SOUNDS LIKE: Aimee Mann backed by downtempo electronica rather than geeetars.
D.C. BOUND: Doesn't look like it ... but then, I've been too busy staring at her photo to really check. (That sounds much creepier than I actually mean it. HEY NOW!)
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Continue Reading "MPFree: Jihae, Tricky, Teddy Thompson, Wild Sweet Orange, Jason Tyler" »
Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."
BAND: Theresa Andersson
SONG/ALBUM: "Na Na Na (Empty Heart)" | "Hummingbird, Go!"
SOUNDS LIKE: Swedish pop recorded in a kitchen in New Orleans — all of which is true
D.C. BOUND: Oct. 24, Iota, Arlington, Va.
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Continue Reading "MPFree: Theresa Andersson, These Are Powers, Alias, Woven, The Weeks" »
Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."
BAND: Pelle Carlberg
SONG/ALBUM: "1983 (Pelle & Sebastian)" | "The Liliac Times"
SOUNDS LIKE: Despite my recent lobotomy, my gray matter is just intact enough for me to say Belle and Sebastian (doiiii); plus, it sounds like Tobias Froberg sat in on bongos and banjos
D.C. BOUND: No, but here's hoping the Hej Hej ladies can hook it up
GET MORE: Web site | MySpace | Wiki
Continue Reading "MPFree: Pelle Carlberg, M83, Sunfold, Benoit Pioulard, Warez" »
Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."
BAND: The High Decibels
SONG/ALBUM: "Miss Candy" | "The High Decibels"
SOUNDS LIKE: Wicked Delta blues hip-hop
D.C. BOUND: Noooooo, natch
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Continue Reading "MPFree: The High Decibels, Sébastien Tellier, Koushik, A-Trak, Tone Tank" »
Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."
BAND: Locksley
SONG/ALBUM: "All Over Again" | "Don't Make Me Wait"
SOUNDS LIKE: The Wonders (the band in that Tom Hanks flick "That Thing You Do!") with a 1980s power-pop energy
D.C. BOUND: The re-release of the CD comes out Sept. 9, but the band is going back in the studio, not on the road
GET MORE: Web site | MySpace | Wiki
Continue Reading "MPFree: Locksley, Stereo Image, Kray, Restiform Bodies, TK Webb & The Visions" »
Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."
BAND: Parenthetical Girls
SONG/ALBUM: "A Song for Ellie Greenwich" | "Entanglements"
SOUNDS LIKE: Early OMD, before they touched you once, they touched you twice, before they wouldn't let go at any price — with dashes of Philip Glass and Burt Bacharach
D.C. BOUND: Not yet; maybe after the album drops on Sept. 9
GET MORE: Web site | MySpace | P.R. site
Addison Road