iTunes: Free Tuesday
Once again, TUAW is pleased to present you with a selection of free songs and videos from around the world. Many of these iTMS items won't be free for long, so grab your copies before the week is up. And don't forget: If you want to buy these on your iPhone or iPod touch, make sure to sign into your account in iTunes before you sync.
US Music
US: Holy Ghost!, Hold On
Each week, we find a track from an artist or a band we've been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. NYC's Holy Ghost is made up of two individuals – Nicholas Millhiser and Alexander Frankel, who seem to agree on one thing: disco rules, and the dirtier it is, the better. "Hold On" is a stripped-down pulse-pounder, heavy on the bubbling synths, deep bass kicks, and hand claps. Streamlined into a party track that fits in between the last hours of all-night indie rock dance-a-thon and the reenergized funk of an early morning electro-funk DJ set, Holy Ghost are bringing their love to urban masses.
US: Sin Animo De Lucro, El Parrandero
Each week, we find a track from an artist or a band who's on the cusp of success and bring it to you, for free, as our Canción de la Semana. With "El Parrandero," Colombian group Sin Animo De Lucro has concocted a pop song that has a relaxed Mediterranean air, but it also draws on some regional sounds and drops in just a touch of rock guitar. More importantly, it contains enough rubbery bass lines to keep your body moving.
US Video
US: Nimrod Nation
This eight-part original documentary series from filmmaker Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) profiles rural Watersmeet, Michigan, where everyone follows the progress of the local high-school basketball team – the Nimrods. More a portrait of a small American town than a conventional sports documentary, Nimrod Nation sympathetically observes life and conversation in the local coffee shops, hunting lodges, and locker rooms as the long, cold basketball season unfolds.
International Music
Australia: Iota, Come Back for Me
Each week, we find a track from an artist or a band we've been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. "Come Back For Me" is a grand epic tune from the Sydney songwriter know as iOTA. Accented by crashing, swirling guitars and iOTA's grandstanding vocals, the track bodes well for the full-length Beauty Queen From the Sea.
New Zealand: Iota, Come Back for Me
Each week, we find a track from an artist or a band we've been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. "Come Back For Me" is a grand epic tune from the Sydney songwriter know as iOTA. Accented by crashing, swirling guitars and iOTA's grandstanding vocals, the track bodes well for the full-length Beauty Queen From the Sea.
Canada: Amiina, Rugla
Each week, we find a track from an artist or a band we've been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. Think you've got all the dreamy Icelandic indie rock in your life that you can handle? Think again! Amiina are an Icelandic quartet who have recorded with Sigur Ros. Ostensibly, they are a string quartet, but there are a variety of tape manipulations, guitar, and assorted loops to make you think more of mixtapes than music halls.
France: Cocoon, On My Way
Chaque semaine, nous trouvons un morceau d'un artiste ou d'un groupe que nous avons apprécié et nous vous le faisons partager.Lauréat du concours CQFD 2007 des Inrockuptibles, Cocoon s'est rapidement imposé comme un groupe remarquable grâce à leurs excellentes prestations au Printemps de Bourges ou à celles des Eurockéennes de Belfort. Composé de Mark Daumail et de Morgane Imbeaud, Cocoon nous envoûte grâce à des mélodies délicates ainsi qu'une écriture musicale épurée et poétique, dans la lignée de Nick Drake ou d'Elliot Smith.Si vous aimez ce morceau, obtenez l'album ici.
Nederland: DuvelDuvel, De Bron
Er komt weer lawaai van DuvelDuvels beruchte Apenrots, het album Puur Kultuur is er. Duvel, Supahdupa en producer Dion worden gehaat en geprezen en dat terwijl bijna niemand de ware identiteit van dit illustere trio kent. Bekend is dat hun hoofdkwartier 'de Apenrots' zich ergens in Rotterdam bevindt en dat ze vanuit die plaats sinds 1998 al een zestal albums de wereld hebben ingestuurd. De mysterieuze Rotterdamse hiphop-groep bestaat dus al een behoorlijke tijd, de afgelopen paar jaar is de harde kern aanhangers en fanbase echter verveelvoudigd.
UK: Iron & Wine, Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)
Each week, we find a track from an artist or a band we've been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. If it weren't for Sam Beam's sweet, breathy voice, you would be hard-pressed to guess that this was the same Iron & Wine that brought us 2002's ghostly, lo-fi The Creek Drank the Cradle. But Beam's palette has expanded in five years and this track from The Shephard's Dog is a glorious hi-fi dub adventure with a deep bass kick and some reverb that might make fans of David Essex's "Rock On" happy.