iTunes: Free Wednesday
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: Black Tide,
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. Florida's Black Tide is made up of a group of teenage metalheads from Florida. "Shockwave" is a powerful, knock-down combination of riffs, shredding, and vocals that sound like they're coming from some sort of warrior elf. In other words, the best kind of metal. No jokes. No mixing in a super-poppy chorus to offset the menace. Black Tide is from the school of Judas Priest and early Metallica. Here's to the new breed – long may they reign.
US: Angie Mattson,
Our Discovery Download puts the focus on a different genre each week, offering up a free track we think is worth your attention. Angie Mattson's songwriting has all the whispering sweetness and emotional upheaval that's so prevalent in the music of artists such as Aimee Mann and Cowboy Junkies. It's a good place to be. "Thank You" shuffles along with a bit of sunburnt twang while Mattson spells out this tale of impassioned gratitude.
US: Monareta, Llama
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. Monareta is the name used by Andres Martnez and Camilo Sanabria. The South American duo were inspired to create music by their love of hip-hop beats, big-beat breaks, punk, and funk. "Llama" comes from their latest album, La Bonanza. The tune starts with a big, loping, almost reggaeton-esque beat before veering off into some amalgamation of salsa and heavy dub. Looking for a little headphone magic? Try this track.
International Music
Australia: BoomLa,
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. On a very basic level, BoomLa is the result of the collaboration of musician Ben Brazil and vocalist Syrene. But there are nearly a dozen members that make up BoomLa ("boom" is the beat, "la" is the voice). The sound they come up with on "Sleepwalking" is a deep, rolling funk augmented by a tight brass section, hypnotic sound effects, and Syrene's sassy drawl. We think you'll enjoy it.
New Zealand: BoomLa,
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. On a very basic level, BoomLa is the result of the collaboration of musician Ben Brazil and vocalist Syrene. But there are nearly a dozen members that make up BoomLa ("boom" is the beat, "la" is the voice). The sound they come up with on "Sleepwalking" is a deep, rolling funk augmented by a tight brass section, hypnotic sound effects, and Syrene's sassy drawl. We think you'll enjoy it.
Canada: AlexCuba,
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. AlexCuba is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from (take a guess . . . ) Cuba who also calls Canada home. This track is from his second album, Agua Del Pozo, a mellow collection of soulful rhythms and strikingly agreeable melodies. His music has a touch of his Cuban roots, but has a knack for melancholy that's like a combination of sad Brazilian sambas and more American-ized baroque pop.
Nederland: Chinese Man,
'Chinese Man' is meer dan zomaar een band, het is een 'way of living'. Het Franse beat-, breaks- en hip-hop-collectief brengt je laidback grooves van een hoog niveau. En voor diegene die het meer dan prima album gaan beluisteren; er staat nog een song op die je ongetwijfeld kent uit een commercial.
UK: Leo Abrahams,
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. Leo Abrahams is a guitarist with an ear for atmosphere and vintage sounds. He's applied his skills to recordings for Brian Eno, Starsailor, and David Holmes. You can hear him throughout Holmes' score for the film Ocean's Twelve. This cut from his new solo album, The Unrest Cure, features KT Tunstall on vocals. The track has a gritty funk rhythm with a touch of outer space atmospherics – while Tunstall belts it out like she's the lost sister to the Kings of Leon.
France: Burial,
Chaque semaine, nous trouvons un morceau d'un artiste ou d'un groupe que nous avons apprécié et nous vous le faisons partager." Ghost Hardware " est extrait d'Untrue, le second album de Burial, le producteur furtif de dubstep londonien. Cette chanson apparaît comme une manipulation experte d'humeur, de rythme et de son. Les lignes de basse sont colossales et inquiétantes, comme si elles tombaient des plus sombres nuages dans un ciel orageux. Seules, les voix de diva lugubres et désincarnées offrent un peu des lueurs d'espoir. L'atmosphère et la technique se mêlent ici agilement sur une piste qui représente l'une des manifestations électroniques les plus exaltantes du moment.Si vous aimez ce morceau, obtenez l'album ici.
Japan 今週のシングル: 海老沢タケヲ,
ブレイク直前の新進アーティストをボーダレスにセレクト、そのサウンドを無料でお試しいただけるこのページ。今週ご紹介するのは、熊本県出身の J-Soul シンガー、海老沢タケヲ。ソウル、フォーク、ヒップホップ、ブルースなどを折衷して独特の解釈を施したポップス・サウンドと、切なくスイートなヴォーカルによる気取らない歌詞が魅力だ。現在は大阪を中心に都内でもライブ活動中。1st ミニアルバム「グッバイ」から表題曲をフリーダウンロード!
US Video
US: LOST, LOST
The wait is over. The hit drama returns with the highly anticipated fourth season. Picking up from the shocking finale, we learn from "flash forwards" who from Oceanic Airlines flight 815 gets off the island. The excitement continues to build as new enemies, strange alliances, and tragic events on the islands . . . and off . . . push television's most original drama forward.
US: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Producers Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) and John Wirth (Ghost Whisperer) team up with Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna (producers of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) to bring to television an intense new drama taking place after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Fugitives from the law, Sarah Connor (Lena Headey from 300) and her teenage son, John (Thomas Dekker from Heroes), are confronted with the reality that still more enemies from the future and the present could attack at any moment. They evade pursuers in today's Los Angeles, relentlessly battling to save the human race. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles represents an exciting reinvention of the Terminator series in which the strong and intrepid Sarah discovers that protecting her son and stopping the rise of the machines is more difficult than she had ever imagined.
US: My Big Redneck Wedding,
From camouflage tuxedos to arriving at the wedding on an ATV, some couples are going all out to show just how "redneck" they really are. In front of their family and friends, these couples commit their undying love for each other with shotgun salutes, beer can canopies, and goat guided chariots.
US Audio Books
US: John Grisham, The Appeal
This is the first chapter of John Grisham's new legal thriller, The Appeal. The full audiobook will be available here on January 29, 2008. In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it. Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided? The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice – their Supreme Court justice. The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave listeners unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.