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You searched for ‘free’, which matched 90 songs.
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Premonitions  performed by Townhall
Recommended by Reina [profile]

This song will probably be very hard to find. They are kind of a local band and not that well known. But they are really cool--unique, passionate, free spirited. Basically hippies. In Premonitions they express concern over the state of the planet but remain upbeat and optimistic.

"Let's be creative with our destinies..."




Sugar Magnolia  performed by The Grateful Dead
Recommended by Reina [profile]

Possibly the greatest song of all time...or at least my favorite. If someone were to take the season of summer and magically turn it into a song, this would be it. Free, happy, beautiful...embodies the fresh feeling of summer. A must have.

"Head's all empty and I don't care..."




Uncle John�s Band  performed by Grateful Dead
Recommended by Reina [profile]

Another classic by one of my favorite groups.
Beatiful and free like any other song by them. Great lyrics.

"Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go..."





  xfanatic50: This is one of my all-time favourite Dead songs!!! I love the harmonies, and how simple and folky it is.
Qui est in qui est out  performed by Serge Gainsbourg
Recommended by VichyFrance [profile]

This is the best song ever to play while driving in the fast lane on a crowded freeway.




Fire and Water  performed by Free
Recommended by dwmjuk [profile]

The first proto-heavy metal band and a direct link between metal and blues. Heavy driven blues. Free sound extremely sparse compared with similar bands and this is part of their appeal.





I Found Love  performed by The Free Design
Recommended by gutterandstars [profile]





  djfreshmoney: How about filling in the rest of the info, including the reasons you're recommending the song! Tell me why you think this group and the song are good! Without that, your recommendation isn't really worth anything.
  eftimihn: Hmmm, there have been lots of new users lately that sign in and recommend some dozen songs without any information except title and song. Seems pretty pointless to me, i mean evryone could recommend 100 songs in an a couple of minutes that way. Apart from that, amazing song for sure...
  delicado: I think the key is to assume no knowledge on the part of the reader when describing the track. A lot of us are so into our favorite music that perhaps for a moment we imagine everyone else is as well. But the fact is that with no explanation, a recommendation probably means nothing to most people. I love this song as well, although a fellow DJ once laughed at me for playing it in a bar!
  konsu: My two cents may contribute to an already long thread but, I have to add as a writer on this site it takes guts to reccomend a Free Design song that doesn't sound like Stereolab. And I should mention the same for any DJ that plays them out. Let em' laugh Delicado!
12 Inch 3 Speed Oscillating Fan  performed by Red Meat
Recommended by snoodlededoogans [profile]

country shuffle with fiddles and down-home vocal harmony. short humorous track about summertime heat. catchy, easily repeatable without getting bored/sick of. near the top of my current favorites playlist and has been for weeks. it's available online at dmusic and mp3.com.au FREE. if u aint heard it and like broad americana...do yourself a favor and download it now. u won't be disappointed. their other tracks are as good!




Still is Still Moving To Me  performed by Toots & The Maytals w/ Willie Nelson
Recommended by Steenie [profile]

I'd actually never heard of this band, but after having heard the song over the speakers in a bookstore I was in I went to one of the cashiers and asked her the name of it. She passed me the CD case...now it is one of my favourite tunes (to listen to and to sing!).

Very catchy reggae, simple but meaningful lyrics. And though Willie Nelson has never been tops on my favourite singers/bands list, I veyr much like the way he sings this song...and surprisingly he doesn't sound so out-of-place doing reggae. I'd like to know what other recordings of this song exist. In the meantime, listen to this version!

The percussion is VERY cool.

"Still Is Still Moving To Me"

Still is still moving to me
And I swim like a fish in the sea all the time
But if that's what it takes to be free I don't mind
Still is still moving to me
Still is still moving to me

And it's hard to explain how I feel
It won't go in words but I know that it's real
I can be moving or I can be still
But still is still moving me
Still is still moving to me

(Repeat)

from True Love, available on CD


Free Money  performed by Patti Smith
Recommended by Shes lost control [profile]




Blue Hill Day  performed by Chris Dedrick
Recommended by moondog [profile]

If only life could be like this. Taken from The free designs head honcho Chris Dedricks soloalbum "Be free" this is the best cut on an album that is 50 percent quite awful (free design meets prog rock, not so good) 50 percent quite lovely (free design meets simon & garfunkel, much better) Well, particulary this track that gets closest to that simon and garfunkel comparision.

from Be Free
available on CD - Wishes (Beatball)


dedication  performed by Chuck and mary
Recommended by moondog [profile]

If the free design had come from greenwich village and opted for a more folk pop approach they could have sounded like the candian siblings Chuck and Mary. Their songs perhaps doesn´t have the same strong song hooks as "the design" but way more make up for it in their timeless sound and magical voices. Especially on this heartrending track which you can find in an orchestrted version on their second album or acoustic on their first.I´d go for the acoustic one.


available on CD - the last word or life is a stream (rev-ola)


I Want To Break Free  performed by Queen
Recommended by JMoritz [profile]




I'm A Free Man Now  performed by Faron Young  195?
Recommended by Aquatown [profile]

This song is a "new country" music fan's worst nightmare. This is the kind of song that they are afraid people will think they like when they admit to liking country music. Faron had learned his Hank Williams lessons very well before setting this one down.

from Buck Owens-Ferlin Husky-Faron Young (Hilltop JM-6027)



Secret Love  performed by Kathy Kirby  1963
Recommended by Latimer [profile]

This is a British artist who does not deserve to be forgotten. She has a free, ranging voice and total charisma. Her trouble was that she got ripped off for life by a lecherous old-guy manager (Ambrose), who was mainly concerned with her considerable charms and the earnings he could siphon off to himself. She is now impoverished, but remains a great past-pop figure, and a great singer. Also a so-called icon of the homo world, where melodramatic performances are always appreciated. She was contemporary with the Beatles, but of a musical world they left behind.




I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'  performed by We Five  1966
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Kinda surfy bouncy arrangement of this old Gershwin number, with five-part harmonies! Free Design ain't got nothin' on these cats!

from You Were On My Mind (A&M)
available on CD - You Were On My Mind/Make Someone Happy (Collectors' Choice)




  konsu: These people were just great. So many great versions of cool songs, done in some unexpected yet refreshing ways! "Love me not tomorrow" is such a moody stunner, and I love their bossa-folk version of "Make someone happy"! For fans of 60's folk-pop that takes chances, and consistently amazes.
  bullitthead: they kept me alive and well through Viet Nam
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead  performed by Sammy Davis Jr. & Buddy Rich  1966
Recommended by bobbyspacetroup [profile]

I'm not going to say much about this track aside from it being one of my favorite Sammy Davis, Jr. performances. This really shouldn't work, but it does. Chalk it up to the genius of Sammy.

from The Sounds Of '66 (Reprise RS 6214)



  n-jeff: But isn't Sammy Davis Jnr just like that? Silk purses out of sows ears, I treasure his performance of 'If I could talk to the animals'. It should stink, but it doesn't. Its a real treasure.
  konsu: He also managed to spin gold from "Mr. Bojangles" without too much effort... A dying breed indeed.
  olli: even though his vocal version of the hawaii 5-0 theme (you can count on me) is unbelievably corny, i absolutely love it. a party favourite. i even made an animated ninja movie about it.
Las Estatuas de Marfil  performed by Los Yaki  1967
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Tijuana's favorites race through a tough Question Mark-esque organ 'n' handclap version of "The Philly Freeze".

from Volumen 2 (Pickwick Mexico)
available on CD - La Gran Epoca de Los Yaki (EMI Latin)




  RCA76: I absolutely love this group, right on!
The Proper Ornaments  performed by The Free Design  1967
Recommended by scrubbles [profile]

So groovy. Outstanding popcraft from an outstanding group. Love the contrasts between such pretty music and Chris Dedrick's trenchant lyrics. The arrangement - heavy on the trumpets and harpsichords - is exquisite. Fetch me my paisley nehru jacket, Gweniviere.

from Kites Are Fun (Project 3)
available on CD - Raindrops (Siesta)




  tempted: Kites really are fun!
  charlesives: Blow your mind (but not completely)!
  konsu: See!!
  Delimit: defintely one of their better songs. it's one of those weird songs that every once and a while i need to listen to about 50 times in a row. great lyrics, Free Designs usual amazing vocals and some slick arrangement.
Orange Skies  performed by Love  1967
Recommended by bobbyspacetroup [profile]

It's taking me a while to get a handle on Love. Some songs I really like, but some I just can't get engaged in. This song, composed not by Arthur Lee but by bandmate Bryan Maclean, is perhaps my favorite Love song so far. [Turns out my other favorite Love original, "Alone Again Or," is also a Maclean composition. Go figure.] This track's tone is different from what I've heard in the band's other stuff. Softer and poppier, more along the lines of my favorite tracks by Eternity's Children, Free Design, or somebody like that. I love the way the flute just sort of floats over the whole song.

from Da Capo, available on CD (Elektra)



The King  performed by Mel Torm�  1967
Recommended by Pal [profile]


available on CD - Right Now! (Columbia/Legacy)


today  performed by tom scott and the california dreamers  1967
Recommended by norfy [profile]

had this on a tape for ages and have recently found a japanese copy of the cd on impulse-awesome jazz/soft/easy vibes straight out of the free design school of harmonies-today [ a jefferson airplane cover i believe] is a jazzy/psych number that makes me half close my eyes and dream of places far away and times past-i would recommend the rest of the album too-all soft pop and sitar jazz...mush better than his fusion nonsense [bar the theme to starsky and hutch] from the 70's.the album is called the honey suckle breeze and is a revelation.

from the honeysuckle breeze, available on CD


Your Love Is Free (Just Like The Wind)  performed by Cilla Black  1967
Recommended by Mister C [profile]

A track unearthed from the archives in 1997 by Cilla's son, its fabulous and should have been a single.




Make The Madness Stop  performed by Free Design  1967
Recommended by charlesives [profile]

Masterpiece! This record, a legend amongst those who know it, with its fine writing, arranging and singing clearly deserves its place in the Pantheon of great pop. It may have failed commercially in its time but the beauty of their pop puts it amongst the best of our times and explains why 37 years after its creation it remains exquisitely artful to our ears. I could write 100,000 words scratching at what I love about this group and their first 4 records, and this song alone.But, the Free Design deserve, rather than my dull hyperbole, a good listen. Rousing and sublime, almost TOO GOOD to have been a big hit. If you read a bit about them you realize that these singing siblings made some naive career choices that favored music over money. Our gain.
Some bonehead on this site claimed The Free Design sound like Stereolab. That writer got it butt backwards. Sadly, Stereolab doesn't have the skill to really reach the musical and spiritual depth of the Free Design. Stereolab's OK, don't get me wrong, but they are often a pale imitation of a much richer source. Letitia from Stereolab cites The Free Design as one of her all-time favorite bands, so at least they have sublime taste and honesty when it comes to revealing their sources.

Guaranteed to lift you up way high.
Buy or download NOW!!!

Fave part: "Wish that I were corny....:

from Kites Are Fun, available on CD



  konsu: No, you have it backwards, because your emotions get in the way. Understandable though, with this group, and particularly this song (which is one of my all-time faves). It "blows your mind but not completely..." is what I like to say. Stereolab have always worn their influences on their sleeves, from the Beach Boys to Can. And it seems like I should explain by saying that they are a gateway group for so many young people to discover older pop, but shallow as some are, they only like the FD songs that sound like more contemporary artists. Not that it's a super bad thing, just a little dissapointing, considering the depth and beauty of this groups entire body of work... Dig? Love, Bonehead.
Kites Are Fun  performed by The Free Design  1967
Recommended by eftimihn [profile]

Well, i guess musicaltaste is a rather safe place to recommend some Free Design without getting laughed at. It always strikes me they haven't been more popular back in the late sixties. "Kites Are Fun" is one of their more popular and one of their best tracks for sure. Uber-jolly, playfull, catchy with superb vocal harmonies, gentle guitar, flute, bass and drums and some keyboards.

from Kites Are Fun, available on CD




  nighteye: This is great song! Sunshine pop at its best, how can you not feel happy listening to this song? I like kites!
  Festy: I really dig "My Brother Woody" from the same album. Whoever the drummer is, he really cooks on this track.
  konsu: The drummer's name is Bill LaVorgna. He has an unmistakable touch on the drums. He's also on some of Pat Williams Verve LP's.
Feelings  performed by the Grassroots  1968
Recommended by tinks [profile]

Given the recent reevaluation of "mainstream" 60s pop acts such as the Association, the Monkees & Free Design, it seems a shame that more people aren't aware of how great the Grassroots were. Best known for their oldies-radio staples "Midnight Confessions" and "Let's Live for Today", they were purveyors of great well-crafted, country-rock-tinged pop music. This track is a perfect example, deftly combining vibes, mandolin, handclaps, fuzz guitar and terrific lyrics into an inimitable 60s L.A. sound. Check them out, it's high time that they got their due. And a special note for all you trainspotters out there...you can see the band perform this song in the 1968 Doris Day vehicle "With Six You Get Egg Roll".

from Feelings (Dunhill)
available on CD - Anthology: 1965-1975 (Rhino)



  adam12: Right! I can remember most local bands covering this tune in the mid-late 60's. Sounds good coming out of a garage. Kinda like "Nobody But Me" by the Human Beings.
The Happiest Day Of My Life  performed by Queen Anne’s Lace  1968
Recommended by gregcaz [profile]

Soft-rock magic. This song is breathy, light, and perversely sad-sounding. Maybe wistful is the word. The album is in the finest Free Design-sounding tradition, including covers of Beatles, Bacharach, Paul Simon, "Sally Go Round The Roses," and such top-shelf originals as this. Truly splendid.

from Queen Anne's Lace (Coral CRL 757509)



Giro  performed by Elis Regina  1969
Recommended by gregcaz [profile]

The MPB goddess breaks free from her previous samba-jazz orientation towards a more pop vibe in keeping with the Age Of Aquarius, via a short-n-sweet Adolfo-Gaspar composition.

from Elis, Como & Porque, available on CD



Ride The Wind (live)  performed by The Youngbloods  1969
Recommended by opl3003 [profile]

This live recording of "Ride The Wind" is a wonderful nine minute take on the six minute studio version available on The Youngbloods 1969 "Elephant Mountain" album.

Recorded live in NYC as a trio, The Youngbloods never sounded better. Jesse Colin Young is on bass. Banana plays guitar and keyboards, and Joe Bauer on drums. Sparse, almost scatted vocals mixed with improvisational instrumentaion help this song lightly float along. The bass solo gives me goosebumps, and accents the playfulness of the improv style the Youngbloods exhibit on this song.

I really like this song because it sounds so mellow and free. One of the best ways you can spend almost 10 minutes of your life. Give it a listen, you won't be sorry.

from Ride The Wind (Raccoon / Warner Bros. Raccoon #4)



  DRMUSE: I went to a concert in longmont Colorado on a June Night in 1970 in the Full Moon Light, where I heard Ride the Wind and Sunlight and On Sir Francis Drake, and Banana's Fender Rhodes with the picture of Elephant Mountain painted on the front could be seen for miles. The CD i recently found these treasures on is One Way # OW 34535, available through Amazon, GET IT ! It has some of the most amazing music you ever heard if you are a Youngbloods fan. It is also demarcated BMG Specialty Products DRC11575. Whatever your music is, people, enjoy it , sometimes it is all you have. And everybody learn to play. Maybe we could have a battle of the guitars instead of the guns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Flying Up Through The Sky  performed by The Oxfords  1969
Recommended by eftimihn [profile]

An underrated, forgotten gem of perfect sunshine pop. Why this is rather little known is completely beyond me, since the song just has it all: breezy, swirling, lush strings, tight rhythm section, sweeping french horns and great male/female vocal harmonies. It's an uplifting uptempo song, pretty much in the vein of the 5th Dimensions' "Up, Up and Away".

from Flying Up Through The Sky, available on CD




  artlongjr: This is gorgeous! Great title, too. I've never heard of this band before.
  Major Minor: YES! The Oxfords have three of my favorite Sunshine Pop tracks: Flying Up through the sky, My world and Lighter than air... all great sunshine pop... however be warned much of the rest of the album seems to my ears to be fairly awkward Blues rock attempts that just don't work to my ears.... but those three tracks are Sunshine Pop perfection!
2002 - A Hit Song  performed by The Free Design  1969
Recommended by rum [profile]

Despite '2002 - A Hit Song's insistent chorus of "it's gonna be a hit, hit, hit!", by the end you're not convinced, "it's not gonna be a hit is it Free Designers?" "No� I'm afraid not Rum. To be honest it hasn't a hope in hell. Oh yeah we're bitter, of course we are, but, you know, when you're in the idiom of soft rock you can't get away with angst, you've got to maintain this 'pleasing' fa�ade, so that's why we sound so jolly, so 'up' on this song. But yeah, it's hard..." Yes, they may, as they sing, have "sealed it with a kiss" but the cracks show. And it's that that makes this song particularly memorable. It's fascinating to see the rips in their Peter Pan wonderland, a place where they usually spend their time flying kites, blowing bubbles, befriending dolphins. And so this palpable excitement you hear in their heady harmonies is not fuelled by a surefire optimism of success but by an almost delirious desperation, "hit, hit, hit, sure to be a hit, hit, hit, gonna make a hit, hit, hit" they sing, panting, shaking nervously, craving that big fix. The track is a flip-side to the Byrds' 'So You Wanna Be A Rock'N'Roll Star'. Both are bitter recipes for pop success but whereas the Byrds are pissed off that any talentless buffoon can follow their recipe to success get a hit, the Free Design are pissed that "We did all this last time, and it did not work!". I guess you have to suffer for your art, and maybe the Free Design were having too happy a time. Or maybe their hair didn't swing right or their pants weren't tight.

from Heaven/Earth, available on CD



  olli: heh..brilliant commentary.
  konsu: Wow. I never thought of that song as such an exploded schematic. But it does shed light on their own self awareness even if unintentional at the time.
Only For You  performed by The Match  1969
Recommended by laughingmood [profile]

I love the "New Light" album by the Match. Such a perfect example of soft pop. I think these guys, along with The Small Circle Of Friends and The Free Design, are the perfect example of what harmonic soft pop sounds like. This track, with that great trumpet line, is just one of 14 classics on this album. I had heard some label in Korea was supposed to be re-issuing it but that was a long time ago.

from A New Light (RCA)


The Creator Has A Master Plan  performed by Pharaoh Sanders  1969
Recommended by rum [profile]

A bit like in that James Bond film, �Live and Let Die', when all those somber funeral marchers suddenly go ape and break out into that frightening carnival procession. That but ten hundred fold. Or like a farmers market massacre on a beautiful summers day in June. One of the two. The Pharoah admitted as much in a recent interview. He said it had nothing to do with the creator having a master plan at all. "yeah I'd just finished reading that James Bond book, you know, with the skulls and shit and on the box comes this quiz show with all these animals being ritually slaughtered on it. And I thought, hey up, I've got a crackin' idea!"

Regardless of the themes and inspiration, it's an unbelievable track. Even if the descriptions "free jazz" and "34 minutes" set off all your alarm bells, I urge you let it go this one time, I urge you to seek it out.

It's better than the five most recent recommendations COMBINED! Can I get away with saying something as stupid as that?

from Karma



  n-jeff: The only Pharoah Saunders I've heard is on Alice Coltrane's "Journey to Satchinanda" (Scuse the poor spelling) which is remarkable. Not only is the playing remarkable, but so is the fact I love it so much, considering it's not only a saxaophone, but it's also in the 'too many notes' style of Jazz. But Saunders playing just seems to float around on top of everything else. Beautiful stuff. but anyway, what I really wanted to know was, is he really a Yorkshireman? (Ey up!?) Blimey.
  rum: yes, it's a little known pharoah fact, he was born in a little village just outside Barnsley.
  konsu: Thembi is another fine record for him as well.
Ask Yourself Why  performed by Michel LeGrand  1969
Recommended by konsu [profile]

A really nice cinema-pop gem from the team that brought us The Windmills of your Mind. Sung by Sally Stevens, one of Hollywoods great voices. Such a charming little song. It's one of those things you instantly play again after the first time you hear it. It's more or less a song about freedom, with lyrics that still sound fresh today:"...Bullets fly like popcorn on the screen, recommended wholesome nice & clean, making love's the thing that can't be seen... Why?"

Found it on this sort of cash-in LP for LeGrand's UA soundtrack work from 1970. Originally from the soundtrack for "La Piscine", which is harder than hell to find on it's own. The LP is awsome for fans of LeGrand for it has 3 tunes from "The Thomas Crown Affair" , "La Piscine" , "The Young Girls Of Rochefort" & the jazz theme from "Play Dirty".

from The Windmills of your Mind (United Artists UAS 6715)


Lookin� At A Baby  performed by The Collage  196?
Recommended by konsu [profile]

Another awsome but forgotten vocal group from 60's California that deserves a proper re-issue!The Collage were a vocal quartet(2 boys & 2 girls)with a very cool sound.Not enough to set them apart from the pack,but very groovy out of their context.The sound is as good as re-discovered groups like Free Design, or Millenium.In fact,Curt Boettcher wrote one of the songs on the LP,as well as Roger Nichols!
This song has a kind of"love awareness" message that seems just as relevant in today's troubled world: "...Look at a baby,what do you see?What do you see,lookin' at a baby?/I can see the world the way that I would like the world to be!..."This song,as the opener on the LP,has a lot of power, with that great 8th note stomp and a big,boomy,bass line with harpsichord.The arrangements are by the great Perry Botkin Jr.,and he gives the whole record a nice swirling,magical quality.And the rest of the album is just as impressive, and should be worth the high price for any lover of the genre.

from The Collage (Smash SRS 7101/MGS 27101)



  kwan_dk: Great song! I was lucky enough to find their album for 1 (!) dollar at a garage sale and loved that great opening track...
  rum: I heard a version of this track on that excellent rhino handmade 'Hallucinations' compilation. It was by the Collectors. I'm not sure whether it was the original or not, but it's really good. I remember looking at a picture of the band and thinking that if these 'collectors' started peering over into my baby's pram, I'd be wheeling him away to the nearest bobby. Ah such was the carefree innocence of the 60s that shabby young men could spend balmy afternoons in the park staring at young children.
  maya: I love this album! I may post some recs once I've listened to it a few times more...and since the year has a question mark, it's from 1967! they've got such a soft, sweet sound, that it's hard to resist.
  artlongjr: This song and band are great, no doubt. They were Canadian and later evolved into Chilliwack (who I haven't heard). I have their first LP which contains this song, and is excellent, it's a classic of West Coast psychedelia. I had a chance to hear their second album from a friend of mine who works in a record store, it's terrific! I think I heard that the name "Collectors" was given to them by a manager or record executive...but please, overlook the dorkiness of the name! This song is getting around, I now have it on two comps.
5:09  performed by Bobby And I  196?
Recommended by Pal [profile]

When it seems like The Free Design finally have got the attention they so well deserve, I would like to recommend something that is very close in my opinion... Bobby and I! 5:09 fits in perfectly between Love so fine (Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends) and 2002-A Hit Song (The Free Design). The arrangment is incredible, there's a unique singer-singer magnetism on the top and the drums and bass makes me wanna dance the days away. Jim Gordon play drums (how many records has he done?) and the bass player, Rod Ellicott, is brilliant. Of course they added the song with string, horns & flutes... It's sunshine all over! I don't know anything about them, I only have this fine record, so if you know anything feel free to send me an email.

from Bobby and I (IMPERIAL LP-12420)


White Rabbit  performed by Jefferson Airplane  196?
Recommended by mattypenny [profile]

I'm going to post 3 linked songs. Eventually. This one, Somebody to Love by the same band and then the recent cover of Somebody To Love by the Boogie Pimps.

Anyway I must have heard this before, but sometime within the past few years it popped up on a free magazine compilation. I probably associated the band with their 80s (?) incarnation - the band that did 'We built this City On Rock and Roll'. Each to their own, but I have to say I really didn't like that song at all - to me it was bland, radio and MTV friendly big haired, anthemic music for people who don't like music. Really sorry if it was your favourite, but as I say, each to their own. White Rabbit is to me is the total opposite.

The best way I can think of to describe the sound would be as being like a cooler, more rocking 60s version of 'Metal Postcard' style Siouxsie and the Banshees. The words are a druggie take on Alice in Wonderland, and it finishes with the singer (Grace Slick?) basically shouting 'Feed my head' over and over. Although I wouldn't condone the sentiment (Just say No, kids!), it's all very impressive. It couldn't be less bland, radio and MTV friendly.

If you like the Banshees, Bauhaus, indie in general or on the otherhand the darker Beatles stuff or the Velvet Underground you might enjoy this.




cry a little longer  performed by the grodes  196x
Recommended by olli [profile]

pretty straightforward mid-sixties garage tune.
what really grabs me about this is the ambience created by the organ/ drum combo in the refrain, wich gives it a kind of mideval/ primal feel. (feel free to arrest me on this one as i know virtually nothing about those genres. it's just the description that sprung to mind:)
don't know too much about the band, as this was a random file sharing find.

is there any kind of music that fits better into a compilation format than the countless garage one hit- or no hit- wonders of the sixties? didn't think so.


available on CD - let's talk about girls



Bubbles  performed by The Free Design  1970
Recommended by PappaWheelie [profile]

Sunshine Pop in the same vein as "Up, Up and Away" by The 5th Dimension of "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things" by The Cowsills...but Bubbles has a smidgen of funk in the drums and bassline. This track was also covered recently on the 'Powerpuff Girls' soundtrack.

from Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love (Project 3)
available on CD - Bubbles (Siesta)



  Sem Sinatra: This is the undoubted King of Sunshine Pop ... how can you possibly top the follwing: "My tummy has a little pain, when does Jesus come again?"
  charlesives: Notice the wacked out time signature in the hook. They shave a 16th note off the hook making it a little Mahavishnu-esque. A couple of years before Mahavishnu of course.
Bubbles  performed by The Free Design  1970
Recommended by Pal [profile]

Grovvy pop. A little favorite.

from Sing For Very Important People
available on CD - The Best Of... (Var�se Sarabande)


Band of Gold  performed by Freda Payne  1970
Recommended by scorzonera [profile]

A tiny nugget of sparse beauty. Punk as fuck.
Nothing is wasted here, bass, drums, guitar, backing vocals adding minimal textures to carry Freda's direct, heart rending vocal, which itself is virtually vibrato-free. An astonishing recording when put in context of the overblown rubbish which dominated the charts at that time (most times, come to think of it).


available on CD - Unhooked Generation: The Complete Invictus Recordings - 2001


The Lord Is Back  performed by Eugene McDaniels  1971
Recommended by human-cannonball [profile]

The first track on the seminal 'Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse' LP McDaniels cut in 1971 is the most furious and energetic of the album. Spiritual afro-soul-rock with a politically aware attitude. A very 'dirty' psychedelic electric bass guitar with a top-class drummer (Alphonse Mouzon) comprise a hard-hitting rhythm section to remember. I prefer this very bluesy track over the more obvious selections from this top-notch release, e.g. the haunting Jagger the Dagger, and Freedom Death Dance.

from Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse (Atlantic)




  konsu: Nice choice!I always liked this song too but could'nt get anyone to pay much attention to his work.One of the more social/politically charged soul jazz records.Cherished by hip-hoppers for years,and sampled quite a bit.Needs to stand again on it's own merits!
Falling Free  performed by Bert Kaempfert  1971
Recommended by delicado [profile]

This is one of those odd discoveries: a track on a CD I've owned for about 8 years, but which I had somehow overlooked. I buy a lot of CDs, and I guess is one of the later tracks on a long compilation cd. Still, that's not much of an excuse, is it!

This is a slow, groovy instrumental (well, with wordless vocals) with funky drums, some fine fuzz guitar work, nice spiky brass and some very pleasing chord changes. It is strongly reminiscent of similar work of the time by people like Johnny Harris. I have a few tracks by completely different artists with a very similar feel/orchestration and closely related chord sequences. It's simultaneously very hip sounding yet quite square with the choir and strings. I love it, obviously.

from Now! (Polydor)
available on CD - Easy Loungin' (Polydor Germany)



Blame It On A Monday  performed by Anita Kerr Singers  1972
Recommended by konsu [profile]

This is my favorite these days. Totally cuts into my dull recession-based lifestyle and peppers it with some yellow Nashville sunshine....

The song bounces through a hum-drum monday with the bouyant post-it note poetics of a 9 to 5 cutie... Nothing is going right today, and the song sounds like the antedote :

" ...Gotta' go to work, really gotta per-cu-late... Try to catch the fish that's jumping off your
dish-or-plate...." To "Don't ask for help... from anybody... cause they'll only turn you down-ooo...
na-na-na-na-na, ooooooooooh na-na-na-na-na, Blame it on a mondaaaaayy..... YEAH! ....

The session smokes and the players are astounding! Huge southern brass-blasts counterpoint the bouncing hoe-down groove... It must have been a hoot to play because the track clocks in at over four minutes, but you hardly notice for all the fun....Funky in a very music-city way. Almost Nancy & Lee like, with a little Free Design-like harmonic optimisim in the vocal arrangements, which Anita's well known for.

I recommend the whole record though.It plays straight through, and you play it again & again. A lost gem.

from Grow To Know Me (AMPEX A-10136)



The Night  performed by Frankie Valli & Four Seasons  1973
Recommended by tempted [profile]

Great soulful pop number with a stomping "northern soul" drum beat. If I ever wanted to be the bassist on one particular song it would be on this one. This song makes me think about driving on a quiet nocturnal freeway... fast. A great sense of drama can be felt on The Night.

from Inside Out (Mowest)



Come and Get This Stuff  performed by Syreeta  1974
Recommended by Nickfresh [profile]

Very nice, laid back summer song. Stevie Wonder struck Gold when he worked with Syreeta.

from Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta (Motown 11268)




  Swinging London: I'd forgotten about this album. Thank you for reminding me. Absolutely wonderful. I especially loved the bits when Stevie's voice suddenly appears out of nowhere. I rank this album with all the great acclaimed Stevie Wonder albums of this (1971-76) era. I can't say that the song you've chosen is one of the high points, though.
clair  performed by Singers Unlimited  1975
Recommended by klatu [profile]

A nice a capella version of my favorite Gilbert O'Sullivan song, in a very full arrangement reminiscent of the Swingle Singers, with whom they share a member. Lyrically, the song is an antidote to the sleazy feeling I get from Rod Stewart's "tonight's the night". I used to think they shared a theme of pedophilia until I listened closer. I got this on a Japanese collection put together by Toru Hashimoto, probably the greatest compiler ever. He puts together all the Cafe Apres Midi (perfect!) and Free Soul (quite nice) collections. They can be had for $25 a pop from the Dusty Groove site, which seems high for a single disc, but they are all close to eighty minutes and packed with great songs which have lead me to several thousands of dollars worth of related purchases in the last few years. Gilbert O'Sullivan's stuff is worth looking into if you have an ear for it, and there is a nice cheap two disc collection on JVC Japan.

from A Capella II (MPS)
available on CD - MPS for Apres-midi Grand Cru (MPS/Jasrac (Japan))


Somebody to Love  performed by Queen  1976
Recommended by cryofthecelt [profile]

"Somebody to Love" is quite possibly my favorite song by Queen, one of my favorite bands in the world. For some reason, this song brings memories of lead singer Freddie Mercury, his energy, his style and his beautiful voice, even though I was only 4 years old when he died of AIDS in 1991.
This song is definitely one of Queen's best, if not one of the greatest songs ever written and performed. The most impressive part is near the end, when all is quiet, and all of the sudden Queen begins singing "Find...me...somebody to lo-ove..." very softly, and crescendoes with clapping and stomping and all kinds of uplifting musical tactics. It's just a magnificent song. My favorite part is when Freddie bursts out,
"I just gotta get out of this prison cell,
Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!
Find me somebody to love!"

from A Day At the Races (Hollywood Records 161035)
available on CD - Greatest Hits (Hollywood Records)


Dance, Bunny Honey, Dance  performed by Penny McLean  1977
Recommended by jeanette [profile]

From that much maligned genre, eurodisco, comes an amazing story of a young girl moving to the city. She has dreams of dancing and making it under the bright lights, but is confronted only by people who see sexuality in her dancing, not freedom. She is exploited; her ideals ruined.

People think I make too much of the genius of Penny. I can often be heard espousing, at length, her brilliance and analysing her songs (I tend to do the latter in my head - there's only so much friends can take). Penny was pretty famous in Germany and only vaguely so everywhere else, primarily for the disco classic Lady Bump. She is now a sci-fi/fantasy novelist but unfortunately her books have not been translated into English else I'd doubtless find social comment in those as well...

from Penny (Columbia (Canadian) PCC-90446)



Power in the Darkness  performed by Tom Robinson Band  1977
Recommended by geezer [profile]

The middle class ,friendly face of new wave,mostly known for the student sing a long 2 4 6 8 Motorway ,this track however is the sound of late seventies London a cowbell driven social comment which evolves into a beligerent news cast berating man,s basic lack of freedom before returning for arousing chorus.
An underplayed but constant hammond organ gives the track a modern hymn like feel,a little idealistic but a great musical document of the sound of the U.K for a few months in 1978

from Power in the Darkness (E M I)
available on CD - Power inthe Darkness (E M I)


Boogie Oogie Oogie  performed by A Taste of Honey  1978
Recommended by ambassador [profile]

One of the most nonsensical song title ever, yes, I know and much derided for that reason, but to quote Otis Redding when told his lyrics didn't make any sense, "I'm gonna worry about settin' the groove. I get that groove going, they don't care what I say." Boogie Oogie2 has got groove to spare, with a jazzy intro (similar to Boogie Nights by Heatwave) before that bass line drops in shakes the floorboards. Just like all the dance craze songs of the 60s, the disco era about vocals were mostly used as a counterpoint to the rhythm section. The Mizell brothers add a touch of sophistication to this female-led band (Hazel Payne and Janice Marie Johnson on bass and guitar - they're the ones on the awesome album cover) which is a step further in the commercial direction after their work with Jazz Funk kings like Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz and Johnny Hammond. This song is up there with G.Q.'s "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)" and anything by Chic in the sophisticated disco category.

from A Taste of Honey (Capitol)


Jet Society  performed by Cordara Orchestra  197?
Recommended by nighteye [profile]

The mother of all 'Jet Society' themed songs. Play this at your penthouse-apartment cocktail party and you'll most likely score a free layover with one of the air stewardesses. The choice of a lone laidback trumpet over piano chords is excellent. Mix in a soft percussion beat and you're all set. Come to think of it, phone up your friends and invite them over for cocktails in the grotto.


available on CD - Caf� Noir - Cocktail & Lounge Vol 1




  eftimihn: Amazing track, excellent choice. The title resembles the mood perfectly.
We're Still Free  performed by Skeleton Crew  1983
Recommended by havadonut [profile]

The best political song ever written, "We're Still Free" concerns the famous tragedy of a Korean passenger jet shot down by fighter planes when it strayed into Soviet airspace. Yet in recounting this act of barbarism on the part of the Soviets, it also implicates the righteousness of the American side of the Cold War ("We're still free here in America"). The song sets up a chilling contrast in the singing of the two performers, with Frith crying out almost desperately against believing what the media tell us, while Tom Cora gently croons the part of the Soviet air controllers as they decide to destroy the plane. Skeleton Crew was a two-man band with both performers playing drums with their feet along with electronics and strings. Here they set a contrast between the grand, arcing lines of the cello and a homey picking of the violin that's almost shockingly sweet and funny. Critical of anti-democratic trends in the West, Skeleton Crew was criticized by fans in Eastern Europe for taking freedom for granted.

from Learn to Talk (Rift (US)/RecRec (Switz) Rift/RecRec 08/05)
available on CD - Learn to Talk/Country of Blinds (RecRec (ReCDec 512))


That’s The End Of That  performed by Trixie’s Big Red Motorbike  1983
Recommended by jeanette [profile]

Whenever I am accused of cynicism in my daily life, I just point to my deep and unabiding love for this ditty, which manages to out-twee even The Free Design. Cute-as-a-button girl vocals and light guitar make you want to drink squash and wear a hairslide.

from The Intimate Sound Of Trixie's Big Red Motorbike (Accident DENT 1)



  unathanthium: I climb in my tweemobile and Trixies soothe my nerves as I trundle through the London streets,smiling inanely at rage-fuelled motorists.In Timbuktu is the song that puts that smile there.When you go to Timbuktu,do as the Timbuktuans do,Trixies advise.And rhyming Niger with Tiger,even Ted Hughes never managed that.
  grimnir: an all-time classic! EXCELLENT! A typicallly-lush-John Peel type of track. AAHHHH! Summer and listening to Peel with the windows wide on a warm night. If anyone knows where to get more TBRM then post a reply.
Yesterday Is Here  performed by Tom Waits  1987
Recommended by Fig Alert [profile]

When I think of my favorite stuff by Tom Waits, I always look back to the time when the writing and arranging of his songs were more playful, avant pop exercises, colored by a range of intense and deep emotional swatches, yet always with humor. My favorite stretch in his catalog of work is from Swordfishtrombones to Franks Wild Years (Marc Ribot?). Songs were always off-kilter, tenuous, unpredictable...far-away organs played against a punchy latin rhumba beat...oh, here comes the circus, jolted by a bended-note/feedback guitar part. Wha?

I heard a lot more characters in his voice, too. The sideshow barker, the Ironweed hobo, the cocky but sensitive playboy, or the frustrated, suburbia-warped freespirit looking to make a break.

This track off Franks Wild Years feels like an old, worn out, spaghetti western-inspired guitar shuffle. Its whispered from the lips of a grizzled shopkeeper in a soon-to-be ghosttown, telling his concerned companion the need to reach for where your dreams dwell: "out where your enemies lie." There's little consolation against what most likely will be an exercise in futility, but necessary nonetheless, to carve out some sort of happiness. Get used to it.

Somehow it seems to fit these times very well...

from Franks Wild Years (Island 7 90572-2)



It’s Cool Not To Care  performed by Mark and the No-Marks  1988
Recommended by rum [profile]

The late eighties wasn�t the ideal time for Mark & The No-Marks� deranged hybrid of English folk, free jazz and ghost puppetry, but there never has been an ideal time. Exclamation Mark, dressed up in his ridiculous David Crosby-esque green cape, refused to pander to contemporary fashions and trends, and even seem to resent any acclaim or approval, as if it was a sign that he was doing something wrong. This may explain why he hated this live favourite, scornfully introducing it at shows as �our sell-out�.

I chose the track not only because it�s the only thing that was ever officially released (along with its b-side, an utterly spastic reworking of the Monkees� Theme called �March of the No-Marks� replete with Tube station announcements- �this is the Bakerloo line service to Elephant & Castle�- and girls yelling, �Mark NO! No MARK!!!� at the singer) but it is also by far the best thing they ever did. And it was still far, far from sell-out material (it barely sold any). It is the only No-Mark record you need to hear. All of their less grating eccentricities are here, the schizophrenic dialogues, the lyrical obsessions with pylons and German bunkers, the shoddy jazz drumming, the demonic chanting, the cackling, the mewing (!), but this time it�s all held together by an ace nagging riff, and a supremely warped and swashbuckling chorus where an increasingly unhinged mark sneers, �it�s cooool not to care, sooo cooool not to care�� before he eventually loses all sense entirely and barks breathlessly, �NOT NOT, it�s not sooo care! COOL!!!�

Mark of course was incensed that their label released it as a single and vowed never to �bow to the pound� again. And as a result retired to his studio cave, muttering that their forthcoming album, �a didactic concept album about animal reincarnation� would be their most progressive work yet. And disastrous. If the rumours are true �My Family Are Other Animals� was abandoned after a record company executive visited the studio, described the tapes as �utter utter shit�, and then tried to throttle Mark with a microphone cable.





  n-jeff: This would be your band perhaps?
I think I recognise the attempt to write about ones own music.

  rum: good guess, but not my band no. i'm much too young. just used know a couple of No-Marks. local heroes/weirdos about town. they were very resentful of the whole experience, so i thought i'd give them their small dues.
  Gnasher: Was this the same Mark from 'Mark and the Monsters' infamy? I saw them once, in a mirror. Their sound made me want to pull my brain out through my ears and beat myself about the head with it. Shame, really, they looked really mad.
  rum: No, Gnasher, what you see in a mirror is a very troubled and confused soul, who needs alot of care and attention. Unfortunately musicaltaste.com is not the place.
  gnasher: Be nice!
Free Fallin’  performed by Tom Petty  1989
Recommended by acidburn [profile]

from Free Fallin'


I’m Free  performed by Soup Dragons  1990
Recommended by acidburn [profile]

from Lovegod


Rockets  performed by Cat Power  1995
Recommended by spinspin [profile]

Driving and discordant, bittersweet, sad. This song is the most beautiful thing I've heard this week. In the mixtape of my head this comes right before Johnny Cash's "Don't bring your guns to town." A song you should listen to after you watch the evening news tonight... (released free as part of the protest records project: http://www.protest-records.com/ which is somehow associated with sonic youth.)


available on CD - Dear Sir (Runt)


Strange Noices  performed by Anja Garbarek  1996
Recommended by Stian______ [profile]

Anja , the daughter of the highly respected Jan Garbarek ,one of the big jazz-dudes in Norway , Anja started to do music after she found that acting was too restricted. On this tune\album she uses her freedom to create dream-like atmospheres.

U can hear her that she is inspired by Laurie Anderson on this tune ,in the way she tells the story. Instrument-wise the tune is very multi-layered and intruiging. I highly recommend it if u like the music of for example Bj�rk,Kate Bush etc.

from Balloon Mood, available on CD



Satan is in my Ass  performed by Evil Superstars  1996
Recommended by eurotrashkit [profile]

this song, made by the zappa-esque belgian band, the evil superstars, is more zappa-esque then zappa would ever get.

it feels like a huge record store collapsing and, in the process, blending all kinds of style elements in a composition of pure pop-mayhem. the song sums up a dozen of genres at supersonic rate (such as death metal, rock, crooning and even jazz) but never falls apart.
the music is perfect, played by talented musicians who try to sound like it's their first time handling a guitar or drum kit.
but, the one thing that makes this whole thing sound like it does are the vocals and absurd (or cheezy?) lyrics by the lead singer mauro pawlowski, for example:
"HE IS SOMEKIND OF A BAD GUY BUT WHEN HE READS THE PAPERS NOWADAYS HE HAS TO HOLD BACK THE KEROSINE IN HIS EYES SOMEWHERE IN A FORTRESS HE HIDES HIS MISTRESS I'M TALKING 'BOUT A PLANKTON EATING ROBOTCOW IN A CARDBOARD DRESS"----need i say more?
if you want to hear free jazz going pop, then check out this one!
nice introduction link: http://www.deadbeattown.com/bands/superstars.htm

from Love is okay, available on CD


Get Me Away From Here, I�m Dying  performed by Belle & Sebastian  1996
Recommended by Carrie [profile]

Ooh, get me away from here, I'm dying,
play me a song to set me free..


Alternative folkish. The lyrics are kind of random, which I like. I like the general feeling of this song.

from If You're Feeling Sinister, available on CD


If We Can Land on the Moon, Surely I Can Win  performed by Beulah  1999
Recommended by PappaWheelie [profile]

Where the more known Elephant 6 sound like the Beatles in melody, this track matches George Martin's 'Beatles Mid-Period' production.

from When Your Heartstrings Break, available on CD




  chris kane: If you like that song, you should get into The Broken Family Band ;)
Cold Water  performed by Tom Waits  1999
Recommended by StAgGeR [profile]

This is a great song to listen to on days when nothing seems to be going right. In my case: when driving my blind sister around in a delapidated taxi, with broken windows, and a gas meter on empty. The best line in my opinion is: "Blind or crippled, Sharp or dull. I'm reading the Bible by a 40 watt bulb. What price freedom. Dirt is my rug.
Well I sleep like a baby with the snakes and the bugs". I love this track! Keith Richards played lead guitar and sings backing vox on this one. Their voices/styles mesh together very well. It's one of the more bluesy tracks on the record, but it's done very well...not like a lame neo-white boy blues revival thing. It's actually believable...after all, IT'S TOM WAITS FOR CHRIST SAKE! I think this is one of the more powerful songs on the record. Well...maybe a toss-up between this one and "Chocolate Jesus"...or "Hold on"...or "Get Behind the Mule" (you can't beat the lyric: "Punctuated birds on the power line. In a Studebaker with the Birdie Joe Joaks. I'm diggin all the way to China with a silver spoon, while the hangman fumbles with the noose..."). Hell...it's just a damn good record.

from Mule Variations (Epitaph Records)
available on CD - yes (yes)


granite state destroyer  performed by scissorfight  1999
Recommended by angelica [profile]

scissorfight are probably the heaviest band i've ever seen... their songs are incredibly intense, with deep, grinding bass lines, slow, thundering drums and aggressive vocals. granite state destroyer could be their theme song - it embodies both their musical aesthetic and their lyrical philosophy...

"weed, guns and axes / we don't pay our taxes / 'cause we don't exist / on any government list / ... / our battle cry / live free or die"

this is the song that hooked me on the band, and every time i hear the heavy yet pared-down opening riffs my tailbone starts shakin' and i can't stop.

from New Hampshire, available on CD


If We Can Land a Man on the Moon Surely I Can Win Your Heart  performed by Beulah  1999
Recommended by tman555 [profile]

Just a catchy song. It's from the Bay Area indie scene.
It starts off as sort of a love song, but turns into a conversation with the listener.

from When Your Heartstrings Break (Sugar Free Records)
available on CD - Yes (Yes)


Sensational Gravity Boy  performed by Guided By Voices  199?
Recommended by Stian______ [profile]

One of my favourite bands .
They play music that is mostly simply produced , sometimes of lazyness i suspect , but most often cause it suits the songs and makes them stand out from the crowd. This is a 2 minute rocker that i totally fell in love with some weeks ago. Its incredibly catchy,rocky and got a lovely distorted vocal on it .

Its found for free on their official homesite too, go check it out :)

http://www.guidedbyvoices.com/ go to Music section , then mp3 , enjoy..

from non album track


Sorry About The Noise  performed by jessica fletchers  2000
Recommended by karlmort [profile]

this song makes me happy. it's got all the great 60s elements. they're from the norwegian city drammen. you can find the song on freetrax.no: http://www.freetrax.com/cgi-bin/pointgo.cgi?url=http://195.92.248.80:1331/u02/freetrax/prd_0000001535/01_Track_1.mp3

from sorry about the noise ep 7" (two zero)


hoy me has dicho hola por primera vez  performed by la casa azul  2000
Recommended by king8egg [profile]

somewhere between the free design and hideki kaji you get la casa azul. sweet 60s pop with some nice "ba ba ba ba..." thrown in. bouncy, quirky and basically all around fun. one of the few new bands i am really excited by.

from el sonido efervescente de, available on CD



cherokee  performed by pierrick pedron  2000
Recommended by thorltd1984 [profile]

This nice slightly avant-gardish jaz track i found on a cd for 2 euro's.

from Cherokee (elabeth ela 621036)


...The Collapse of Detective Dullight  performed by Of Montreal  2001
Recommended by two-headed boy [profile]

'The Events Leading up to the Collapse of Detective Dullight' is not a song but a narrative story, and it’s funny as hell. The off-kilter character voices of the already brilliant stream-of-consciousness plot are cartoonish enough for their own Saturday morning series. When the detectives start their investigation nothing makes sense. There’s Jell-O, serenading butterflies, file cabinets, murder, catacombs, and all the seasonings for a hilarious dream. I am usually brought to tears when Detective Slots reads from his revered exercise in free verse titled ‘The Cause of Gauze’. I will supply you with a sample:
"Oh, the cause of gauze. The Manuels have fondled many memories from my lap though each memory has its own lap and swimmers swim laps. Even swimmers have laps however and while in that condition many require a delicate gauze."
If you hear this without purchasing the actual album, 'Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimisical Verse,' then you are being cheated. The dreams of this band are as colorful as the illustrations they provide us in their album sleeves. The 'Where's Waldo' pictorial representations enrich the listening experience by engaging us in a journey deep into the frying-pan brains of these madmen. In fact, this is a perfect introduction into a very strange world of psychedelicado. Think the Beach Boy's 'Smile.' The reaction of my friends after hearing this have been harmoniously the same, 'they have to be on drugs.' The truth is Of Montreal are not on drugs, they are drugs.

from Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse (Kindercore KC064)


To slow things down  performed by Random Bruce  2001
Recommended by phil [profile]

More grist to my mill that there are lots of really good things going unsigned in the easy listening-folk- pop world - the fella that wrote this sits very close to me where I work. A really nicely-put together, low key pop song with a beautiful vocal melody. Available for FREE dammit at http://artists2.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Random_Bruce/. 'Sometimes anything' and 'had to be there' are also well worth a listen.

from - (- -)
available on CD - not currently professionally recorded



Can't Get You Out of My Head  performed by Kylie Minogue  2001
Recommended by secularus [profile]

Kylie, one of Australia's most well known exports, has done it this time with this musical delight. As those who go out to parties in NYC can probably concur with, Electro is the next big thing. Can't go out anywhere without hearing some electro inspired track. Kylie must have been to a few of these parties too. La La La La - simple, sexy and with a refrain of Set Me Free, its pure candy. Enjoy the suga!

from Fever (Capitol)



Free Love  performed by Depeche Mode  2001
Recommended by acidburn [profile]

from Exciter


Free  performed by Sweet Robots Against the Machine  2002
Recommended by MMMp [profile]

A nice cover song as Towa Tei (SRATM) will do. I haven't heard the original but would like to. This one is in the two-step style which I am also unfamiliar with except through Towa Tei's interpretations. An excellent song. "Girly" as TT songs with vocals can be. Dancy as TT songs usually are. Commentary from some Jamaican/British type (!) and breaks down into a remix of itself toward the end - but in a very respectable fashion! -- I recently found out that this CD features copy protection, funny enough that kind of changed the way I felt about it. I want to make it clear that for that reason I can't recommend that anyone buy this album. ;)

from Towa Tei, available on CD


Freeker By The Speaker  performed by Keller Williams  2002
Recommended by rancidgoat [profile]

Fun song; light hearted.
One guy plays all the instruments and sings. He plays a part, loops it, plays another, loops it and so on. Fun to see live and watch how he does it.

from Laugh, available on CD


Rollerskate  performed by Call and Response  2002
Recommended by Ricard [profile]

From all the summery pop music on this site, think you'll love this song from the Californians Call and Response about the simple joys of rollerskating.
You can download it for free (and legally) from http://www.epitonic.com/files/reg/songs/mp3/Call_And_Response-Rollerskate.mp3 so why not give it a listen.




Any Girl Can Make Me Smile  performed by ANT  2002
Recommended by kkkerplunkkk [profile]

A beautiful, soft, sad, fragile piece about a couple breaking up and bursting into tears as they do. Incredible for its intimate feel and sparse instrumentation (voice, organ, harmonica, egg shaker) chilling lyrics 'you close your eyes but there's no paradise, you count the cost of all we've lost and all we've wasted'. It hits the nail bang on the head! Love it to bits.

from A Long Way To Blow A Kiss, available on CD


My Brother Woody  performed by Bart Davenport  2003
Recommended by eftimihn [profile]

Good to see a cover of one of my favourite Free Design songs appear in 2003, especially when it's executed this good. It's very true to the original, so true it sounds almost as if the voice of Sandy Dedrick got sampled from the original version.

from Game Preserve, available on CD




  heinmukk: on heavy rotation right now. but i didn't found another decent song on the album. maybe i got to give it hear again...
Baby You’ve No Eyes  performed by The Kazoo Funk Orchestra  2006
Recommended by peterbruff [profile]

Available for free download from www.kazoofunk.co.uk/music.html along with the rest of the album 'Midnight Finger Painter'...

from Midnight Finger Painter (Planet Groucho Records PGR-KF-01)


Unglued  performed by The Love Dolls  2007
Recommended by jzbass [profile]

Guitar oriented rocker in the spirit of the band Free others have compared the vocal to Paul Rodgers

from The Love Dolls (Doll House)
available on CD - www.myspace.com/thelovedollsband


Asleep At The Wheel  performed by Working For A Nuclear Free City  2007
Recommended by MisterBenn [profile]

Epic instrumental with an awesome pounding drum track. Like The Beta Band but with a heavy dose of caffeine. It moves from shoegaze intro to full on Chemical Brothers style brain-shaking drums. This soars.

from Businessmen and Ghosts


The Disturbing Presence of Chachi  performed by Western Civ  2008
Recommended by wendyloohoo [profile]

This is a song on their new album Shower the People You Love with Gold. I think you can at least listen to it for free on www.westerncivrock.com.

Anyway, it it is really rocking with a lot of crescendos and decrescendos.

from Shower the People You Love with Gold, available on CD


something in common  performed by free energy  2009
Recommended by ghosttomost [profile]

absolutely no one can deny this magnetism of this song. it's the kind of song you can pump up to full volume on your ipod and dance down the street to. give it a few listens and once you get used to the toe tappin musical sounds, give a good listen to the lyrics. i love the lyrics, they are very relatable and truthful.

from free energy


Threshold Of Transformation  performed by Isis  2009
Recommended by SamHall [profile]

The 9:52 long track immediately blasts you off your feet with a ethereally heavy series of riffs and Aaron Turner's rough vocals. Keeping it interesting, the structure continues to evolve, and drifts downward into a more dreamy movement which stays dense and builds the tension for the following verses. About halfway in, the song reaches the first climax that (I think) embodies the "Threshold" in the song title. After which, it moves into a more contemplative section, smoothing out the turmoil and tension brought on by the first half, while building its own. Beautifully, it succeeds in building yet another crescendo, only to end in free fall, with guitar and bass fantastically accenting the mood. The bass in this song is truly something to behold, wavering and powerful in its tone.

What I like about this song reflects on why I like Isis' music in general: it's complex, atmospheric, emotional, intricate, and smart. It truly is "thinking man's metal." Isis is all about themes and atmospheres, emotions and vibes, rather than clear ideas and lyrics. It's visceral, raw, and transcendent. And in some ways, I think this song embodies everything that makes them great.

from Wavering Radiant, available on CD


Your Love is my Drug  performed by Ke$ha  2009
Recommended by xroughstuffx [profile]

It's just such a carefree song, I love it.

from Animal


Stay Here  performed by Mike Golden and Friends  2009
Recommended by jelias1 [profile]

A really great sounding band from Chicago that knows what it means to have to have soul. There's a sing for everyone in their 2 EPs that they have release that are FREE of charge if you visit their website. www.mikegoldenandfriends.com

Happy listening =]

from Trees pt. 1 (indipendent)


Vision of Love  performed by Bertrand Burgalat  200?
Recommended by nathanx [profile]

French DJ's cover of Mariah Carey's song with 60's flare. It is to cry! Burgalat is so classy.
Download from his site:
http://okbertrand.free.fr/burg/audio.htm





Long Shadow  performed by Joe Strummer  200?
Recommended by mattypenny [profile]

A sad situation but a fine, positive song. Joe Strummer recorded this as a demo for Johnny Cash, I guess with a view to it being recorded for one of the 'American' records.

Within a couple of years both had passed on.

The song is classic Strummer though - upbeat, with vivid words (as usually laying it on with a trowel), the chorus being 'You cast a long shadow' - I hear it as a tribute to Johnny Cash. It finishes off with the words 'there's always rock and ROLL!', which is kind of fitting.

I've only got this on a freebie with Uncut magazine - I dunno if its commercially available or not.




The Pilot is Dead, Don’t Worry I’m a Make-up Artist  performed by Munn Til Munn Metoden  2010
Recommended by thennis [profile]

It is an electronic piece from an underground duo from Norway.
The reason i like it is because it has a different and fresh sound.

Its actually quite awesome and if you like their music is actually up for free download!

from EP Vol.1 (Sellout Music)


Goodnight  performed by GreyMarket  2012
Recommended by BonzoMoon2002 [profile]

Modern electro rock and roll, still obscure, not for long.

Entire record available for free download here:

http://www.greymarketband.com/p/free.html

from Dark Matter & Love Stories


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