iTunes: Tuesday Freebies
Every Tuesday, we scan the iTunes stores looking for the free items you want to know about and possibly download. Here you'll find videos and music and occasionally audio book selections from the US, Canadian, UK, Australia, French and Japanese iTunes stores. Selection varies each week and the free offers are for a limited time. If you see something you like, you must download it quickly, typically within a week of its appearance as a free item.
What's more, not all "free items" are free. Always carefully check the price on "Singles of the Week", "Discovery Downloads" and other items you add to your shopping cart. The gremlins who run the iTunes store don't always dot their i's or cross their t's. Sometimes they forget to update prices. In the end, you are responsible for any items in your cart when you click "BUY". So caveat ipodder.
US Music
US: Completamente by Chetes
Chetes has a love for melodic pop. Specifically that form of melodic pop that was perfected by a certain group from Liverpool. But Monterrey's Chetes takes a bit of the Beach Boys summery stance and adds in a grandiose element that recalls Electric Light Orchestra. But he doesn't seek to recreate these sounds exactly - he just uses them as a springboard from which his own form of pop naturally takes off. "Completamente" is our free Single of the Week.
US: The Becoming by Little Brother
The hotly tipped hip-hop crew who brought us 2003's The Listening are now back with "The Becoming" - a track from the group's sophomore album, The Minstrel Show. The North Carolina trio excels at thick, organic beats and tough, tumbling rhymes that hit you on an emotional level. This track is our free Single of the Week.
US: Ain't No Reason by Brett Dennen
This California singer and songwriter has been making friends and fans left and right with his simple, elegant, and especially poignant songs. His voice has a lilting casualness, one you could file in that space where you might keep music by Jack Johnson and James Taylor. But Dennen has a unique style to him - an ache in the voice, a turn of phrase that hits deeper - which make his songs resonate just a little bit longer than most. "Ain't No Reason" is this week's free Discovery Download.
More freebies after the jump...
US Video
So far today, all the free TV shows seem to be repeats of last week. Either they haven't updated the TV Shows store or the same shows are free for this week too. They are:
US: American Gangster, Episode 101
Think crime pays? This searing BET original program will demand that you think again. Six hour-long episodes chronicle the lives and demises of the nation's most ruthless and newsworthy kingpins. Watch how Nicky Barnes goes from heroin druglord to merciless snitch; uncover the links between "Freeway" Rick Ross, crack cocaine, the U.S. government, and the Contras; and find out more about some of Black America's most notorious criminals.
US: 2006 PGA Grand Slam of Golf: Episode 1, Golf Strategies, Tough Shots and Around the Green
The PGA and iTunes have paired up to bring you exclusive access to professional golf's hardest tournament to qualify for: The 2006 PGA Grand Slam of Golf. This season-ending showcase of major champions features 4 of golf's elite as they vie for a $1.25 million purse and recognition as the "best of the best." Competing will be the reigning British Open and PGA champion Tiger Woods, 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, Major Champions Points List leader and winner of the 2003 U.S. Open and 2003 PGA Grand Slam of Golf Jim Furyk, and Canadian Mike Weir, who finished third in the Major Champions Points List and won his first major championship when he captured the 2003 Masters.
US: Frisky Dingo/Meet Killface Episode
Killface, the most evil villain of all time ever, is halfway bent on destroying the Earth. Meanwhile his nemesis, Awesome-X, is ambivalent about stopping him, as it might just crush toy sales.
US: Real World Casting Special, Season 18
We're heading to the Mile High City where our 7 strangers will not only discover a Rocky Mountain high in the trendy nightlife scene, but will work as Outward Bound counselors for kids who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Get ready for a season packed full of adventure as The Real World reaches new heights, literally, as the roommates scale mountains and learn how to live in the wilderness.
US: 30 Rock, Episode 103
Jack plays matchmaker, setting Liz up on a blind date - Confident he can fix both Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) sketch show and sex life, overbearing boss Jack (Alec Baldwin) sets Liz up on a blind date with his friend Thomas. With Liz readying herself for her blind date, Jack infiltrates the writers' weekly poker game.
International
Sorry. No free track for Australia this week. Any idea why not?
Canada: Hard Line by Jill Barber
Jill Barber's sweet voice gets a little help from a rhythm section that sounds like they could have done time at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios. On our free Single of the Week, "Hard Line", Barber mixes a little of that old school honky tonk rhythm with a touch of bluegrass and brings in those lilting vocals that we mentioned - by the end, it's a joyous, finger-snapping celebration.
France: Food In the Belly by Xavier Rudd
Ça démarre avec un rythme à vous faire danser sur place, puis vient le tour de la guitare. Xavier Rudd, c'est une impression soudaine. Si son style guitare minimaliste ne vous a pas d'emblée pris d'assaut, vous remarquerez sa voix : un mélange de vieux blues et de jeune soul. Faites la place à ce prodigieux chanteur et guitariste pour « Food in the Belly » pour notre Single gratuit de la semaine, audacieux et subtil.
UK: One of You by Stoney
This Sheffield instrumentalist floats between your ears with a mixture '60s psychedelic invention and bubbling modernism. He sings with a confectionary air, but tends to sink his choruses into something more concrete. "One of You" is a breathy little folk gem, but with a quirky modesty and charming galloping nature that makes you think of the Beach Boys at their most whimsical. This is our free Single of the Week. [Note: Although "One of You" is the actual free track, "Hold the Stars" appears for 79p as a "Single of the Week" in the listings. Mind the selection you pick to add to your shopping cart.]
Arrow by Plane
Plane は 1996 年に中学の同級生だったメンバーにより結成。ディストーションとエコーが利いたギターを力強いリズム隊が支える王道ロック•サウンドに、Vo./G. の菊池による感情的なメロディと潔い日本語の詞が乗る。聴くうちにメンバー達の心の風景が目の前に浮かぶストレートな表現力。メンバー全員の個性とスキルの絶妙なバランスという、優れたバンドに共通する条件を備えた４人組である。今月下旬発売の 3rd シングル "arrow" を無料先行ダウンロード。
