iTunes: Free Tuesday
Welcome to iTunes Free Tuesday. Each week I spend way too much time, looking through iTunes stores throughout the world to find the latest, greatest, and free-est offerings at the iTunes store and post it for your enjoyment. Here's the newest free US Audio tracks.
US Music
US: Jingle Bells by James Taylor
Now we generally try to turn the spotlight over to new artists for our Single of the Week, but we're feeling the spirit of the season this month. Check back here each week to get a free holiday track from an established artist. This week, the patron saint of singer-songwriters, James Taylor, gives us a rather roots-y take on "Jingle Bells."
US: Sixteen by Los Super Elegantes
If you're looking for the perfect accompaniment to showcase the latest and greatest hi-fi equipment in your swanky, retro-themed apartment, then Los Super Elegantes have got the perfect atmosphere for you. Our free Single of the Week, "Sixteen," is a blur of go-go rhythms and icily cool melodies. The dueling boy/girl vocals and regal horns are themselves pitted against echoing vocals and laser effects. It's stylish kitsch, just for you.
More fun and freebies after the jump...
US Videos
US: One Punk Under God, Episode 1
An original six-part documentary series on Jay Bakker, the only son of TV evangelists, Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner. The series takes a behind-the-scenes look at the life of Bakker as he faces the professional, emotional, and financial struggles of running his Revolution church in Atlanta, Georgia. The tattooed and pierced preacher is not necessarily the image of an American evangelist with his resolutely maverick stance and open tolerance for alternative lifestyle choices. But by fusing together punk and Christian values to create a non-denominational and inclusive parish, he is working to show the world just how hip and welcoming today's churches can be.
US: Nemesis Rising, The Music of Jacob & Joshua episode
Jacob & Joshua: Nemesis Rising follows identical twins who couldn't be more different. Joshua is a free spirit, a party boy, and exceedingly single while Jacob is focused, driven, and involved in a long-term relationship. As singers the duo harmonize perfectly, with Jacob leaning more toward pop and Joshua a little more toward rock 'n' roll. After uprooting themselves from their country home in Montana to Los Angeles, the twins find themselves at a critical crossroads professionally and personally. They need a hit record or they face being dropped from their label. Breaking new ground in the pop music world, the twins will be marketed as openly gay artists necessitating their "coming out" to their family, friends, and fans.
US: NBC News Specials
Crisis In Darfur With Ann Curry.
US Video, Still Available
US: Scrubs "Guy Love" Music Video
A winner of both the prestigious Humanitas Prize and an Emmy award, Scrubs is back for another unpredictable season.
My Bare Lady: Cattle Call
Things heat up when four American adult film stars are sent to London's most prestigious theatrical school to prove they can really act. These leading ladies are expected to each star in a classic piece of drama. When the curtain goes up, someone's going down.
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: 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: 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 Audio Books (Still Available)
US: Next by Michael Crichton
Is a loved one missing some body parts? Are blondes becoming extinct? Is everyone at your dinner table of the same species? Humans and chimpanzees differ in only 400 genes; is that why an adult human being resembles a chimp fetus? And should that worry us? There's a new genetic cure for drug addiction; is it worse than the disease?
US: Giants by Max Lucado
Giants. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone. This profound look at the life of the biblical figure David digs deeply into the defeats he suffered, and the victories he won, as he faced the giants in his life. When David focused on God, giants tumbled. But when David focused on giants, he stumbled. Goliaths still roam in our world: Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Divorce. Deceit. Disease. Depression. These super-sized challenges swagger and strut into our lives, pilfering our sleep, embezzling our peace, and robbing us of our joy. And while these giants try to dominate our lives, we know what to do! We've learned what David learned, and we do what David did. We become God focused. We pick up five stones. We make five decisions. And we take a swing.
US: Movies
US: Gnome (Glamour Reel Moments)
A touching short involving drag queens, heart and gnomes.
International
Australia: No free single of the week. Did you guys do something to tick off Steve Jobs?
Canada: Are You Swimming In Her Pools? by Swan Lake
We can't tell you exactly how much we love Swan Lake. We love them so much that we felt it necessary to give you this song just to make it clear. The group is the brain trust of Dan Bejar (Destroyer), Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes), and Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade). It's Krug who takes the lead vocal on this acoustic-led trip into the inner sanctum of what sounds like a fragmented heart and mind. It's a white-knuckle ride into the indie rock heart of darkness, but one decorated with bells and sweet, strangulated melodies.
France: Put a Penny In the Slot by Fionn Regan
Fionn Regan nous invite à voir le monde à travers ses propres yeux, via son imagination singulière. Son album The End of History est une collection d'histoires simples et belles. " Put a Penny in the Slot " est probablement la plus belle preuve du talent de Fionn pour l'écriture de chansons lorgnant vers le passé tout en allant de l'avant. Notre Single de la semaine est une chanson vieille comme le monde, ancrée dans la tradition folk.
UK: Human Thing by The Be Good Tanyas
Our free Single of the Week comes from the Be Good Tanyas, whose bluegrass-tinged third album, Hello Love, makes for a beautiful, harmony-rich evening at home. "Human Thing" is the opening track on that album and it's a stunner. Instead of diving right into the band's sunburnt Americana style, this track is a lugubrious dive into ethereal blues. It sways and shuffles and Frazey Ford's vocals do everything but walk right up to you and demand that you have an emotional meltdown.