iTunes: Free Tuesday
It may be MacWorldSF2007, but we here at TUAW haven't forgotten the rest of you scattered around the world and waiting for your iTunes freebies. Sure, there may be big news about iTunes later today, but should that step between you and your free music and videos? We think not. Here's today's fresh hot scoop of new freebies. Download, sync and enjoy.
Follow the jump to find today's freebies list
US Music
US: Hang Me Up to Dry by Cold War Kids
We've tried to keep them our own little secret as long as we could, but it's getting too hard. We've just got to share. The Cold War Kids' debut album, Robbers & Cowards, was one of our favorite releases of the year. "Hang Me Up to Dry" is now our free Single of the Week and so consider yourself officially "clued-in." It's a nice little mix of Modest Mouse, the Strokes, Arcade Fire, Spoon . . . and yet not really any of those when you break it down. But they do have this: guitars, good songs, confidence. And these are a few of our favorite things.
US: Sonido Total (Radio Edit) by The Pinker Tones
This Barcelona duo barges into the room, floating on big, colorful blasts of squawking synths and four-on-the-floor drum kicks. Their stuttering vocoders and stereophonic transmissions make them sound like a Daft Punk you can take home to your dear mother. "Sonido Total" is a sweet party track that is all smiles and deep funk. It's also our free Single of the Week. Use it carefully.
US: The Bitch of Living by Brian Johnson, Gideon Glick, Jonathan B. Wright, Jonathan Groff, Jr. John Gallagher & Skylar Astin
Who knew that Broadway musicals could be so . . . like, totally awesome? The coming-of-age tale set in the 19th century gets a lift thanks to the music of Duncan Sheik and the words of Steven Sater. "The Bitch of Living" doesn't sound like your standard Broadway fare. It's a lean, mean, indie pop song that conveys angst and frustration with a great hook and just a small amount of swearing. Get this Discovery Download today – free of charge.
US TV Shows
US: Cory In the House (New Kid in Town, Premiere episode, Freepeat)
It's a brand new life for Cory Baxter when his dad, Victor, becomes the personal chef to the President of the United States. Cory's entrepreneurial scheming reaches new heights as he mingles amongst high-powered Washington D.C. elite.
US: Lincoln Heights (Pilot, Freepeat)
Old neighborhood. New love. Download the new ABC Family Original Series Lincoln Heights. Cassie Sutton's world is turned upside down when her father Eddie Sutton, an ambitious cop, moves their family to a tough inner-city neighborhood. Not only does Cassie have to struggle to fit in at her new school, she'll learn what it means to be a teenager growing up in a place that isn't always safe. The cast includes Russell Hornsby, Nicki Micheaux, Erica Hubbard, Mishon Ratliff, and Rhyon Brown. From the Executive Producer of Prison Break, Kevin Hooks, and the Executive Producer of Soul Food, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson.
US Movie Shorts
Good Morning Baby, Glamour Reel Moments
A confused woman struggles between two loves-a love for her so-called future husband and a love for a new found home. Falling off her envisioned map of life, she tries to find her true self and her true love.
International
Australia: Only Wanna Love Ya by Expatriate
Lurking in the spaces between dark rock and electro, Sydney's Expatriate takes the '80s aesthetic of the Cure, Joy Division, and Echo and the Bunnymen and turns it on its head. Expatriate has won fans across Australia supporting Wolfmother, the Presets, Decoder Ring, and the Grates. "Only Wanna Love Ya" seeps down into the recesses of the darkest corner of the club, but still has the wherewithal to explode into something more passionate and hopeful during the chorus.
New Zealand: Only Wanna Love Ya by Expatriate
Lurking in the spaces between dark rock and electro, Sydney's Expatriate takes the '80s aesthetic of the Cure, Joy Division, and Echo and the Bunnymen and turns it on its head. Expatriate has won fans across Australia supporting Wolfmother, the Presets, Decoder Ring, and the Grates. "Only Wanna Love Ya" seeps down into the recesses of the darkest corner of the club, but still has the wherewithal to explode into something more passionate and hopeful during the chorus.
Canada: Salvatore Amato by Bell Orchestre
Now, now – don't go accusing us of playing favorites just because Bell Orchestre happen to share members with our beloved Arcade Fire. That has nothing to do with why we've appointed "Salvatore Amato" to be our free Single of the Week. We picked this tune because it takes a little bit of post-rock minimalism a long way. The tune is a glowing, celebratory march into the heart of sweetness. It's like Tortoise and the Polyphonic Spree had a big baby and then tied bells to its fingers and toes. Or perhaps that's a bit too much, but we hope you get the idea.
France: Crooked Roof by J. Tillman
Protégé de Damien Jurado, J. Tillman est un jeune auteur-interprète issu d'une scène folk de Seattle en plein renouveau (en témoignent Rocky Votolato ou Band Of Horses). Déjà auteur de deux albums autoproduits, ce fan de Bob Dylan et de The Band sort aujourd'hui Minor Works. Situé quelque part entre l'atmosphère hantée des ballades de Jesse Sykes et l'americana prodigieusement mélancolique des Scud Mountain Boys, la folk de J. Tillman s'appuie aussi sur une écriture impeccable dont " Crooked Roof ", notre Single de la semaine, est sans doute parmi les meilleurs exemples.
UK: Thin Blue Flame by Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter made some waves with his first studio albums, creating folk music with a touch of humor and good spirits. But with his latest, Animal Years, Ritter finds that the soulful, poetic spirit within him is perhaps his truest voice. "Thin Blue Flame" starts with a few melancholy notes and grows into something bigger and bolder as the lyrics come full force, the piano builds, and the imagery turns into something that is part passion/part anger. Get this remarkable tune today as our free Single of the Week.