iTunes: Free Tuesday
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 Items
US: Melody Gardot, Worrisome Heart - Single of the Week
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. "Worrisome Heart" is the title track to the debut from the young vocalist Melody Gardot. Gardot's debut is out on Verve Records and the sound she conjures up here is a good fit with that label's classic recordings. This is smoky vocal jazz with Gardot providing plenty of mystery and guile in the composition and vocal style. She unfolds the song like a blues tune, focusing on repetition, but tells more with each line of the song.
US: NG², Ella Menea - Canción de la Semana
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. NG2 are a pop-salsa duo from Puerto Rico who honed their considerable chops as part of romantic salsero Victor Manuelle's group. "Ella Menea" is an unstoppable groove with some great, funky trombone work and the duo's own interchanging vocal leads. Stylish, hip and yet completely classic in its approach, "Ella Menea" is our Single of the Week.
US: The Block, The Block, Season 2
Get ready for an all-new season of The Block. This time they're taking over the slopes of Big Bear with twice the shredding and twice the hardcore partying! Snowboarding icon Marc Frank Montoya cranks it up as he weeds out the weak when lucky hopefuls earn their spots as employees at The Block with a 10-day grueling boot camp. Who will graduate? Who will bail? See what happens when these staffers turn this SoCal town upside down! Then, as the season winds down, find out who gets a chance to head to the X-Games in Aspen for the biggest boarding event of the year. What are you waiting for? They're hitting the slopes and partying harder than you thought possible without getting arrested. Dust off your board and get ready for the return of the wildest hotel around.
US: Three Sheets, Three Sheets, Season 3
Can you say "I'm buying" in 12 languages? Embark on this international drinking tour with comedian Zane Lamprey who takes you around the world to master local drinking customs. In Season 3, Zane hits travels to even more exotic stops, from Rio to Gibraltar, from Vietnam to Russia. Cheers! (3 Episodes: Belgium, Chile, Croatia)
US: Celebracadabra, Celebracadabra, Season 1
Get ready for VH1's new series Celebracadabra, a celeb-reality challenge unlike any other. Seven stars team up with seven professional magicians in a race to become the ultimate celebrity magician. Watch as Celebrity Fit Club host ANT, Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt, comedian Hal Sparks, singer Carnie Wilson, '80s icon C. Thomas Howell, Kid N' Play's Chris "Kid" Reid, and actress Lisa Ann Walter duke it out while learning tricks that can take the masters years to master.
US: Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist, Bobby G - Adventure Capitalist, Season 1
With a lust for life and a knack for making major money, intrepid entrepreneur Bobby Genovese is the globetrotting, scuba diving, polo-playing savant behind BG Capital, with business ventures that take him from Aspen to the Bahamas, New York to Nicaragua. Each week, you'll get a glimpse of Bobby and his team, at work and at play, to see how thinking big can lead to living large.
US: Start-Up Junkies, Start-Up Junkies, Season 1
The pitch: CEO/entrepreneur/Start-up junkie Ron Wiener believes that the world is ready for a revolutionary online postal mail service. The goal: Secure millions in funding from investors and take Earth Class Mail from promising idea to profitable reality. The problem: Nine out of 10 start-ups fail . . .
US: I Bet You, I Bet You, Season 1
I Bet You is a half-hour game show slash doc slash buddy comedy. In each episode we glimpse inside the outrageous lives of best friends and uber gamblers Phil "the Unabomber" Laak and Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari as they wander the streets of America betting and daring each other and others on anything and everything that inspires them. (S***m Bank, Bartending)
International Music
Australia: Yves Klein Blue, Polka - Single of the Week
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. Yves Klein Blue have been drawing attention to themselves for the past year. Having kicked off their career by winning a major national competition, they've also supported the likes of the Living End, Ben Kweller, 1990s, You Am I, and many more. The first single from Yves Klein Blue is the catchy tune, "Polka", a 4/4 ode to the trappings of the night. It's the first insight into this fresh new band, who are as diverse in their music as in their influences, citing Bowie and Lou Reed to Nirvana, the Clash and the Beatles without adhering to or regurgitating any particular genre.
New Zealand: Yves Klein Blue, Polka - Single of the Week
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. Yves Klein Blue have been drawing attention to themselves for the past year. Having kicked off their career by winning a major national competition, they've also supported the likes of the Living End, Ben Kweller, 1990s, You Am I, and many more. The first single from Yves Klein Blue is the catchy tune, "Polka", a 4/4 ode to the trappings of the night. It's the first insight into this fresh new band, who are as diverse in their music as in their influences, citing Bowie and Lou Reed to Nirvana, the Clash and the Beatles without adhering to or regurgitating any particular genre.
Canada: Lights, White - Single of the Week
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. In the mood for some non-fattening sweetener? We think this track from White might make a perfect substitute for that weird synthetic stuff you find in the cafes. It's a synth-pop tune that bubbles along breathily with a touch of slashing guitar in the chorus. It's a track that sounds continuously dazzled by the lights mentioned so often in the lyrics - enjoy it, it's on us.
Nederland: Jeremy's, I Know You Do - Single Van de Week
Het gaat de Kamperse band 'Jeremy's' al enige tijd voor de wind. TMF bekroonde de band tot Kweekvijver Talent, 3FM gaf hen de titel Serious Talent en ze kunnen inmiddels Giel Beelen tot één van hun grote fans rekenen. Het bejubelde album 'Oh Yeah Aha Oh' staat bol van aanstekelijke pop punk liedjes die gillen om over een festivalterrein heen te denderen. Tijd dus voor een Single van de Week, en laat de lente nu maar beginnen!
UK: Cass McCombs, That's That - Single of the Week
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. "That's That" is a track from Cass McCombs' third album, Dropping the Writ. The album is his first outing on Domino and it's another stunner from the hugely talented singer/songwriter. Coming from the classic school of songwriting that has members like Ron Sexsmith and Josh Rouse, McCombs doesn't hold back - he works in beautiful layers of piano, fluttering harmonies, and sparkling touches of guitar over a rumbling rhythm track. It's incredibly mellow, but upon close inspection, the details come alive
France: Vampire Weekend, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Single de la semaine
Chaque semaine, nous trouvons un morceau d'un artiste ou d'un groupe que nous avons apprécié et nous vous le faisons partager.L'engouement pour le groupe vampire Weekend s'est amplifié considérablement. Rolling Stone Magazine a notamment classé le titre « Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa » parmi les 100 meilleurs de l'année 2007. Il faut avouer qu'il est impossible de rester insensible à la musique du quatuor new-yorkais, qui décrit son style musical comme le « Upper West Side Soweto », un véritable brassage d'influences allant de Paul Simon aux Talking Heads en passant par Fela. À Paris, ils ont fait chanter une Cigale à l'unisson lors de leur dernier passage en première partie de The Shins. Tout semble confirmer que Vampire Weekend est l'une des révélations de ce début d'année.Si vous aimez ce morceau, obtenez l'EP ici.
Japan: Port O'Brien, I Woke Up Today - 今週のシングル
Bright Eyes、Matt Ward を虜にし、Neil Young-meets-Arcade Fire とも称される新世代クァルテット。カリフォルニア在住、フィッシャーマンでもあるSSW、Van Pierszalowski を中心とした4人組。カントリー/フォークの偉大な先人、Wil Oldham 的な枯れた唄心と、Clap Your Hands Say Yeah に代表する新世代バンドが持つ瑞々しさや荒々しさを併せ持っている。温故知新の魅力にあふれた稀有なバンドの堂々たるデビュー・アルバム「ALL WE COULD DO WAS SING」から、"I Woke Up Today"をダウンロード。
