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. Highlight of this week: 3 free episodes of the FX series The Riches.
US Items
US: Antonio Carmona, Vengo Venenoso - 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. The former lead vocalist of Ketama has enlisted the help of famed producer Gustavo Santaolalla for the songs on Vengo Venenoso and the result is a luxurious and smooth entry into flamenco-tinged, first-rate pop music. The title track is a beautifully-played mix of flamenco touches on acoustic guitar but with a backing group that shows nuances of roots rock and jazz fusion.
US: Algebra Blessett, Run and Hide - 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. Algebra Blessett is an R&B songbird from Atlanta whose gentle rain caught the ear of Kedar Massenburg, who assisted D'Angelo and Erykah Badu early on in their careers. With "Run and Hide," Blessett curls toes with a sensuous tale of elusive love, heightened by synthesized strings, heartbeat keys, and a bedrock beat. Nothing complex about this Algebra; enter her classroom and get schooled.
US: Emily Jane White, Time on Your Side - Discovery Download
Our Discovery Download puts the focus on a different genre each week, offering up a free track we think is worth your attention. Emily Jane White is a twenty-something vocalist from the San Francisco Bay Area. "Time On Your Side" is from her album Dark Undercoat and it's finger-picking folk tune underscored by White's husky, slightly lonely vocals. It has the vibe of that "weird America" sound that many of us love here at iTunes but she trades in arcane mythical references for more concrete, lyrical poetry about life and loves.
US: The Paper, The Paper, Season 1
Think high school is all fun and games? Think again! The Paper takes on the unusual but spirited subject matter of high school journalism and all the surprising drama it evokes at Florida's top high school newspaper, "The Circuit." Its fiercely competitive student staff exhibits the aptitude, pride, and ambition of future leaders and wants the world to know it. Between struggling to keep the peace with each other, maintaining good grades, and managing extra-curricular activities, these students have their hands full but still put their heart and soul into finding stories and making the best paper in the state. Every day, these dynamic personalities battle it out to see who has what it takes to produce "all the news that's fit to print."
US: The Riches, The Riches, Season 2
Blackmail. Murder. And back to life in the RV. The Malloys, after successfully passing themselves off as "The Riches," a yuppie family living in suburban America, face big trouble in Season 2. Wayne Malloy tries to clean up the mess in Eden Falls while his con artist family hits the road. But the Malloys find the old pleasures of the road and the Traveller way of life hard to come by. Dahlia and the kids don't feel like professional cons anymore. They got used to life in Eden Falls and are now lost and unsteady when forced to live by their wits. When Wayne raises the possibility of returning to pull off one Last Great Con that could earn them enough money to stop running and conning forever, the Malloys decide to roll the dice. They risk going back to Eden Falls despite the ongoing threat from Dahlia's cousin Dale and the presence of a new and frightening adversary, a legendary Traveller named Quinn. Wayne's attempt to protect his family while continuing his quest to steal the American Dream proves to be more challenging than the Malloys could ever suspect. (3 episodes: Pig In a Poke, Burning Bill, Short Change)
US: Noein, Noein
In the near future, a violent battle takes place between the dimension La'cryma (protector of humanity) and the dimension Shangri-La, bent on the annihilation of all space-time. A group known as the Dragon Calvary is dispatched through space and time, searching for the only thing that can stop the invasion: the Dragon's Torque. In the present, 12-year-old Haruka and her friend Yuu are contemplating running away from home when they meet a member of the Dragon Calvary named Karasu (Crow). He believes that Haruka possesses the Dragon's Torque - and claims to be Yuu from 15 years in the future. Noein has been an instant hit with American audiences: acclaimed anime director Kazuki Akane calls it "Anime's version of Stand By Me." See what anime fans everywhere are talking about and enter the world of Noein.
International Music
Australia: Duffy, Rockferry - Single of the Week
The Kahn Brothers are a new band for Edo and Nadav Kahn, formally the core of Sydney art rock band Gelbison. The first single from their anticipated debut album Love Melts Fear is "Open." Edo describes "Open" as being about "that feeling of standing on the edge of your life, with nothing left to lose and nowhere else to go, so you jump into the unknown ..." Check it out now - it's our Free Single of the Week!
Australia: Duffy, Rockferry - Single of the Week
The Kahn Brothers are a new band for Edo and Nadav Kahn, formally the core of Sydney art rock band Gelbison. The first single from their anticipated debut album Love Melts Fear is "Open." Edo describes "Open" as being about "that feeling of standing on the edge of your life, with nothing left to lose and nowhere else to go, so you jump into the unknown ..." Check it out now - it's our Free Single of the Week!
Canada: The Kills, Cheap and Cheerful - Single of the Week
The Kills are duo Alison Mossheart (VV) and Jamie Hince (Hotel). The group's minimal punk noise has shades of '60s biker chic in their image (think Peter Fonda in Easy Rider) while the music is a mixture of the first PJ Harvey record, Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy and the influential noisy lo-fi indie blues of Royal Trux. This new track comes from their new album Midnight Boom, which delivers a dangerous balance of lust and grit with Spank Rock producer Armani XXXchange helping out in their quest for perfectly distilled rock 'n' roll.
Nederland: Hercules and Love Affair, Hercules Theme - Single Van de Week
Als je de track leuk vindt, bekijk het album dan ook eens .
UK: Nothing this week.
France: Poney Express,
Chaque semaine, nous trouvons un morceau d'un artiste ou d'un groupe que nous avons apprécié et nous vous le faisons partager.Il est rare que la musique que joue un groupe soit décidée par son nom. C'est pourtant le cas avec Poney Express qui sillonne des territoires folk pop rarement explorés en France. Anna déroule un chant effleuré, tout en retenue, à la manière des premiers disques de Nico. Robin l'accompagne à la basse et à la guitare rythmique, mais aussi aux claviers, au banjo et au glockenspiel. Composées et chantées en français, ces quinze chansons évoquent une légèreté et une aisance pop évidentes. Elles reflètent une complicité d'écriture et de composition de tous les instants, nourrie de l'influence des duos historiques tels que Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra ou encore Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg.Si vous aimez ce morceau, obtenez l'album ici.
Japan 今週のシングル: Psysalia Psysalis Psyche, Subway Killer - Single - 今週のシングル
ブレイク直前の新進アーティストをご紹介するこのページ。今週は、エッジの利いたニュー・グランジ・パンク、Psysalia psysalis psyche(サイサリアサイサリスサイケ)。昨年は MTV Advance Warning Live のデモ投票に選出されてトップに。デビュー前にもかかわらず、各方面から注目され音楽番組などでも紹介された。ニューウエーヴ、ロックンロール、ガレージのサウンドを消化し、リアルでメロディアスな日本語詞とともに独特の世界を作り上げている。日本のインディーズバンドではあまり見たことの無い新鮮なクールネス。今年ついに発売のファースト EP 「Psysalism」から、一触即発トラック"Subway Killer" をフリーダウンロード。
