Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails
Year Zero
2007
Industrial
Interscope

1. HYPERPOWER!!
2. The Beginning Of The End
3. Survivalism
4. The Good Soldier
5. Vessel
6. Me, I'm Not
7. Capital G
8. My Violent Heart
9. The Warning
10. God Given
11. Meet Your Master
12. The Greater Good
13. The Great Destroyer
14. Another Version Of The Truth
15. In This Twilight
16. Zero-Sum
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

Don't give a shit about the temperature in Guatemala.

Don't really see what all the fuss is about.
Ain't gonna worry 'bout no future generations.
I'm sure somebody's gonna figure it out.

"Capital G"

I'm sure some Nine Inch Nails die-hards are going to disagree with me here, but in my opinion, Year Zero is the best album Trent Reznor (who essentially is Nine Inch nails) ever put together. It fixes all the problems I've had with previous records (or, "Halos" as coined by Trent himself) and has a fresh new sound all it's own. My problem with The Downward Spiral was the corny, dated sounding synths and the cliche metal thrash guitar playing. My problem with The Fragile was that it was too self loathing and immature to be written by someone as old and smart as Reznor. Year Zero is able to fix all these things by using barely any guitar, really fresh sounding synths, effects, and MIDI controls, and a fresh, interesting concept for the album to focus on.

The concept is, in some ways, just as important as the music. Year Zero is a narration of a dystopian future of the United States where political power is abused to a breaking point, marking the start of a slow and painful death for the world as we know it. The year 0 B.A. (Born Again) is actually 2022 A.D. It is then that the United States institutes a new international calender, and all year prior to 0 are referred to as negative years. For instance, 2009 A.D. would be -13 B.A.

That's just the title, though. By the year Zero, the U.S. has been at war with an onslaught of bioterrorism attacks for some time. The government has assumed totalitarian control of the country, and there is no longer a distinct separation of church and state. The motto "whoever resists authority resists God" becomes the norm, and the fear of future terrorist attacks has launched violent faith-based crusades on other countries, and soldiers are driven by use of a government enlisted pills called "blisters," that equates the feelings of killing and sex.

Also, a drug called "parepin" has been added the the U.S. water supply that supposedly increases immunity to diseases and may protect against potential bioterrorism. But when citizens stop consuming the drug, they claim to have an increased clairty of thought. However, the government calls this mere paranoia. There was a recurring hallucination of parepin users, where they briefly see a ghostly, four-fingered hand reach down from the skies, make contact with Earth, and then brightly disappear. This is referred to as "The Presence," and is believed to be God. Later, this hallucination was seen by people who had not been under the influence of the U.S.' new water supply.

These events eventually lead to absolute power of the United States, and Trent Reznor claims that it all started with the election of George W. Bush. It's quite a dark story, with an ending that lets you decide for yourself how the story concludes.

The music is awesome. Trent takes a more electronic approach industrial music with Year Zero, leaving the grittier sound of The Downward Spiral and The Fragile behind in place of noise-based sound effects and songs led by keyboards, drum machines, and percussion instead of electric guitars (which are almost completely absent from the record. The lyrics are top-notch, and really do a good job of presenting the story. The mood is bleak, cold, and shocking, and will leave you thinking about past, current, and future events - and their repercussions.

I recommend you buy this one, the packaging and artwork is incredible.

Click here to download part 1 (63.44 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (70.83 MB)

Those links used to be broken, but they work now. So if you tried to download before with no luck, check one more time and be sure.

Contains a few instances of brief, strong language.

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Mirrored by Battles

Battles
Mirrored
2007
Math Rock
Warp

1. Race: In
2. Atlas
3. Ddiamondd
4. Tonto
5. Leyendecker
6. Rainbow
7. Bad Trails
8. Prismism
9. Snare Hangar
10. TIJ
11. Race: Out
(Also included is a 600x600 album cover .jpeg)

People won't be people when they hear this sound
It's been glowing in the dark at the edge of town

"Atlas"

After going on a long phase of listening to more natural sounding pop, rock, and folk music, I'm finally starting to get back into the ol' electronic state of mind. Battles definitely falls into that category, with a sound so truly unique, that it defies description completely. But I'm willing to give it my best shot. Battles are a math rock band. If that means nothing to you, here's a short little explanation of the genre: fun with rhythm. Math rock bands will do anything in their power to play with strange rhythms and create them in the strangest of ways. The result is complicated rock music that explicitly demands close attention to be followed. In a good way.

Battles takes a more electronic approach to the sound than most math groups. Their instruments all rely heavily on effects processors, samplers, and looping. They also use vocals as an "instrument," meaning that they actually treat a voice like a way to make music instead of a way to make a point. Most all of the songs have vocals, but only 4 have lyrics. And if you heard those 4 songs before you read that last sentence, you probably wouldn't have been able to make out any words, and would've marked them as gibberish. Vocals are highly effected, like the rest of the instruments, and sit nicely in the middle of Battles' waves of music.

But fear not, those of you who are wary of instrumental music. Unlike their past EP's, Mirrored keeps everything interesting all the way through. The guitars crunch, the keyboards float, the bass thumps, and the drums shock and awe the whole way through. There's great variation here, and this album is really where Battles shows their versatility. "Ddaimondd" features a grinding keyboard riff that'll have you up and dancing, while "Tonto" and "Bad Trails" sound almost like a bouncy, old western soundtrack. (If they had ring modulators, of course) Perhaps the high point of the entire album, "Atlas" relies on dirty sounding Marshall stacks and distortion pedals to really melf your face off while blowing your mind with it's pulsating rhythm section.

Check this one out, or you'll never know what you're missing.

Click here to download part 1 (73.63 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (42.78 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Third Eye Blind by Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind
1997
Rock
Elektra

1. Losing A Whole Year
2. Narcolepsy
3. Semi-Charmed Life
4. Jumper
5. Graduate
6. How's It Going To Be
7. Thanks A Lot
8. Burning Man
9. Good For You
10. London
11. I Want You
12. The Background
13. Motorcycle Drive By
14. God Of Wine
(Also included is a 320x320 album cover .jpeg)

Visions of you on a motorcycle drive by
The cigarette ash flies in your eyes, and you don't mind, you smile
And say the world doesn't fit with you
I don't believe you, you're so serene
Careening through the universe, your axis on a tilt, youre guiltless and free
I hope you take a piece of me with you

"Motorcycle Drive-By"

Third Eye Blind (the album) is a gem of an album by what seems to be your standard, cookie-cutter, 90's pop band. But this is one of those rare hit albums that is incredibly consistent with it's album-only tracks, but still manages to pull a whopping 5 chart-topping singles from it. (2 of them being number 1 hits, at that) Unfortunately, the band's career slowly spiraled down from this point, putting out a decent sophomore release and then dwindling out of memory with 2 albums that flew right under the radar of both critics and fans.

What makes this album so great compared to the many one-hit wonders of 90's pop radio? Well, that's hard to say. I would say one reason is Stephan Jenkins' poetic lyrics, which pushed the envelope of what was deemed friendly radio lyrics at the time. The group also had superb songwriting skills, which for the most part stuck to top 40 songwriting formula but managed to meander just enough so that radio fans didn't notice, while listeners with a more keen ear did.

I have to be honest, though. The thing that is draws me to this album more than anything else is that it is so darn catchy. But unlike most 90's bands, Third Eye Blind didn't rely totally on the hooks. Again, because of the band's astute songwriting skills, these are songs that aren't going to ruin themselves by too many listens because the hook get's stuck in your head until deemed unwelcome. Just take my word for it and check this one out.

Click here to download part 1 (60.28 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (61.41 MB)

This album contains some brief instances of strong profanity.

Buy it!
CD

Late Registration by Kanye West

Kanye West
Late Registration
2005
Hip Hop
Roc-A-Fella

1. Wake Up Mr. West
2. Heard 'Em Say
3. Touch The Sky
4. Gold Digger
5. Skit #1
6. Drive Slow
7. My Way Home
8. Crack Music
9. Roses
10. Bring Me Down
11. Addiction
12. Skit #2
13. Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)
14. We Major
15. Skit #3
16. Hey Mama
17. Celebration
18. Skit #4
19. Gone
20. Diamonds From Sierra Leone
21. Late
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

They say people in your life are seasons
And anything that happen is for a reason
And nigga's guns a-clappin and keep to squeezin'
And Gran (Grandma) keep prayin' and keep believin'
In Jesus and one day that ya see him
'Till they walk in his footsteps and try to be him
The devil is alive I feel him breathin'
Claimin' money is the key so keep on dreamin'
And put them lottery tickets just to tease us

"Heard 'Em Say"

Late Registration was my introduction to hip hop. After years of completely dismissing the genre as real music, I heard "Gold Digger" and "Hey Mama," and all of a sudden, everything clicked. I immediately bought the album, and was surprised at the quality of the rest of the tracks. Kanye doesn't let his records suffer when compared to the singles. Almost every song will be stuck in your head after listening to Late Registration. In my opinion, this record is superior (however slightly) to his debut, The College Dropout.

What gives Late Registration it's edge over the other Kanye albums? The beats and the lyrics. I love Kanye's production and his mickey mouse soul samples, but collaborating with film composer Jon Brion to make the beats on this album was possibly the best decision of his career. All of the songs have a classical-sound behind the beats, and are arranged so that each track's mood flows perfectly into the next. It's also quite down-tempo, which makes for a good chillout record, or great for driving in winter weather.

People may disagree with me on this one, but I think Kanye's lyrics really separate Kanye from the rest of the top 40 rap filler, and Late Registration is definitely his best album to read the liner notes of. It's not really his rhymes that make the lyrics great, but the subject matter. The remix of "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" is about the african diamond mines that children die in every day, working to make the diamonds that wealthy Americans demand. "Crack Music" is about the government placing cocaine in inner-city communites after the civil rights movement, and the effects that are still being seen today. They aren't all as deep and meaningful as those two, but I they really are standout tracks.

Please listen to Late Registration at lease once, even if you've never liked a hip hop album in your life. It may change your opinion of the genre's stereotypes.

Click here to download part 1 (73.06 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (74.58 MB)

One part of hip hop's stereotype does live on in this record, however - it contains very strong language. Just be aware.

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Déjà Entendu by Brand New

Brand New
Déjà Entendu
2003
Emo
Triple Crown

1. Tautou
2. Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades
3. I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light
4. Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't
5. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
6. The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
7. Jaws Theme Swimming
8. Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis
9. Guernica
10. Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die
11. Play Crack The Sky
(Also included is a 400x400 album cover .gif)

This is the way you wish your voice sounds--handsome and smart
My tongue's the only muscle on my body
That works harder than my heart
And it's all from watching TV
And from speeding up my breathing
Wouldn't stop if I could
Oh, it hurts to be this good

"Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't"


Brand New is one of the only current Emo bands who can get it right without sounding pretentious or cliche. They have also shown one of the greatest evolution of a band's sound in a long time. Their first album, Your Favorite Weapon, was very cookie-cutter pop-punk/emo that was popular at the time. The evolution from that album led to Déjà Entendu, which is at heart, an emo album, but seems to go above and beyond the average emo release.

The album was an underground hit, and continues to be their best selling album, and have the best critical reception. After Jesse Lacey's call to the Christian faith, the band came back with the absolutely brilliant The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me. Personally, I love that album much more than Déjà, but I feel that this is a better place to start.

Brand New can be almost unbearably quiet, like in "Okay I Believe You...," and create dense soundscapes of music almost suited for a progressive rock act, like in the short "Tautou," or the epic "Good To Know..." Almost every song is a winner on this one, though it took me a long time to get into. First time listeners will fall in love with "Sic Transit Gloria...," and "The Quiet Things...," but after multiple listens, all the tracks seems to be near equal in quality. The result is a near perfect album that lends itself to be played for years to come.

Click here to download part 1 (49.39 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (55.o8 MB)

Buy it!
CD /Digital Copy

Apollo 18 by They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants
Apollo 18
1992
Alternative
Elektra

1. Dig My Grave
2. I Palindrome I
3. She's Actual Size
4. My Evil Twin
5. Mammal
6. The Statue Got Me High
7. Spider
8. The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
9. Dinner Bell
10. Narrow Your Eyes
11. Hall Of Heads
12. Which Describes How You're Feeling
13. See The Constellation
14. If I Wasn't Shy
15. Turn Around
16. Hypnotist Of Ladies
17. Catching On Fire
18. Fingertips (Banjo)
19. I Hear The Wind Blow
20. Hey Now Everybody
21. Who's That Standing Out The Window
22. I Found A New Friend
23. Wreck My Car
24. Aren't You The Guy Who Hit Me In The Eye?
25. Please Pass The Milk
26. Leave Me Alone
27. Who's Knocking On The Wall?
28. All Alone All By Myself
29. What's That Blue Thing Doing Here?
30. Something Grabbed A Hold Of My Hand
31. I Don't Understand You
32. I Heard A Sound
33. Mysterious Whisper
34. They Day That Love Came To Play
33. I'm Having A Heart Attack
34. Fingertips (Reprise)
35. I Walk Along Darkened Corridors
36. Space Suit
(Also included is a 400x400 album cover .jpeg)

"Son, I am able," she said, "though you scare me."
"Watch," said I.
"Beloved," I said "watch me scare you though." Said she
"Able am I, Son."

"I Palindrome I"

They Might Be Giants usually get's pigeonholed into some obscure category of music, usually "nerd rock," "intellectual rock," or "college rock." Personally, I consider them a comedy band. But few people find them funny, so I just decided to label this album genre-wise by whatever was most popular on Last.FM. Alternative is what I got, and I guess that's a fair statement as well. The truth is, the music isn't really what matters when it comes to listening to They Might Be Giants. I never all of a sudden think to myself, "I really want to listen to that accordion part in 'The Statue Got Me High'!" Sure, the music of Apollo 18 is great, and it really adds to the experience, but They Might Be Giants has always been about the lyrics, and this one is no exception.

They get called "nerd rock," and "intellectual rock," because of their songs' odd subject matter. Most songs are usually a reference to ancient history, science, films, or literature. The lyrics of the second track, "I Palindrome I," consist entirely of clever wordplay about palindromes, which are words and phrases that can be repeated both forwards and backwards. "Mammal" sounds more like an old elementary school tune like "the leg bone's connected to the--hip bone!" The song is about different examples of mammals, what makes them mammals, and how they function. The strange thing is that lyrics like this work surprisingly well.

But don't get me wrong. The instrumentals in Apollo 18 are also fantastic. The band is consists mainly of John Linnell and John Flansburgh , who together play all of the many instruments featured on the album (and harmonize vocals with each other a good deal of the time). It's mostly made up of your standard guitar/bass/drums rock band, but most songs also feature less conventional instruments, like accordion, saxophone, clarinet, and more. Because of these unique instruments, the music of They Might Be Giants can span genres almost as broadly as bands like Gorillaz. The song "Hypnotist" is a psychadelic jam based around electric guitars with all pedals blazing and reverb-soaked vocals, while the song "Dinner Bell" might as well be sung by a barbershop quartet.

But what you're probably still scratching your head about is the fact that this album has a whopping 36 tracks. The simple way to explain it is that all the songs listed in blue are actually one song. It's called "Fingertips," and it's made up of 18 super short songs that range in length from 4 seconds to a minute and 1. The album was released when the shuffle function on "modern" CD players had just become popular, and was designed to be listened to that way. The Johns put so many songs into "Fingertips" so that if you listened to the album on shuffle, you would mathematically have good odds of having one "Fingertips" track play in between each full length song. I encourage you to both listen to the album on shuffle, and then straight through, to hear "Fingertips" in it's entirety, from start to finish. The last track, "Space Suit," is also a great way to close Apollo 18 after the long, jumbled mess of "Fingertips".

Click here to download (92.44 MB)

This album contains exactly one breif instance of mild profanity. Be aware, but don't let that stop you from downloading if you're offended by things of that nature. It's really not that big a deal on this one.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

De-Loused In The Comatorium by The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta
De-Loused In The Comatorium
2003
Progressive Rock
Universal

1. Son Et Lumiere
2. Inertiatic E.S.P.
3. Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)
4. Tirame A Las Arañas
5. Drunkship Of Lanturns
6. Eriatarka
7. Cicatriz E.S.P.
8. This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed
9. Televators
10. Take The Veil, Cerpin Taxt
(Also included is a 500x495 album cover .jpeg)

Are you peaking in the red
Perforated at the neck
What of this mongrel architect
A broken arm of soon will set
Past, present and future tense
Clipside of the pinkeye fountain

"Inertiatic E.S.P."

I've been putting off writing the description to this album because I'm drawing a blank at how to properly describe it. This is the album that basically got me into experimental and underground music. It is The Mars Volta's most critically acclaimed and best selling record, and although I'm incredibly partial to their next album, Frances The Mute, I think that De-Loused is an excellent place to start, and one of the best progressive rock albums ever made. It is the only Volta album to be produced by legendary producer Rick Rubin, (who has gathered fame for the likes of The Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, and Rage Against The Machine) and it is the most focused and cohesive Mars Volta record out there because of his production, in my opinion. Easier to take, if you will.

Describing the sound is hard. The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of the groundbreaking post-hardcore band At The Drive-In's divorcey breakup. The real talent of At The Drive-In (The lyricist and singer, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and the guitarist, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez) decided to start a now 8-peice prog band. So, their sound is a strange mixture of Rush-y progressive rock and Fugazi-y post-hardcore with a lot of different influences added in. The founders' roots led to the inevitable influence of traditional latin music, and Omar's love for both jazz and ambient music led to those being part of the mix as well. The end product is a very spacelike, heavy, percussion-led progressive sound with jazz interludes and long, drawn out instrumental sections.

The Mars Volta can be hard to take for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. As previously mentioned, they rely on instrumentals more than an average rock band. Cedric Bixler-Zavala's peircing screech can be grating on some ears, but those who have grown to love it will appreciate it the most on this record. There's none of this on De-Loused, but many Volta songs feature bilingual vocals, going back and forth between spanish and english, which can be a put-off.

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has a very interesting way of looking at guitar parts as well. I think it was put best by the podcaster Jay Glatfelter when he described his guitar playing as, "He doesn't really. play guitar the way you're supposed to, but it works." His parts are mostly made of self-invented chords, near-impossible jumpy leads, and lots and lots of effects pedals. I would guess he has over 50 at least. They aren't all used at the same time, of course, but you have to think of all the strange sounds he can get out of these things.

But if you can look past the Volta's absurdities, you will learn to love them. They're increddibly talented, have a very cohesive, full sound, and have unmatched songwriting skills. Their first two albums, De-Loused In The Comatorium and Frances The Mute play out like movies, creating vivid imagery in your head on every listen. The instruments come together to sound like a dense landscape of sound, like a great painting. So, just get some good headphones out, put on the album, and fall into the music.

Click here to download part 1 (47.11 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (82.47 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan

The Dismemberment Plan
Emergency & I
1999
Indie
DeSoto

1. A Life Of Possibilities
2. Memory Machine
3. What Do You Want Me To Say?
4. Spider In The Snow
5. The Jitters
6. I Love A Magician
7. You Are Invited
8. Gyroscope
9. The City
10. Girl O'Clock
11. 8.5 Minutes
12. Back And Forth
(Also included is a 507x514 album cover .jpeg)

When I die, I'm goin' to heaven
Leave it all to the cockroaches and the 7-11s
But it'd be nice to think we could get it right down here
Just once

"8.5 Minutes"

The Dismemberment Plan, also known as The D-Plan or just The Plan, was essentially a pop band with experimental songwriting and instrumentation. They formed in 1993 and released 4 full albums, but never really got the attention they deserved. Emergency & I is regarded by most fans and haters alike as the pinnacle of their discography. I don't know where I stand on the issue, due to the quality of their last album, Change. But nonetheless, Emergency & I is a great place to start with The Dismemberment Plan, and features some of their poppiest and noisiest songs.

The thing that set The Plan apart from mainstream pop bands of their time was their futuristic sound and their unique vocals, lyrics, and song structure. The singer/guitarist of the group, Travis Morrison, is mostly to blame for this. He writes songs in a strange way, sings in a strange way, and has strange ideas for how his accompanying music to sound. This is in no way a bad thing. In fact, I believe these things are the reason for The Plan's appeal.

All of the music features keyboards that sound closer to being sound effects than a piano, and more often than not, highly effected guitar signals, caused by effects pedals made by the band themselves among others. Sometimes the music is minimal, quiet, and peaceful, like in the majority of "A Life Of Possibilities," but other times, The Plan is loud, busy, and sometimes noisy. For a great example of this, listen to "I Love A Magician," or "Girl O'Clock." Some say that the music of The Plan incorporates elements of R&B and Hip-Hop, though I'm not sure I agree.

Travis' lyrics also have something to be said for them. Most songs have a Bob Dylan-y way of progressing lyrically. They are very visual and read like a story, taking the listener on a complete trip to another place. Good examples of this are "You Are Invited," and "8.5 Minutes." Another thing about Travis' writing is that he rarely follows the traditional pop song structure of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus. It's nothing drastic, but it's worth noting. Some songs also replace singing with spoken word lyrics, but leave a nice hook-y chorus for casual fans to latch onto.

Click here to download (95.97 MB)

This album contains just a couple of instances of strong profanity. Just a heads up for those of you who are offended by those kinds of things.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Feels by Animal Collective

Animal Collective
Feels
2005
Experimental
FatCat

1. Did You See The Words
2. Grass
3. Flesh Canoe
4. The Purple Bottle
5. Bees
6. Banshee Beat
7. Daffy Duck
8. Loch Raven
9. Turn Into Something
(Also included is a 445x445 album cover .jpeg)

What's with all the changin' since the time I was aware
It's like the apple-eatin' people that we once were aren't there
Did they empty out their pockets and debase their younger faces
And you must be sure you're happy when you leave your summer places

"Grass"

I originally meant to make these first few posts very accessible for a causal music listener, but Animal Collective may not fit that bill. They definitely aren't for everyone, and it took a long time for Feels to grow on me. But now I think it's brilliant. Animal Collective make a very unique kind of music where they combine electronics, psychedelia, and African tribal music, complete with meaningless chanting and strange mouth-noises. Somehow, though, it works, and the finished product is danceable electronic pop music with catchy beats and melodies.

Animal Collective are very schizophrenic when it comes to what they sound like from song to song. In fact, their sound on Feels is split almost straight down the middle. Tracks 1, 2, 4, and 9 are almost excessively fast and upbeat pop songs, focusing on the tribal rhythm part of their sound. But the rest of the tracks are on the complete other end of the spectrum. They still have the tribal drums and the African-influenced vocals, for the most part, but they are almost excessively slow and steady, and are described by Animal Collective fans as their "soul" songs.

They feature twangy guitars playing slow chord progressions and sometimes no beat at all. This side of Animal Collective isn't my favorite, but some of the slow songs are incredible in their own right. Notably, the song "Banshee Beat" has a very natural progression, a nice crescendo and decrescendo, and a unforgettable hook that makes it stand out from the rest of the tracks as possibly the best track on the album.

My only gripes about Feels are about the 7th and 8th tracks, "Daffy Duck" and "Loch Raven." They're good songs, and there's not really anything wrong with them, but they are much too long and seem to meander on and on to the point of disinterest. I think they could have been combined into one shorter and much better song, and possibly leave enough space on the album for a new song. But, there's no use in complaining about something that's already been done.

Apart from this, Feels is an absolute gem. It took me about a week of listening to it to realize how great and original all the music on the album is. Like I said, it's not for everyone. But if you don't like it the first time, give it a few more spins and then decide what you think. It may grow on you more than you imagined it would.

Click here to download part 1 (51.81 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (58.05 MB)

Due to the length of the album, I couldn't put the whole thing in one big .zip file, so I had to split it up into 2 smaller ones. The download shouldn't take you much longer. After you get the files, just copy and paste them into one Feels folder to open in your music player.

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

In Rainbows by Radiohead

Radiohead
In Rainbows
2007
Alternative
Independently released/TBD

1. 15 Step
2. Bodysnatchers
3. Nude
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
5. All I Need
6. Faust Arp
7. Reckoner
8. House Of Cards
9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
10. Videotape
(Also included is a 344x344 album cover .jpeg)

I'm the next act
Waiting in the wings
I'm an animal
Trapped in your hot car

"All I Need"

It was hard for me to decide what album to start this blog off with. I had so many great ones in mind that I knew I wanted to use, but very few seemed like they would be a good introduction to acquiring new tastes. This blog is for everyone and anyone, but to start things off, I'd like to focus on the audience of the average mainstream music fan. For the people who say "I like a little bit of everything," but in actuality, the most out-there music in their collection might be something by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. So, mainstream music fans, listen up, because these first few posts are for you.

Almost everybody had heard something about In Rainbows. Maybe you heard that it was one of the first critically acclaimed albums to be released for free over the internet, with no record labels getting in the way. This caused a snowball effect that caught the attention many other artists who were fed up with giving their haul to their distributors. The "pay-what-you-want" pricetag of In Rainbows has since then been adopted by other acts, such as Nine Inch Nails, Saul Williams, Girl Talk, and more. But that's not what's really important here. What I want to share with you is the music side of In Rainbows, instead of business.

Radiohead is known for doing things differently than other artists of their time -- by any means necessary. "15 Step" combines a hip-hop influenced electronica beat with a smooth accapella from Thom Yorke. Later, layers of jazz guitar and bass are slowly added to the mix, working strangely well. In Rainbows does things like this throughout the record, and still manages to be extremely accessible. I can't see any Top 40 devotee finding much to be weirded out by in this album, other than Thom's very Jeff Buckley-esque falsetto.

And be sure to click the link at the top of the page to download jZip, a program you'll need to "unpack" the individual songs for listening.

Click here to download (92.08 MB)

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