Music « Slightly Unhinged

Recommendations

Lala

I’ve been having great fun experimenting with Lala recently. After playing around with several different online music sites in the past few months, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that Lala is my favorite. Besides being ad-free (a huge plus!), the site also has the advantage of allowing you to add your own stored music from your computer to your online collection. If you want to search their library, their collection is extensive (over 8 million songs) and songs can be added to your online collection for only 10 cents each (if you want to download for offline use, the cost is higher). The site is very easy to use and has many intuitive features. I especially like the way you can follow other users, see what they’ve been listening to, make recommendations to them, etc. It also has a fun feature called a Music Forecast, which the site describes as “a group of four songs that you think everyone should hear”. Once you’ve selected the four songs for your Music Forecast, they appear on your Lala profile and can then be embedded on your Facebook profile, MySpace page, Blogger site, or any other webpage (although unfortunately not on WordPress.com sites). I spent far too much time agonizing over the selections for my Music Forecast before coming to the obvious realization that the selections were not permanent. These are my current Music Forecast selections, subject to change at any time:

1. Lua by Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch: http://lala.com/zmHY

2. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues by Billie Holiday: http://lala.com/zeN6

3. He Doesn’t Know Why by Fleet Foxes: http://lala.com/z3T8

4. Schizophrenia’s Weighted Me Down by Cat Power: http://lala.com/zrgeI

There are currently several great “Best of 2009” playlists to explore on the site and if you’re looking for other recommendations, you can check out my collection. All in all, I’ve been impressed with the features and service Lala offers.

Music for a Mellow Mood

I first heard Holcombe Waller on (D)early Departed, last year’s superb compilation CD of various Portland area musicians, on which Holcombe’s track “Down and Cried” was a standout. Curious to learn more about this artist, I checked out some of Holcombe’s other work and I quickly became a fan. His silky sweet voice and introspective lyrics are an irresistible combination and although I have not yet had the pleasure of attending one of his live performances, the clips I’ve seen on YouTube have been enough to let me know that seeing him live must be a rare treat. Check out his playlist on his MySpace page or watch the video below and you’re likely to become entranced as well.

New Releases

The Dead Weather: Horehound

I can’t help but love Jack White. Not content to rest on his laurels with The White Stripes, he has continued to collaborate with other artists and put out even more great music. His latest project is The Dead Weather, which released their debut album Horehound today. This latest group is comprised of Jack White as drummer and vocalist, along with vocalist Alison Mosshart (of The Kills), guitarist Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age) and bassist Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes). Several songs and videos from the new album are available on the band’s website.

I’ve just started listening to the album so I haven’t had a chance to fully absorb it yet… but I can say that so far it does not disappoint. I look forward to spending more time getting to know The Dead Weather.

Blip.fm

I have to limit the amount of time I spend on Blip.fm because its simple but satisfying blend of a huge music catalog with a Twitter-style interface can be highly addictive. Blip.fm allows you to be a DJ, creating your own playlists, sharing your selections, and interacting with other users who reply to your posts or give you “props”. Each time I log in, I quickly become immersed in finding new music, rediscovering old favorites, and connecting with other music lovers. If this sounds like a pleasant waste of time to you too, check out my blips and let me know what you think.