It’s a special SXSW Free Music Edition of Music Mondays.

For those of you who can’t afford $599 tickets to SXSW (not to mention airfare and hotels). . .

Here’s a ton of free, legal songs from many of the bands that are playing at SXSW:

•  If you get one sampler, this one seems to be the most packed with good songs: NPR 71 song SXSW sampler (or here’s a link to download them all as a  zip file)
• GREAT songs by Zola Jesus, Seryn, Poliça, Shearwater
• Notable songs by Bear in Heaven, Dry the River, We are Augustines, Lower Dens, Sharon Van Etten, Of Monsters and Men, Tanlines

• Notable songs by Fort Lean, Miike Snow, Niki and the Dove, Motopony, M. Ward/Zooey, Savoir Adore, Shearwater, White Rabbits, Sharon Van Etten, The Big Pink, Zola Jesus

• Notable songs by: St. Lucia, Class Actress, Tycho, Youth Lagoon, Bear in Heaven

• Notable songs b...

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Here’s some of the best albums so far in 2012 that you can stream for free right now (click the title to go to the respective sites to stream. Click on Spotify Link to listen in Spotify):

• Geographer – Myth - so good. definitely my favorite album of 2012 so far. Spotify Link
• St. Lucia (self titled debut) – really good synth 80′s-ish pop (best part: his mom kills his street cred by commenting at the bottom of that page)
• Poliça – Give You the Ghost - Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon called them “the best band I’ve ever heard” Spotify Link
• White Rabbits – Milk Famous - just started listening to this today; so far so good;  it comes out tomorrow
• Fanfarlo – Rooms Filled with Light - rock-folk-pop Spotify Link

Speaking of Bon Iver, it would be well worth 24 minutes of your life to watch/listen to this beautiful, minimalistic performance:

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I’ve got two new indie music mixes for your listening enjoyment in honor of Valentine’s Day:

Indie Love Songs

and

Not-So-In-Love-Songs 

(How can you not love lyrics like The National’s “It doesn’t work that way: Wanting not to want you doesn’t make it so”.

Let’s face it. Indie Music is basically 90% not-so-in-love heartbreak songs.)

Click on the title above to play it in Spotify (a free music service that is is definitely worth your time to download!).

Click “subscribe” at the top of Spotify if you want to add a playlist to your sidebar of lists.

Would love to hear from you: what are your favorite Love Songs and Not-So-In-Love-Songs?

photo courtesy of Leah Tihia™

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Specifically these are “my favorite songs that I listened to with my wife and kids – cruising in our minivan”.

So it excludes music that’s too heavy/slow/potty-mouthed/grating.

It’s Indie Music for the Masses.

Unlike most “best songs of 2011″ all these songs are very listenable/enjoyable. I feel like most lists are trying to earn their indie street cred by trying to list the most obscure bands that no one has ever heard of.

And here are a few bonus lists:

• A longer Spotify playlist of the Top 100 (or so) songs of 2011.
• Here is (on Spotify) my Top 50 Songs from 2010 and 2009.
• Together as one long playlist, here are the best 200 songs from 2009-2011.
• And click here to see my Top 10 Albums of 2010 (most of which are $5 on Amazon right now)

Click “subscribe” at the top of Spotify if you want to add any of the the playlists to your sidebar of lists.

50 Seryn – Beach Song

49 Washed Out – Amor Fati

48 The Dodos –...

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It’s the most wonderful time of they year – time for everyone to release their “Best of 2011” lists. I hope to post a few different posts:

• Top 10 Albums of 2011
• Top 50 Songs of 201
• Top Books of 2011
• Top Thoughts from 2011
• Top Posts of 2011

Today’s Best of 2011 list:

Top 10 Albums of 2011

It’s been a good, not great year for albums. It’s hard to top last year’s trifecta of Sufjan, Arcade Fire, and The National (here is my Top Albums list from last year)

Really this year there’s one great album – Bon Iver – and 9 good albums. One theme this year (at least in my top 10) seems to be albums that sound like they were made in a different era:

• King Creosote – the 1800’s in Scotland
• Cults – 50’s doo-wop
• Beirut (though hailing from exotic Arizona) – early 1900’s Italy
• M83 is straight out of the 80’s
• My Morning Jacket’s 1970’s classic rock album

Top Albums/Songs lists are great ways to discover new music. You can click on any of the Albums below to listen to the full album,...

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