45 Music Web Sites that Offer Free Music

Are you ready to rock? (or rap, or pop, or…)  Web Upon will direct you to 45 sites that offer free music in one form or another.  I visited the first 25 and found sites that were favorites of mine and others that were new – I also found a few that are now defunct.  Here are the top ten as ranked by Web Upon:

1. Pandora
   Create your own Radio Station(s) – I have nine.  Input one of your favorite bands or songs and Pandora (a product of the Music Genome Project) gives you the opportunity to listen to other bands and songs that are similar to the favorite one chosen.  If you like a song you can give it a thumbs up.  If you don’t like a song, you can give it a thumbs down and Pandora will move on to the next song.  As a result, I have found several new bands that I really enjoy.  You can’t choose any specific songs, but Pandora is for you if you enjoy a mix of old and new (to you) tunes.  We had a bit of a scare recently about Pandora closing down, but they took on some advertising in order to keep the free tunes coming.  This is also my favorite music site.
2. Last.fm
   You will find lots of music on Last.fm.  You can join this listening community (meaning pay for services) and make new friends who share your musical interests. As a Last.fm member, you have the ability to play full tracks and/or create a custom playlist.
3. IMEEM
   I’m not a user, so this is from the Web Upon site: If you really dig your music, then you have come to the right place. IMEEM is the biggest and most comprehensive music resource on the web to get great music. Join the IMEEM community and share your music interests with others or watch music videos if you are not too busy.
4. Songza
   I like Songza.  You can find and listen to the artist or song you like. You aren’t required to subscribe or to pay for the services (differs from Last.fm or Rhapsody), since Songza pays for licenses (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) which, in turn, pays the publishers, writers, and artists while listeners get free music.
5. thesixtyone
   Edited from Web Upon: This website offers music to listen to, but not download. Listeners can earn points by bumping up favorite songs that catches on with other listeners and they too can bump up the song. Listeners are the ultimate judges of the song’s success or failure. It’s kind of like American Idol on steroids.
6. Grooveshark
   From Grooveshark: …an online music community that rewards you for sharing, reviewing, and discovering new music.  Featuring Autoplay, a new tool from Grooveshark Lite [that] builds a live playlist of only the music you want to listen to, from a library of over five million songs.  Discover, recommend, share, and download music without restrictions.
7. SpiralFrog
   Over a million songs to download legally and free. You are required to register for a free membership to start downloading music.  Lots of features.
8. Mp3eq
   Featuring the top songs from music charts around the world.  Another social network that allows you to download free Mp3s or add your own.
9. Ruckus
   This is a music network that focuses on students, providing opportunity to download and listen to free music. Edited from Web Upon: Students can download unlimited free and legal music from more than 3 million songs.  Additionally, students can legally download hundreds of popular movies and television shows through the Ruckus service.
10. Jamendo
    From Web Upon: Open your ears to a whole new world of music talent at Jamendo. This site offers its members full free albums to download from the emerging new pool of artists and musicians from all four corners of the planet. Wanting something new to listen to, then Jamendo is the place for you.

Enjoy!

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My Cousin Vinny

I’m sitting here watching My Cousin Vinny.  I had forgotten how good it is – Marisa Tomei absolutely deserved the Oscar she won for her role.  Her comedic timing was incredible.

I may have to rethink my favorite movies list.

Five For Friday – Favorite Films

My five favorite movies:

1. Groundhog Day – Creative, funny, and thought provoking (at least to me).  Maybe Bill Murray’s finest film:

2. To Kill A Mockingbird – A nearly perfect movie.  Gregory Peck was wonderful:

3. In the Heat of the Night – Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, a great combination as they battle racism while attempting to solve a murder:

4. Hoosiers – My favorite sports movie – it’s all about TEAM.  Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper are great in this film:

5. Rio Bravo – My favorite western.  What a mix – John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, Rick Nelson, Angie Dickinson… (although I also really like The Magnificent Seven and The War Wagon):

Be Kind Rewind

I “discovered” the film, Be Kind Rewind, on our flight to Hawaii.  I say discovered, because although I had seen a trailer, my assumption was that, typical of Jack Black’s recent work, the trailer would be the best parts of the film – so no need to see the rest.  In fact, when the person next to my son and I asked us about the film I made some kind of disparaging comment before admitting I had not seen the film.

At any rate, with five hours to kill and not in the mood to read, my son and I decided to watch the film.  It was a joy.  Jack Black was actually funny, Mos Def carried the film, Danny Glover was excellent, Mia Farrow helped tie the concept together, and a cameo by Sigourney Weaver was perfect.

I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone who might choose to watch, but the basic concept of the film is charming – a young man (Mos Def) trying to live up to the trust placed in him by Danny Glover’s character, while trying to tame Jack Black and keep the neighborhood happy, all woven together by the necessity of a spirit of independence and harmony, leading to an independent film retrospective of a larger than life character who’s contribution to the neighborhood is fictionalized by the neighbors into legend (whoa, one sentence).

I think I received as much joy by watching my twelve-year-old son enjoy the film (out of the corner of my eye) as I did by watching the film itself – which was part of the charm for me.  It is highly unlikely that we would have ever gone to see the film or watched it on video, and it is possible that the only thing that made this film enjoyable (and now, memorable) is that I was with my son on a five-hour flight with not much else to do, but I found it entertaining, charming, well done, and clever. 

Give it a chance, if you haven’t already seen it.