Each week, Playlist’s Glenn Peoples looks at special tracks offered by the iTunes Music Store and other select online music merchants. Here are the selections for the week of June 27th.
If there’s one band that the iTunes crowd likes it’s Death Cab For Cutie. (Well, add the Postal Service to that short list.) So there will be a lot of rejoicing in the Garden State crowd over the recent addition of Death Cab’s You Can Play These Songs With Chords to the iTunes library. It’s a collection of rarities, odd, sods and half-thoughts that was released in October of 2002, but any fan should want them to have and to hold—digitally speaking of course.
Jason Mraz has a three-song Wordplay EP with the Lilywhite Mix of “Wordplay” plus the unreleased demo “Burning Bridges” and the original demo of the song “I’m Yours.”
iTunes’ free download of the week is “Way U Move” by 3Style. The spelling of the song title should be an instant tip-off of the song’s style: It’s funky. There are two surprises. First, the band is from Edinburgh, Scotland. Not exactly the birthplace of funk. Second, the members of the band are all 17 years old. Though U.K. hip hop and R&B usually has a hard time finding an audience in the U.S., 3Style may have a chance.
New at iTunes and other music stores is Jessica Simpson’s cover of the Nancy Sinatra classic “ These Boots Were Made For Walkin’.” The song, which stays close to the original while bringing a totally contemporary R&B feel, was recorded for the upcoming “Dukes of Hazzard” movie in which Simpson co-stars. Yes, Joe, your baby’s all grown up now—and her music is better, too.
eMusic has the new album by power pop favorites and part-time members of Big Star, The Posies. Every King of Light was released yesterday by Rykodisc and is fantastic collection of minor-chord power pop songs that stands up well with the rest of the band’s catalog.
New at Rhapsody are an exclusive Rolling Stone Original EP by Sarah McLachlen. It has beautiful live version of “Fallen,” “Angel,” and “Dirty Little Secret.” San Diego glam rockers Louix XIV also have a Rolling Stone Original EP at Rhapsody. This one has four songs and closes with their semi-hit “Finding Out True Love Is Blind.”
Of special note at Rhapsody is the new addition of Northern Picture Library’s beautiful album Alaska . The band bridges the gap between the careers of The Field Mice and Trembling Blue Stars. Alaska , though, is different. It’s a uniquely independent album even for the world of independent music, a cross between ambient and indie pop that sounds as distinctive today as it did when released 11 years ago.
Calabash Music’s free download of the week is “Sandra” by DJ Cheb I Sabbah. The song is from his new album, La Kahena , which was produced in Marrakesh, San Francisco, New York and New Delhi. That should give you an idea of Sabbah’s fusion of modern and traditional.
MSN Music has, well, not much that stands out as far as music goes. The one exclusive it has that’s worth mentioning is an exclusive clip from Brian Wilson’s “Smile” DVD. Go to MSN Music’s Brian Wilson page for the link.
Interesting things at MySpace: First, fans of the lo-fi psychedelic Elephant 6 collection will want to listen to the songs at The Stairs page. British band Nine Black Alps is a staple in NME these days. Their debut album is out in the U.K. but a wee bit expensive here due to the weak dollar. Save your money until the domestic version comes out and in the meantime listen to a few songs at the Nine Black Alps page. Check the tour dates—they’re coming to the States in mid-July and will hit some major markets over two weeks.