eMusic

You know ... a little new music in your life goes a really long way. And it's never been easier to connect with incredible shit, never been easier to make it or get it.

I'm a big fan of eMusic. They're pretty much the #2 online retailer at this point ... and they have DRM-free stuff of solid quality (bitrate-wise) for pretty damn cheap. They do a monthly subscription system where you get so many tracks per month and it works out really well. They mostly do indie labels and artists (whereas iTunes and Amazon carry major labels) and they have some incredible stuff.

I'm also a big fan of buying music vs. downloading it for free. Its never been easier to pay for music and know that it goes mostly to the artists not the middlemen. And digital music is cheaper w/o the CD. And you know ... when you pay for something you kind of enjoy it more. Or you have the proper respect for it and that feels good. And it also keeps you from just downloading gobs of stuff that you don't ... have any connection with or time for. That cheapens it.

That being said, I'm going to give a few copies away of this or that ... and I might just grab something here or there that's on a blog (and is free as such) or on a friend's computer but I do want to spend some money on music. Honestly there isn't a lot that makes more sense to spend money on. Music is art and you should surround yourself with art and pay the proper respect to the artists.

And as I was saying to my man Dan tonight ... the great thing about music ... is that no matter how into it you are there's always going to be 1000 things you've never heard of and hell, genres you didn't even know existed, even. And you know, some of that shit is going to be incredible. Even if you were just picking at random (which you don't have to).

My entire life has been a progression through so many artists and kinds of music ... there have always been new things I've discovered and never knew about that are amazing.

It's like ... there's gold fucking nuggets just waiting for you in the field ... you just have to look a little.

You know ... those albums that are just classic ... that almost define an era for you ... like the Beastie Boys' Check Your Head or Nine Inch Nails' Downward Spiral or Pearl Jam's Ten ... ? Or whatever they might be for you? Those experiences with music are still happening with new stuff all the time if you make the time to connect with it.

Anyway ... eMusic is nice cuz you just get three or two or four albums a month and you can really enjoy them and keep 'em coming easily. Direct debit from your account like $15/month or something. Easy. Certainly there's a lot of other quality distribution methods including the humble CD store ... but yeah. Do it! Nothing like some great new music.