ZuneTracks

So My girlfriend and I are separated in age by a few years. I graduated H.S. in 1994, she in 2000. Our music tastes usually differ considerably, mine leaning toward harder Seattle based stuff like Alice In Chains, hers toward the not so hard like Death Cab for Cutie. We often joke that my generation spent all the angst screaming so that hers has to whine and mope about things. For her birthday last year I took her to see Rilo Kiley (actually a great show by the way) and the opening act was Grand Ole Party, and in my opinion they stole that show.

G.O.P. is a garage rock trio fronted by singer-drummer (and total babe) Kristin Gundred, with support by guitarist John Paul Labno, and Michael Krechnyak on bass. Formed in San Francisco in mid-2006, they met while attending college at U.C. Santa Cruz. Their debut album, Humanimals, was produced by Rilo Kiley’s Blake Sennet and was released in 2007.  G.O.P. delivers stripped down, basic rock that the White Stripes re-engineered and offered up to the masses. Kick the tires and look under the hood on this one, I think you’ll like what you find.

Look Out Young Son (Click and Save!)

As Long As We Can (Click and Save the mp3)

Pennywise is a punk band from southern california, and was part of the mid 1990’s punk revival (which brought bands like Green Day and The Offspring to prominence). This is the opening track off of Pennywise’ new album Reason To Believe. It was originally available for free through a promotion with MySpace.

In my opinion, this is one of their best albums in years, and is definitely worth a listen to anyone with a Zune Pass. Even if you don’t have a Zune Pass, it’s still a good punk album. You can pick it up in the Marketplace, or at Amazon [Explicit].

For those that want the CD:

This is a music blog, but this is a pretty important update for us Zuners.

Folks, this is everything you’ve been waiting for (ok, maybe not completely, but it’s REAL close). Today (in the AM, Pacific Time) the Zune team will be releasing the software/firmware update to version 2.5 and it will be awesome!

First up (and probably one of the most important features) is the addition of a complete metadata editing system that not only lets you edit your audio files, but your VIDEO files as well! Next up, we also have GAPLESS PLAYBACK for your audio files. For those of use that are specific about our playlists, we now have AUTOPLAYLISTS. That’s not all.

A very welcomed addition to the software is the FIND ALBUM ART feature to help keep your metadata organized. We also have Multi-Device syncing (no more syncing only one Zune at a time), also added to the Zune software is now a GENRE view. Added to the Marketplace is a true VIDEOS section, where you can purchase your favorite TV SHOWS (The Office, FTW!)

Lastly, in this release are some upgrades to the Zune Social itself. You now have a new and improved home page with two new areas “My Social” and “My Profile”. You also have tighter integration with your friends, by having a list of top songs that your friends have been listening to, as well as a redesigned interface.

Be sure to check out these other great Zune sites, for more coverage:

Zunerama, I Have A Zune, Got Zune, Zune Thoughts, Zune Luv, Anything But iPod and Zune Insider.

Now, feast your eyes on the wonderful pictures below. Enjoy!

Discipline (Click and Save the mp3)

This track was just recently released by Trent Reznor on the Nine Inch Nails website. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be on his upcoming album as well, but we won’t know until he posts more info about it. Head over to the NIN site for more details.

NIN’s most recent release was the instrumental Ghosts album (I purchased the double CD set). It’s encouraging to see a major artist blaze a new trail of internet distribution. I hope more artists will follow Trent’s lead.

In the meantime, enjoy the track because it’s a good one!

*EDIT* Trent Reznor has just released the full album called “The Slip” for free, directly from his website. Go get it now!

Dianetic - Evil (Click and Save the mp3)

Dianetic is a 4 piece rock band from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. This is a track off of their 2005 self titled EP. Be sure to drop by their Myspace page to learn more about them.

Bam Thwok (Click and Save)

This track is the first track recorded by Pixies since 1991’s Trompe Le Monde and is also their only recording since the band reunited in 2004. This track was originally recorded for the Shrek 2 soundtrack, but was dropped from it at the last minute.

Pixies is an alternative rock band from Boston, MA. They released 4 studio albums, and 1 EP before their breakup in 1993. The band reformed in 2004 and has played numerous festivals and shows. There is no word on a new album from the band, but their fans eagerly await one.

This is not a free mp3, but more of a personal blog note…

Pork And Beans (Preview) (right click and save this preview)

As many of you know, I am a HUGE Weezer fan. Well, they just released a new single from their upcoming album. The track is called Pork and Beans, and let me tell you that it is AWESOME! The track has crunching guitars, rad gang vocals, hand clapping (all elements of classic Weezer).

You’ve got to check this track out today. You can stream it from the Weezer website, and purchase it from the Marketplace or you can get it from Amazon.

Hopefully this is a sign of awesome things to come from =w=.

Apple Trees

(Click and Save the mp3)

Ozma is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1995. Their style of music is a mix of powerpop (similar to Weezer) and new wave. They released several albums from 1996 until they broke up in 2004, and subsequently re-united in 2006. They have most recently toured with The Rentals (which feature former =w= member Matt Sharp, and former “that dog.” bassist Rachel Haden).

This track is off of their 2000 release “Rock and Roll Part 3″. It’s not available in the Marketplace, but you can get the mp3 album from Amazon.

For those that want the CD:

The Idiots Are Taking Over
(Click the link and Save As mp3)

This is one of my favorite tracks off of NoFX’s 2003 EP “Regaining Unconciousness“, which was released as a teaser for their next album “The War on Errorism“. You can also pick this album up in the Marketplace.

The album art depicts how “the corporate coffee will make Zombies of you all”.