What are some of these digital stores that sell only DRM-free music? My all-time favorite is eMusic, which offers a fantastic selection of independent artists and an attractive pricing scheme. There are many more DRM-free stores, including AudioLunchbox, AmieStreet, and Amazon MP3. TechCrunch did a fantastic job rounding up these services in their article Finding DRM-Free Music Online. I encourage you to review this article for more details on the various services.

So if TechCrunch already reviewed these DRM-free sites, why am I even writing this? Well as you can see, there are a lot of options for buying DRM-free music on the web. But it can still be a challenge to find exactly what you’re looking for, especially since each site offers a completely different selection of music. For instance, the new album by Sunset Rubdown can be found on eMusic and Amazon MP3, but not AudioLunchbox, AmieStreet, gBox, etc. It can be quite time-consuming to go to each store and search for a specific artist or album, especially if you have a long “wanted to buy” list (like I usually do!). And what if multiple stores sell the same album, but you want to find the lowest price?

Enter YubNub.

YubNub is a like a command line for the Internet. If you’ve ever used a Linux system, the terminal on your Mac, or even the DOS command prompt on a Windows system, you probably appreciate the advantage of a command line for performing tasks that could prove quite tedious in a graphical environment. You can issue short, simple commands to perform all sorts of jobs, and you can even combine commands together to do much more advanced tasks.

YubNub takes the idea of a command line and sticks it on the web. And it can do all sorts of tasks, like searches, on almost any website you can think of. So what does all this have to do with finding DRM-free music? Well, instead of navigating to five different online music stores, finding the search page and entering the artist you want - only to discover that they don’t even have it - you can have YubNub do it for you. Oh, and it can do them all at the same time.

How? Well, I’ve taken the liberty of creating a few new YubNub commands just for this purpose. There were already commands to search the eMusic and Amazon MP3 stores. I added commands for gBox, AmieStreet, and AudioLunchbox. I then added a new command that’s known as a “mashup”. This command is special in that it invokes several other commands simultaneously. So the mashup I made to search for DRM-free music will simultaneously query eMusic, Amazon Mp3, AmieStreet, AudioLunchbox and gBox.

“That all sounds great”, you’re saying, “but how do I use it?” I’m glad you asked. Check out the step-by-step below:

1. Navigate your web browser to http://www.yubnub.org/
2. You should a page that looks somewhat like Google, with a search bar in the center. This bar is where you enter your command.
3. The command I created to search for DRM-free music is called, simply, “drmfree”. To perform a search for an artist, enter “drmfree artist name here” (minus the quotes) in the search box and press Enter.
4. You should see your web browser split into five smaller frames, or sections. Each frame will load one of the DRM-free music stores we talked about earlier - and search it for the artist or album you entered in the search box.

And that’s it! It couldn’t be simpler — no, wait, yes it could: YubNub can be integrated into almost any web browser or operating system, so you don’t even have to go to their website to use your new command! And YubNub can do a lot of other fun, time-saving things - I encourage you to check out their website and review some of their most-used commands and golden eggs (notable commands).

If you have any trouble using the “freedrm” command on YubNub, feel free to e-mail me. And if you’re interested in joining the eMusic service, feel free to send me your e-mail address and I’ll give you an invitation that earns both of us 50 free downloads!

I’m not going to go into a long and frustrating article on the root causes behind these issues; nor will I dissect the moral and legal implications of either choice. If you’d like to read an excellent essay on just those topics, I encourage you to check out When Pigs Fly: The Death of OiNK, The Birth of Dissent, and a Brief History of Record Industry Suicide. Instead, I’d like to describe how I am going about obtaining music in such a turbulent industry.

I like buying music. I like the knowledge that my money is contributing directly to the artists I enjoy. And since the majority of the music I listen to is on so-called “independent” record labels, I can have some confidence that the artist is getting a decent cut of that profit - more than a major label would kick back to them, at least. Furthermore, using legal channels to obtain music eases my personal conscience: I can sleep better when I’m not downloading illegally. I don’t say this to suggest that filesharing is wrong or that you’re going to hell if you engage in it. I’m just stating that I personally feel more comfortable buying my music.

I get the feeling that many music fans would prefer to purchase their music for the same reasons. But it isn’t as easy as you’d think to be legit. Let’s review the options for getting music legally:

1. Brick & Mortar (BAM) - The “old school” way - walk into a record store Best Buy and purchase a CD.
   • Pros - Get a physical product. Get album artwork, liner notes, lyrics, etc. You can do what you want with it (make personal backups, etc).
   • Cons - Have to leave the house. Possibly more expensive. Requires much more effort to get on an iPod, etc.
2. Digital subscription services - Pay a monthly rate and get unlimited music for your PC and a portable device.
   • Pros - Selection. Millions of artists at your fingertips, and you can legally obtain almost anything you can think of. Speed and convenience of downloading what you want, when you want. Incredibly low price (if you’re counting cost per album).
   • Cons - Tied to the subscription. DRM-encrypted files means if you stop paying, your files stop playing. Songs won’t play in every portable player - only ones supporting DRM. Bad if you like to own your media permanently - and do what you want with it.
3. iTunes - Ah, iTunes. The greatest digital music store in the world, and yet so (personally) frustrating.
   • Pros - Selection. Convenience. iPod compatible.
   • Cons - Cost. Albums almost always cost as much as their physical CD counterparts. DRM on most iTunes songs means you can’t copy them repeatedly - you’re locked down to what Apple considers “acceptable use”.
4. DRM-free digital stores - eMusic, AmieStreet, AudioLunchbox, AmazonMP3, iTunesPlus
   • Pros - Everything compatible - these files will play in every portable player in the world, including the iPod. No DRM or other encryption to prevent copying, backing up, or burning to CD. Selection for independent artists is usually quite good. Cost is oftentimes much lower.
   • Cons - Selection (non-indie). The major labels don’t like the idea of music sans DRM, so they’re hesitant to sell through these channels. Cost can be as high as iTunes in some cases. Inconvenient to search multiple stores to find an album.
5. The Artist/Label - The most often forgotten avenue. Buy it straight from the artist’s (or their label’s) website.
   • Pros - No middle-man - more money goes to the artist. Price is usually as low or lower than retail options. Songs are almost always DRM-free and of high quality.
   • Cons - Selection - not all artists/labels offer their albums digitally. Can be inconvenient to manually search every artist’s site to see if they sell online.

In my opinion, the best possible option would be #5 - buying directly from the artist/label. But that’s not always possible, as not all labels directly sell their albums in digital format. So for me, the clear runner-up is #4 - DRM-free music stores. What options are there for buying DRM-free music, and how can this process be made easier? Continue reading Part 2 to find out.

I’ve seen and heard a lot of comparisons thrown around about the band: The Decemberists. Matt & Kim. Death Cab for Cutie. The Postal Service. But I’d prefer not to describe them relative to another group like that. The Seedy Seeds can stand on their own. So how would I describe the band? Joyfully simple. Deliciously uncomplicated. Humble, happy and kind. They’re not just good musicians, they’re good people.

I had the opportunity to experience this first-hand when they stopped by the Nite Owl, a tiny club in Dayton’s Oregon District. The MySpace pages of both the band and the venue claimed the show was slated for 9 P.M., with two other acts joining the Seedy Seeds: Eat Sugar and Human Reunion. I didn’t want to miss anything, so I arrived promptly, wife and friends in tow, at 9 P.M. I quickly realized we were in for a wait: The bar was practically empty and there was no sign of a band anywhere. Well, that was okay. It was Friday night, and it gave us ample opportunity to enjoy some drinks and company.

It wasn’t long before Mike Ingram and Margaret Weiner (compositely, the Seedy Seeds) showed up at the club and started getting set up. Approximately three minutes later they were ready to go. That’s part of that “joyful simplicity” of the band: Their full kit was just a guitar, banjo, accordian, and a couple kazoos. Oh, and an iPod. Who needs expensive Korg synth keyboards or MacBook Pros when you can just load your backing tracks on an iPod and jack it straight into the PA? Divinely unpretentious.

Despite the brevity of their stage setup and levels checking, we were in for more of a wait before they actually took the stage to start their set. I could only assume that was due to the lacking attendance. How typical of the indie music scene in Dayton. Clubs like the Nite Owl have been pulling in some surprisingly good acts in recent months, but either due to lack of promotion from the venues or just general lameness on the part of Dayton music fans, attendance at most shows is sorely lacking. This is truly sad, since these fantastic artists aren’t getting near the audience they deserve (and are used to in other towns!).

Even when Mike slung his banjo over his shoulders and Margaret donned her acoustic guitar to start their set, the number of people present and attentive was probably under thirty. Twenty would be a generous estimate, actually. But they paid it no mind, happily announced themselves and dived right into their set.

You couldn’t help but smile. Mike fingerpicked his banjo steadily over the toy-keyboard beats pumping out of the iPod, while Margaret strummed her acoustic guitar passionately. When the vocals kicked in, it was synchronized perfection. Mike’s voice was strong and sure, yet smooth and inviting. Margaret joined in and harmonized wonderfully, with a sweet tone you could curl up in. And invariably, everyone’s feet were tapping to the synthesized beats pouring through the PA. Sure it’s simple. Sure it’s a bit cute and bubblegummy in nature. But it’s that simple formula that draws you in, and then invites you to stay for tea. And you just have to shrug and say “sure!”

They covered the breadth of their album in their (relatively brief) set, playing their strongest tracks, including “The Little Patton”, “Alberta”, and “Earned Average Dance America”, a real leg-thumper. As the songs went on, the crowd grew. And many of those who came without any prior knowledge of the Seedy Seeds seem to have grown to love them in no time at all. Given the quantity of hardcore metal bands that frequent the Nite Owl, I was glad to see all the bar-hoppers having a great time watching two quirky musicians play their mix of indie-synth-bluegrass-pop.

After the set I spent a few minutes chatting with Mike and Margaret, and I can say with confidence that they’re very kind, humble people. I was glad to have seen them in such an intimate setting, and hope to see them many more times in the future. I’ll be closely following their progress as they release new material, and I encourage anyone who hasn’t yet heard them to visit their website and pick up their album. Not only will you be supporting one of Cincinnati’s finer indie acts, but you’ll be getting an album that you’ll cherish for its simplicity and originality. And if you have the chance to see these two live, don’t pass on it. You’re sure to have a good time.

More pics from the show:

Music has been holding me together lately. 2007 has had a lot of really solid albums and I’ve been trying to expose myself to a wider variety of music, especially older stuff. Part of that is because I recently got into vinyl records. I picked up an awesome direct drive turntable for free + beer a few months back, and I’ve been collecting odds-and-ends vinyl ever since. A lot of that has been 80s stuff that I’d never really exposed myself to before, like XTC, Ultravox, Fine Young Cannibals, some really classic U2, and more. And I picked up some stuff I just couldn’t live without and had to experience on vinyl: Elvis Costello, the Smiths, Led Zeppelin, CCR, and newer stuff like the National’s “Boxer” and some Okkervil River.

Aside from my Explorations in Vinyl, WOXY has been keeping me alive, musically speaking. There’s a lot in the works over at the station; of greatest note is their recent announcement to return to the FM airwaves in the southwest Ohio area thanks to a partnership with local broadcast station WXVU. WOXY will be pumping out on one of WXVU’s new HD channels, which means anyone with an HD radio in the signal range can listen to WOXY anytime, anywhere. This is huge news for local WOXY fans, myself included. I’ll be picking up an HD radio very soon, assuming the signal covers most of my commute with acceptable reliability.

The biggest thing on my plate lately has been my photography. I was approached a few months back about photographing a wedding for some friends-of-friends. I agreed and spent every moment until the Big Day prepping, planning, researching and practicing to get as good as I could. I’d never shot a wedding before as the sole photographer, let alone for money, so I was pretty nervous about my abilities. Well, it finally came and went and looking back, I’m really happy with how I did. But anyway, I’ve been busting my tail trying to get all the photos processed for the couple. Here’s a glimpse of a couple of the shots if you’re interested:

So I’ve been somewhat stressed with all of that going on, but there’s rest & relaxation in sight! Our vacation to the Outer Banks, NC, is in just TWO WEEKS! I’m really looking forward to it; Jess and I are sharing a beach house with her brother and sister and their families for a week. We’ll also get to spend a couple days with Jess’ mom in Virginia, which I’m really looking forward to.

Let’s see, what else? There are a LOT of great concerts coming up over the next few months, several of which I’m planning to attend (Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem, They Might Be Giants, The Decemberists, etc), so hopefully I’ll have some photos to share. I haven’t taken a single picture since the wedding I shot, so I’m definitely looking forward to taking some photos just for fun.

Well I think that’s about it for now. Sorry for the novella of a post, but it’s been forever since I’ve updated this and I wanted to bring everyone up to speed. I hope everyone else is having a good summer. Keep in touch!

Jesse

• New car! Just last night I bought a 2003 Toyota Avalon XLS for my wife. We’ve been searching for the right one for some time and finally settled on a beautiful black one with light tan leather interior. Hopefully it proves reliable, as I won’t be buying anything else for some time
• (Relatively) new phone! The Nokia E61 replaced my Windows Mobile smartphone a couple months ago and I haven’t looked back for a second! I absolutely love this thing; full QWERTY keyoard, 16-million color display, unlimited EDGE data, fantastic email and messaging integration and an insanely powerful and comfortable web browser make this phone an all-time favorite.
• I’m now a published photograper! It’s nothing special, but a photo I took whilst on our honeymoon in San Diego two years ago is now the cover of a novel called “The Desperate Journey”. The publishers found it on my Flickr page and contacted me about using it as the cover for this young adult novel. I just got a copy of the book this week; it’s so cool seeing my picture (and name) on the cover of a book!
• My brother-in-law Tony got a new 2007 Volkswagen GTI. I’m extremely jealous.

Recent events:

• Jess and I went to Salem last week to visit her family, and spent Saturday at the Cleveland Zoo. This was a lot of fun and I plan to have pics up soon.
• Two weeks ago was the insanely fun Taj Kreuzer’s weekend: Three days of motorsports & fun, including a Mini Grand Prix go-kart event, a Porsche road rally, european car show, and evening with racing legend Vic Elford. I was one of the “official” photographers for the events, and I have well over a thousand pictures from the whole weekend. I’ll try to share some of those soon also.
• Concerts: We recently saw Kings of Leon, Snowden and The Features at Bogart’s, and Tapes ‘N Tapes at Southgate House. Bogart’s is really on my bad list these days; I won’t be going back there anytime soon unless it’s someone I really want to see. The acoustics are pitiful and the adolescent crowds are annoying as possible. Add to that a general no-camera (DSLR especially) policy and the impersonal stage arrangement, and I’m pretty much done with it. Southgate House is really my prime venue as of late.
• Band practice: We actually had one two weekends ago! That was the first time in ages, and it went surprisingly well (I think). It’ll be another couple weeks before we can manage another one, but hopefully we’ll get a little more regular.

Recent music:

• I’ve been on a new album spree lately. I mean, seriously. eMusic is a fantastic way to get a lot of really good independent music for a stellar price (email/comment me if you want to try it out; it’s free for a month and if you sign up via my invitation I get free downloads too!). Also, LaLa has been hooking me up with plenty of new CDs, both via their trading service and simply from direct purchases - their prices are tremendously low for new albums (again, message me if you want to join; I get a free T-shirt or something :)).
• Albums getting a lot of attention lately:
  • The National - Boxer
  • Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8
  • Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
  • Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
  • The Smiths - Louder than Bombs
  • Silversun Pickups - Pikul
  • Lots more, but that’s just off the top of my head

Coming up:

• The National is playing at the 20th Century theater in Cincinnati next Friday, June 15th. Scott, David and I are in for sure. I haven’t been this excited about a show in a LONG time; the National is one of my favorite bands from the past 3 years. They’re actually doing a PRE-show at Shake It! records in Cincy as well; I might try to hit both shows.

Our evening started with an unplanned viewing of the 80’s classic “Weird Science” to kill some time. We hit the road with plenty of time and were amazed to see snow falling heavily (It’s APRIL folks!). Halfway to Cincinnati we decided to break for food and hit up the intriguing Dickey’s BBQ Pit, a fast-food-esque barbecue joint that was not exactly worthy of writing home about. An hour and one major traffic jam later and we were across the river, in our slack-jawed sister state of Kentucky!

The two-block walk to the Southgate House was somewhat miserable due to the frigid Arctic conditions, but we made it inside quickly and wandered down into the basement just minutes before the Broken West plugged in and switched the tubes off standby.

Their set was brief but enjoyable; I recall about 6 songs, including “Shiftee” and “On the Bubble”, two of my personal favorites off “I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On”. The crowd was still rather slim and the energy not ramped up, but the band seemed to be very glad to be there and had a great attitude on stage.

After what seemed the briefest of intermissions, Brooklyn’s simplistic electo-pop outfit Say Hi To Your Mom hit the stage. Without wasting any time they got right into one of their biggest hits, “Dimensions and Verticals”, which immediately brought the crowd to attention and kicked the energy up a few notches.

SHTYM played a decently lengthy set featuring many songs from their latest release, “Impeccable Blahs”. I was saddened to hear just a couple songs from my favorite album, “Ferocious Mopes”, but the set was still killer and a lot of fun.

We had some time to kill after SHTYM left the stage and I was ordered to photograph a couple performing the ancient art of “throw the weird neon light-thingies”. Without further ado:

It wasn’t too long before the Long Winters tuned up and switched on, and it was plain to see that they were the main attraction that evening. Personally I was there primarily for SHTYM, but I was eager to see the Long Winters in person as I’m a big fan of all their work.

It was immediately clear that they were there to have a good time and play some old-fashioned awesome indie rock, and they came out swinging with the excellent “Sky is Open”. The room’s energy soared as they played a mixture of tracks from their latest work, “Putting the Days to Bed”, as well as each of their older releases.

After a few opening tracks, frontman John Roderick opened up the set to requests and really got a good rapport going with the audience. The interaction was really fantastic, and made the difference between “just” a great performance and really memorable show. Musically, the Long Winters were amazingly tight and coordinated, and replicated the recorded versions of their upbeat indie rock songs with ease.

What further cemented the lighthearted relationship with the crowd was the fun “jams” they digressed into; they began level testing by covering Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion”, and returned to this song later in the set whilst John Roderick rapped Beastie Boy’s “Fight For Your Right” on top. When an audience member announced that it was his birthday, John declared a Birthday Blues Jam was necessary, and the group proceeded into a classic 12-bar walk with John shredding the lead. We ate it up and begged for more, and that’s exactly what we got: They played until just shy of 1 AM, and when they walked off the stage, we stood cheering, exhausted.

See ‘em all (hi res available too) here.

Okay, you can officially count this as the most boring post ever.

We were able to stay with her in a private room during delivery and it was amazing. Labor went pretty long but went without complications and both are doing very well!

I haven’t had the chance to get many good pics of Carly yet, since she was sent to the nursery immediately after birth. Here are a few though (she is so adorable in person!):

In the News:

1. I’m on a quest to read 50 books in 2007. Not really a “resolution” per se, but just a goal, because reading is good, and I need to do it more. Today I’ll be finishing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon.

2. The band thing is going pretty well. In a word, I’d say we’re “inconsistent”, but it could be a lot worse. I’m getting a lot more comfortable with the songs at least. We definitely need to practice more / regularly.

3. I’m trying to eat & drink better lately. I’ve cut soda out of my diet for the most part, and I’m trying to avoid sugary drinks in the morning (I’m planning on switching to iced green tea for my morning caffeine jolt). I’m also monitoring my eating habits on The Daily Plate, which has been really helpful. It makes a big difference when you can see how much you’ve actually eaten at the end of the day.

4. Bands that have been spun frequently as of late: Dirty on Purpose, Minus the Bear, The Islands, Built to Spill.

There, satisfied?

Albums
1. Silversun Pickups – Carnavas
2. Tapes N’ Tapes - The Loon
3. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
4. Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther
5. Apollo Up! - Chariots of Fire
6. Oh No! Oh My! – Oh No! Oh My!
7. Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s - The Dust of Retreat
8. The Black Keys – Magic Potion
9. Phoenix - It’s Never Been Like That
10. The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed
11. Band of Horses - Everything all the Time
12. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not
13. Bound Stems – Appreciation Night
14. Snowden - Anti Anti
15. We Are Scientists – With Love and Squalor
16. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
17. The Blow – Paper Television
18. Annuals – Be He Me
19. Drive By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse
20. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
21. Forget Cassettes - Salt
22. Thom Yorke – the Eraser
23. Chin Up Chin Up - This Harness Can’t Ride Anything
24. The Hold Steady - Boys & Girls in America
25. The Black Angels - Passover
26. Heartless Bastards - All This Time
27. The Minus 5 - (The Gun Album)

Singles
1. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me (Return to Cookie Mountain)
2. Midlake – Roscoe (The Trials of Van Occupanther)
3. Annuals – Brother (Be He Me)
4. Bound Stems – Western Biographic (Appreciation Night)
5. Forget Cassettes - The Catch (Salt)
6. The Blow – Parentheses (Paper Television)
7. Midlake – Young Bride (The Trials of Van Occupanther)
8. Bound Stems – Excellent News, Colonel (Appreciation Night)
9. Band of Horses - The Funeral (Everything All The Time)
10. Silversun Pickups - Common Reactor (Carnavas)
11. Phoenix - Long Distance Call (It’s Never Been Like That)
12. Drive-By Truckers – Easy On Yourself (A Blessing and a Curse)
13. Midlake – Head Home (The Trials of Van Occupanther)
14. The Thermals - Here’s Your Future (The Body, the Blood, the Machine)
15. Bound Stems – Refuse the Refuse (Appreciation Night)
16. Mew - The Zookeeper’s Boy (And the Glass Handed Kites)
17. The Pipettes - Pull Shapes (We Are the Pipettes)
18. Catfish Haven – Tell Me (Tell Me)