Rhapsody Ravings

Latest finds at CD Baby and Rhapsody (now Napster):

Another Dimension (mid-'80s synthpop)

Indians In Moscow (early '80s synthpop)

Brinkworth-Haines (late '80's pop)

Rhapsody Ravings

Last week I mentioned a couple of artist links on Bandcamp; this week I'm going to list a few bands I have been enjoying on Rhapsody that also have downloads/physical CD releases at CD Baby. I mentioned a few years ago that my Rhapsody subscription was the best ten bucks I spent a month, and lately that's been the case even more than ever. Apparently Rhapsody is now going to be called Napster, but as long as the access to such a wide variety of music remains the same I don't really care either way.

One drawback of both Bandcamp and CD Baby is their search engines - CD Baby makes it difficult to find anything beyond best sellers, editor picks or new releases, and Bandcamp have a variety of tags but you can only filter by one of them at a time.

South London post-punk outfit The Opposition have been making their back catalog available for a while now. Of particular interest to me was the Lost Album - a collection of tracks released in the early 80's. You can buy their downloads direct at http://www.theopposition.fr/boutiquenglish.html
or find the aforementioned Lost Album at CD Baby here for $9.99. The CD is no longer available at the time of writing. Rhapsody has almost all their back catalog available for streaming at the moment. Good stuff!!

If you're into minimal synth style electronica or synthpop, cult NY band Perfect Jewish Couple might be to your liking. They recently released Time Capsule, a collection of carefully remastered 80's tunes. You can purchase the CD or download at CD Baby here or directly from their website at http://www.perfectjewishcouple.com - I think the price is the same either way. Again you can find this one on Rhapsody as well.

One post punk band I heartily recommend is an obscure California one. Back in 1987 The Broken Toys released a 7 track LP called The Cut of Memory. Despite a lot of interest and a good following they never released anything else. Fortunately the band came back together in 2012 for a reunion concert and also released a meticulous remastered version of the album with a host of extra tracks, all of a really high standard. I generally skip through a lot of tracks when I have Rhapsody on shuffle play, but their material is quite excellent. Similar to The Church, who I think they supported once, and they also have a Facebook page. You can find the album at CD Baby here or again Rhapsody has both this and the live reunion concert.

There's plenty more out there so I might make this a regular feature.

Rhapsody Round-Up

One thing you won't find in my blog is unnecessary advertising. I'm not trying to make any money from this site - my goal is purely to inform and entertain. That being said, I will give props when due, particularly for products and websites that enhance my own entertainment experience.

I've been a Rhapsody subscriber for six months, and in conjunction with my SanDisk MP3 player, downloading from Rhapsody and listening to the preset stations ('channels') is the primary way I discover new music. Rhapsody is great for several reasons:

1. Almost every artist you can think of (especially in the USA) is fairly well represented.
2. Albums are available to download on the day of release, or often before. I was able to download the new Crowded House album, for example, about a week before it was released in stores.
3. Exclusive live sessions are available, as well as artist interviews.
4. The channels are a great mix, usually including brand new tracks.
5. Transferring tracks to my player is a snap. I can also import any of my existing mp3 collection.
6. The connection with Best Buy also means exclusive Best Buy tracks are also available for download.
7. One monthly fee ($14.99) covers everything, unless I want to burn my own CD's - which I don't ever need to do.

Here's some albums I have recently added to my player:

1. The Frames - The Cost
2. Minnie Driver - Seastories
3. Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers
4. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - This Is Somewhere
5. Josh Rouse - Country Mouse, City House
6. Mark Knopfler - Kill To Get Crimson
7. Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime
8. Colbie Caillat - Coco

I promise to post a CD review or two, when I have some time.