Sunday, February 15, 2009

Free mp3 album: Real World Amazon Sampler

Today's work was converting a few more old cassettes to mp3, and I'm beginning to seriously consider now buying a USB turntable so I can get to work on my vinyl collection.

Anyway, time to recommend another free mp3 album download from Amazon. This one's called the Real World Amazon Sampler, a 2009 release that is a collection of world music.

World music? Yes, that particular appellation has always bothered me a little, because it has a ring of political correctness and it means a lot more than it says. But it's essentially a genre created for pop music from everywhere in the world except the Official West (western Europe, the United States and Canada too, I guess, although Celtic music is allowed, as is Native American, I suppose). But, a genre provides a marketing tool, and this genre allows them to slap together a wide variety of musical styles and call it an album, which I'm all for. And this is a good one.

I could see myself collecting some music from some of the artists on this album, like the duo/group Joi. I like to get a little into that trance stuff if it's well done and doesn't sound like someone repetitively throwing roofing nails at a chalkboard. There is one group from the U.S. on here, The Blind Boys of Alabama, who make the cut because they do gospel and aren't considered pop (I suppose), and at least one Brit who makes the cut because he's Peter Gabriel.

Eleven tracks for a total of about 49 minutes, and you can get it free when it's worth paying for.

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