We're back with more free music for you, and this time it comes to us from US indie record label Deep Elm Records. Deep Elm have been giving away free sampler albums for a couple of years (as you might have guessed, given that this is the ninth instalment) and We Dream Alone offers up eighteen tracks from various bands from Deep Elm's roster.
The album features a wide variety of music, from indie and punk-pop, to post-rock, so there should be something there for most indie fans. It's free, so why not check it out?
Bonus: If you have a Twitter account, and you follow @deepelm, you can sign up to receive two free albums. The choice of albums available for this promotion isn't exactly overwhelming, but you still get two albums for free.
We celebrate episode 21 by talking about Autobahn Polizi, Limbo, Batman Arkham Asylum, DJ Hero, Metro 2033, Shank, Monsters Probably Stole My Princess, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Starcraft 2.
Music: Sink/Let It Sway by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
This week's podcast has its fair share of ups and downs. Okay, I lied. It's mainly just down. Don't blame me though - I wasn't paying attention most of the time.
The band comes together to chat about Batman Arkham Asylum, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Aaahh… A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, Monster Dash, H.A.W.X. 2, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Kick Ass, Modnation Racers and Urban Rivals.
Music: All Delighted People (Original Version) by Sufjan Stevens
Yesterday, Harmonix announced the full song list for Rock Band 3, with a whopping 83 tracks (full list after the break). And just like I did two years ago, I'd like to take a moment and highlight some of my future favorite songs. All in all, there's a great collection this time around, which you think would become increasingly rare considering that there have been close to a dozen music games released in the past decade. Some highlights (besides my favorites found below) include Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" and the return of "Free Bird", while other choices left me scratching my head - were those really the best Def Leppard, Elton John, or STP songs available? In alphabetical order:
At the Drive-In – "One Armed Scissor"
Although this one has been on Guitar Hero since World Tour, I have been waiting for it to show up on my preferred music game since day one. I would rather play "Chanbara", but as my Mom always says, beggars can't be choosers.
The Beach Boys – "Good Vibrations" (Live)
I can only assume that licensing issues have prevented the studio track from making it into the game, but it's hard to argue that this song (along with "Wouldn't It Be Nice") is one of the greatest creations of the 20th Century. I can't wait to jam out to this song's breakdown.
The Cure – "Just Like Heaven"
When I first saw this on the list, my first thought was that it's a perfect song to use with the new keyboard peripheral. Also, it has a great vocal track.
Filter – "Hey Man, Nice Shot"
It's funny, but this was one of my favorite songs when it first came out in 1995. It has a nice mix of quiet/loud dynamics and a great full-range guitar sound, along with a convincingly light use of electronics that perfectly matches that mid-90s rock sound.
INXS – "Need You Tonight"
This 1987 #1 Billboard single perfectly embodies the Rock Band experience; a mid-tempo, catchy track that everyone knows by heart. It's an instant good time.
Queen – "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Much like "Need You Tonight", "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the perfect song for Rock Band, now if only they would include a cardboard cutout of the AMC Pacer from Wayne's World (although it did sell at an auction a while back for $15,000).
Podcasting and procrastinating are very similar words. Coincidence? I think not.
Mark, Steven and Giang regroup this week to talk about Mafia 2, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, Monday Night Combat, not playing Castlevania: Harmony of Dispair, Alan Wake, Arena 9 and Monster Rancher DS. Finally, the gang reminisce on how this whole trainwreck started. Ah, memories.
So here it is, the tenth and final track on Robin Hood Waiter Champion have-Not, the new album by Shoes And Socks Off, which is due to release today, on August 9th.
Admittedly, this is possibly one of the weakest tracks on the album, and seems like a slightly odd choice for an album closer, but feel free to check the track out below and form your own opinions. The video is taken from footage of Disney's The Aristocats, and features much hearty cat partying, which will leave you with one troubling question: Why don't all music videos feature dancing cats?
Warning: This post contains a sports reference to a football player named Brett Favre. If you don't know who he is, you are either a nerd or foreign. Possibly both. For more information, check out our fellow Bloguin site Farvedollarfootlongs.com.
Because Brett Farve's (in)decision has once again hijacked my sports talk radio laden morning commute, it looks like I picked the perfect day to download the LittleBigPlanet soundtrack (on sale for only $5 right now on Amazon.com along with a few other game soundtracks).
Listen, if you want some music that will instantly put you in a good mood and inspire you to create...something...anything, you have to download the LBP soundtrack. One of the best things in long queue of best things about the game was the music, and listening to these songs will put you right back in the game. Plus, like I said, it's only five units of skrill, which is a small price to pay for complete and total happiness.
This is the second video game soundtrack I've downloaded recently, the other one being the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack, which is just as awesome, but in a different way. Yet another way to be around video games without having to be at home and in front of the TV. I love it.
This is where I usually describe how awesome/horrible the podcast is and implore you to download it. But seeing how I was half-drunk and half-asleep for most of it, I don't remember a whole lot. I suggest that you also be drunk whilst listening to the podcast.
Apparently, we discussed Wipeout HD Fury, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Alan Wake DLC, Fallout 3, EXO-planet and Xbox customer service.
In its most general sense, a city suburb is an outlying district of a city - away from the hustle of the city center itself, while being close enough for a daily work commute or an occasional nice dinner. It's a place that gets stereotyped as being devoid of its own culture or identity that leans more towards conformity and exclusion than tolerance and diversity. Arcade Fire's third album, aptly titled The Suburbs, is a lot of things: a meditation on growing up in a suburban environment, an expansion of their sound inasmuch as a suburb is an expansion of a city, and a pill that's easy to swallow with just a hint of conformity.
The Suburbs, while being the most accessible record in Arcade Fire's library, comes off as being less necessary than their previous two albums. Much of that can be attributed to the fact that the first two albums were thematic heavy-hitters; really, how do you follow up albums that delve into the subjects of death and religion? It carries the same seriousness as the previous albums - it just doesn't evoke as much emotion as its predecessors (which may be my fault, since I didn't grow up in a city suburb). The Suburbs starts out the same as the first two Arcade Fire albums - a harrowing, anthemic first track, a mid-tempo jostler, and a hushed and introspective third track - but its SIXTEEN tracks and 64-minute runtime also encourage chopped-up listening sessions that lead the listener away from thinking of this record as an "album" and more like a collection of songs.
My biggest beef with this album is its sonic footprint. I feel that the whole album suffers from too much compression, and the songs' quiet/loud dynamics are drowned out by a smothering normalization. The drums and bass seldom stand out, and the definitely-real strings sound like they're being run through a keyboard. Although this album boasts the most diverse instrumentation Arcade Fire has ever used, you can barely tell because everything meshes together a little too well. Win Butler's vocals are mixed too far in the front, and while it adds a sense of intimacy to his endearingly-direct lyrics, I was always impressed with the detached majesty of Butler's vocal presence in their first two albums - which was at many points thanks to a deft vocal mix.
When it comes down to it, I'm happy that Arcade Fire was able to pull off a solid trifecta of debut albums, something rarely seen in the music world today. But ultimately this is my third-favorite Arcade Fire album; it tries to make up for the creativity and freshness of Funeral (whose very song verses were fist-pumping choruses in and of themselves) and the expertly-crafted dynamics and unrelenting heaviness of Neon Bible by assaulting the listener with sheer volume and diversity. It falls into the same category as Radiohead's Hail to the Thief and Spoon's latest, Transference, as being an album that I love equally for the fact that it's from a band whose sound is comforting to me and the for the fact that I don't have to get out of my comfort zone to appreciate it.
Bottom line: If you're a fan, you'll love it. It's also a pretty good introduction to the band and a gateway drug to Arcade Fire's two previous (and superior) albums.
Best song: "Ready to Start" (found below)
Worst song: "Sprawl (Flatland)"
We're nearly at a close for this album primer series, and this week brings us the penultimate track from Shoes And Socks Off's new album Robin Hood Waiter Champion have-Not, which is due to release on August 8th.
This week's track is called "Throwing opinions At Walls", and features some beautiful violin work at the tracks close. Not content with just that though, this weeks video is compiled from clips of old "The Young Ones" episodes -- a show which holds a special place in my heart, and one which I can't recommend highly enough. Be sure to check it out.
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Warning: This post contains a sports reference to a football player named Brett Favre. If you don't know who he is, you are either a nerd or foreign. Possibly both. For more information, check out our fellow Bloguin site 
In its most general sense, a city suburb is an outlying district of a city - away from the hustle of the city center itself, while being close enough for a daily work commute or an occasional nice dinner. It's a place that gets stereotyped as being devoid of its own culture or identity that leans more towards conformity and exclusion than tolerance and diversity. Arcade Fire's third album, aptly titled The Suburbs, is a lot of things: a meditation on growing up in a suburban environment, an expansion of their sound inasmuch as a suburb is an expansion of a city, and a pill that's easy to swallow with just a hint of conformity.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!