New Wilco Single - "What Light"

The new Wilco single is now available for streaming and download on The full album is due out later this spring. Enjoy!

A Big Summer for New Music in 2007

Rolling Stone magazine has released its spring music preview and it includes some big names. Here are some of the highlights of what looks to be a great season for new music.

Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Out April 24th

Tori Amos
American Doll Posse
Out May 1st

Dinosaur Jr.
Beyond
Out May 1st

Björk
Volta
Out May 8th

Wilco
Sky Blue Sky
Out May 15th

Maroon 5
It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Out May 22nd

Velvet Revolver
Libertad
Out May 29th

Linkin Park
Minutes to Midnight
Out May 15th

Rihanna
title tba
Out June 5th

Rooney
Calling the World
Out June 19th

M.I.A.
Kala
Out June 26th

Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger
Out June

Chris Cornell
Carry On
Out June

The White Stripes
Icky Thump
Out June

Will.i.am
Songs About Girls
Out Summer

Travis
The Boy With No Name
Out May 8th

Would You Subscribe to Itunes?

There have been rumors circulating about an Itunes subscription music model that could be available by the end of the year. For those of you who have never tried the subscription model, its a great way to check out tons of new music without having to purchase every single track. For the price of around 1 CD a month, you can stream, download, and transfer to a compatible digital audio player as many songs as you like. The only thing you can't do is burn songs to a CD. As long as you keep paying the monthly fee, you can keep listening to the songs for as long as you want. As soon as you cancel the service, the songs expire and can no longer be played. Currently, the subscription based model is only available on services like Rhapsody, Napster, Zune, and Yahoo Music Unlimited.

An Itunes subscription service would be a serious threat to these other services who currently have found a niche that Itunes hasn't pursued. It will be curious to see if all of these services would be able to survive a direct attack from Itunes.

Bright Eyes New Album Cassadaga Available on Rhapsody for the First Time

Finally a Bright Eyes album is available on Rhapsody, ending the Itunes exclusive with the prolific artist. Expect the same quality of music that Bright Eyes has been producing for years.

Will You Still Steal Music?

EMI announced a deal this week with Apple (soon followed by Microsoft) that will remove DRM restrictions from songs purchased from Itunes. This means that you will be able to make as many copies as you like of the songs you purchase and burn them to any CD or compatible mp3 player.

The songs will cost slightly more than a standard Itunes purchase but they will also be higher quality. Other music companies have not yet said whether or not they will follow EMI's lead, but some expect them to.

Does removing DRM make you more likely to purchase from Itunes? Or is the ease of downloading music online for free too tempting to discontinue?

Personally, I prefer the subscription based model from companies like Rhapsody. For a reasonable monthly fee, you can download, listen to, and transfer any song to your compatible mp3 player. Its completely legal and you still have all the music you need.

Top 5 Mp3 Players under $100

Mp3 Players have come a long way in both price, size, and features. Here are the top 5 mp3 players that can be found for under $100.

1. Creative Zen V Plus 2GB - Color Screen for Photos and Video, Voice Recording, FM, Plays Subscription music.
   
2. Sansa E-250R 2GB - Same Features as the Creative Zen V Plus plus room for extra memory and optimized for Rhapsody.
3. iPod Shuffle 1GB - Low on storage and features, but very cool and built in clip
4. Samsung YP-T9 - Packed with features and great sound.
5. Sony NW-E005
   

Sansa Connect - Next Gen Digital Audio Player

Sansa is ready to release its new Connect MP3 player with built in wifi capabilities. This device is optimized to be used directly with
It has the ability to access the entire Yahoo Music Unlimited library in any area with wifi access as well as launchcast radio channels.

It is a 4GB player with room for expansion, but the wifi streaming capabilities make storage less of an issue. It also streams internet radio stations and is plays for sure compatible.

With its wifi capabilities, the Sansa Connect truly kicks off the next generation of MP3 players. It also raises the profile and value of

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

The Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr joins the band for this new album from Modest Mouse on Rhapsody.