Familial

"As I gave into temptation"

Alright, alright, this music is trying to bog me down, but I'm not going to let it!  Time to write a review!  With his debut solo album, Philip Selway (better known as drummer for Radiohead) manages to venture into a completely new world, transitioning from drummer to guitarist singer-songwriter.  When I first picked up Selway's debut solo album, "Familial," I was a little hesitant.  Now, maybe I put too much emphasis on cover art, but that family in the picture looks creepy as hell, so I was hoping the music wasn't gross like their faces.  Ehem... Suffice to say that when I played the album, I was pleasantly surprised.  Selway's opening track, "By Some Miracle," starts off with a whispering beat count and a slow steady combination of simple guitar lines, soft vocals, and a plethora of hushing percussion.  The resulting feel is incredibly relaxing, yet for some reason has a tinge of darkness interwoven.  Selway's overall sound is like a less subdued version of Iron & Wine, yet his guitar styling is similar to that of Rob Blackledge, a guitarist singer-songwriter who emphasizes sliding and hitting the body of his guitar.

My favorite track of the entire album follows immediately after, "Beyond Reason."  The track has a sort of tribal drumming layered beneath Selway's eerie lyrics which shift to a slightly higher octave for this song.  Coupled with clapping and synthesized humming, the atmosphere is calming, yet unsettling at the same time as Selway sings of dealing with anxiety and frustration with lyrics such as "You're out of your mind, fuses are blown, you're not receiving/... Go and find a place to let it all out/  Count from one to ten, start over again."  Selway manages to incorporate other musical sounds across his album, such as a jazzy feel in the beginning of "The Ties That Bind Us," a more folk sound from "A Simple Life," and a lyrical feel from the concluding song of the album, "The Witching Hour."

Overall, Selway's album is an impressive product given his musical roots from Radiohead.  The direction he takes, while not entirely void of influence from Radiohead, manages to separate itself enough that a shining solo career isn't out of the question for Selway.  The guitar segments of every track sound polished and incredibly natural given his playing style.  Selway's voice is soft and relaxing, much like that of Samuel Beam from Iron & Wine, yet still manages to have a bold presence.  I would definitely check out Selway's album "Familial" if you're a fan of Radiohead.  While it shouldn't be considered a Radiohead side project, it's still an interesting, relaxing side-venture that manages to strengthen Selway's footprint on the musical world as a complete, individual, creative artist.  Take a listen here.

Total Life Forever

"Religious regret and infinite debt,/ Heaven's pressure"

I wanted to write about something that was completely foreign to me, so I decided to take a listen to Foals new album "Total Life Forever."  I had never heard of this band, so I was interested to hear what they sound like.  Foals is a British indie/rock band that released their debut album, "Antidotes," in 2008.  "Total Life Forever" overall got a Metacritic score of 79 with high scores from Sputnikmusic (90) and BBC Music (80).

Out of all of the albums I've reviewed so far, I definitely had to listen to this one the most.  I listened to it about three or four times and thought I had a good feel for it.  However, when I looked at the track list, I couldn't imagine what each song sounded like.  I then proceeded to listen to the album about three more times really intently until I could think of what almost every song sounded like and I could pick out at least two songs that I felt explained the bands sound on "Total Life Forever" the most

The first song that really caught my attention was "Total Life Forever" (this link will take you to a pretty good live studio version of the song; you can listen to the album version here)  The reason it attracted my attention was because its significantly more upbeat than the albums first two songs.  It has a very bouncy beat with some funky guitar licks and keyboard lines.  Another reason why it caught my attention was because "Total Life Forever" sounds incredibly similar to Friendly Fires' "Skeleton Boy" (another album I may review at some point).  They sound so similar vocally that I did some research to see if the vocalists were the same.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the musical epiphany that I had thought, although they have played together before.

As you progress through the album, you'll notice that Foals has two different sorts of sounds they like to play with: one that is a bit more upbeat and funky, and another that is much slower and much more ambient.  "Alabaster" is the second song that attracted my attention starting with some simple synthesizing and guitar strumming which leads into some mild, but brief tension, bringing in the bass and vocals, all of which are incredibly light.  Not only do the lyrics present the idea of flying with lines such as "She's up in the sky/ She's up in the domes/ She's up in the sky, up in the dome," but the instrumentals also create a soft melody to compliment it.  About half way through the song, the vocals turn to chanting which lead into a brief industrial sound that becomes ever present throughout the background of the rest of the song as Yannis Philippakis, the band's vocalist, begins to convey a darker message: "She's up in the sky and the sky is one fire/...And with victory the whole world will be ours/ We will build nothing in it/ Nothing in it."

Lyrically, Foals is pretty strong and has fairly good content.  However, some of them seem lazy and redundant audibly with lyrics such as "Come and help me accept it, affect it, protect it/ Come and help me accept it, it's always my home" in the song "Blue Blood;" and "I'm the fury in your head/ I'm the fury in your bed/ I'm the ghost in the back of your head" from "Spanish Sahara."  Lyrics like these really take away from some of their more creative lyrics that are seen in songs such as "Alabaster."  "Blue Blood" in all fairness is one of the better tracks on the album, but because of the aforementioned lyrics, it drops significantly, not only because of the lyrics themselves, but because of the way they're sung, or rather, chanted.  Furthermore, unfortunately, the chant of "accept it, affect it, protect it" happens more than once.

While Foals seems to be successful in having two predominant sounds in their album (upbeat and ambient) they still seem to struggle with how to use both of these sounds effectively.  While "Spanish Sahara" turns out to be a pretty great song, it begins so quietly that not until almost forty-five seconds in did I realize I was listening to a new song as opposed to my iPod freezing; to me that's a little too ambient.  Their more uptempo songs, however, overall, are much stronger, "Black Gold" and "Miami" among them.  Overall, Foals manages to create something that is unique and possesses and interesting quality.  They are, however, a band that can easily become background noise; you really have to listen to the album intently in order to gain an appreciation for their music.

"Total Life Forever": 82/100

Take a listen to the full album here.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga ga ga ga...

Time to move onto part two of three of my Spoon artist review.  This review is for Spoon's 2007 release "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" (great title, I know), the album that made me fall in love with them .  The album received an overall Metascore of 84, with a 91 from Entertainment Weekly and an 80 from Rolling Stone (much better than the 60 Rolling Stone gave "Kill the Moonlight").  Although Spoon's rating from "Kill the Moonlight" drops a bit, they still fall within the "great" standing with "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga".  They still keep their unique style, balancing a rock and ambient styling.  The opening song, "Don't Make Me A Target," really eases you into their style with a slow rock beat that reminds you of the Spoon you heard in "Killing the Moonlight."  The lyrics in this album are still creative with verses such as "Here come a man from the star/ We don't know why he goes so far/ And he keep on marching along beating his drum."  Spoon still manages to keep this song relatively minimalistic with their lyrics.  Its not a huge ballad song, but the song stretches itself out with various instrumental segments (one piano piece in particular that speeds up the tempo of the song) and simple, yet deep lyrics.

The pace of the album keeps sort of a medium pace for the next few songs and then gets a little groovy with "Don't You Evah."  This song for me really expresses who Spoon is as a band.  They have fun playing music; they mess around with their sound, but still keep true to who they are; they care about making music and love it.  Lyrics such as "Bet you never think it feels right/ Famous-sounding words make your head feel light" really express how Spoon feels (or so I can imagine).  They experiment with their sound constantly and some times its sounds a little weird at first; you don't really feel like they're still Spoon; you don't feel like they're keeping true to themselves.  In the end though, its still the same old Spoon I love to listen to and their "famous-sounding words make [my] head feel light" (cheesy, cheesy, I know, I know). 

To really emphasize how much Spoon likes to experiment with their music, you have to listen to "Eddie's Ragga."  At the beginning of the song there's a few sound effects and some synthesizing.  Throughout the song, the sound effects drop out, but the synthesizing creeps in every now and again like a ghost.  Furthermore, Daniel's sings two different tracks instead of having a back-up vocalist which gives the song a sort of eerie feel.  The double voice over of Daniel really bring his style of singing out and this is really his song of emphasis on the album.  "Eddie's Ragga" leads into a trumpet accompanied song, "The Underdog," which really gives Spoon that alternative rock feel.  However, right after this, Spoon plays another sort of "out there" experimental song, "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case."  This song has many voice over tracks with Daniel, much like in "Eddie's Ragga."  This song, if any on the album, has a very minimal amount of lyrics, with only six lines of lyrics that are repeated throughout the song.  The instrumentals within the song are very diverse and include a few instruments that aren't common to the band (a sitar-esque instrument comes in towards the end of the track).  

The ninth track on the song definitely shows that Spoon can be more complex lyrically.  "Finer Feelings" talks about how many people, lacking love in their lives, often look for it in other places.  In concerns to this song, they look for it through commercialism: "Sometimes I think that I'll find a love/ One that's gonna change my heart/ I'll find it in Commercial Appeal/ And then this heartache will get chased away."  This verses make it seem as though this song is really personal to Daniel.  He makes it sound as though he's been looking for love everywhere and then suddenly, when he "was dreaming in the driver's seat/ When the right words just came to [him]/ And all [his] finer feelings came up."  Although commercial appeal could stand for a material love, it may also be the case that "Commercial Appeal" is a sort of code word for a person.  Spoon really pours themselves into this song, much more so than any of their other songs.  The personal tone, however, is not solely within "Finer Feelings," but there is also a very personal touch in the final song of the album, "Black Like Me."  The sole line that expresses this is repeated several times throughout the song: "I'm in need of someone to take care of me tonight."

Although Spoon tends to successfully have very minimalistic lyrics like in "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case," in this album they show that they can also have very personal and complex lyrical songs like "Finer Feelings" and "Black Like Me."  This album doesn't have the same vast diversity in playing style and sound like "Kill the Moonlight", Spoon manages to find a tone that fits them and they seem to not be experimenting around as much.  However, this experimental aspect of Spoon that has really helped them to stand out, has not completely disappeared and can be seen in songs like "Eddie's Ragga" (which would have to be my favorite on the album).  Again, although weaker than "Kill the Moonlight," Spoon still produces a strong album and continues to produce quality music.  Overall,  I'll have to give Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga an 88.

Kill the Moonlight

"One of these days Alice, pow!  Straight to the Moon!"

Let me first start this by reiterating that Spoon is Metacritics band of the decade from 2000-2009.  Now, let me explain to you what they had to do to achieve that standing.  There are three criteria to be in the running for band of the decade: (1) The band must have released at least 3 albums from 2000-09; (2) At least two of those albums must be "great" (a Metascore of 81 or higher); and (3) the average (mean) Metascore for all of their releases from the decade must also be an 81 or higher.  In saying that, Spoon edged out the next closest competitor, Sigur Ros, by 1.8 points.  They released a total of 4 albums within this time, all 4 of them receiving a "great " status.  The last album to my three part review (Transference), however, was released in February of 2010 and is not included within the decade score.  In saying that, onto "Kill the Moonlight."

"Kill the Moonlight" is the best reviewed album of the decade for Spoon, receiving an overall Metascore of 88 in 2002, receiving a perfect score of 100 from Entertainment weekly and an 80 from Billboard.  If anybody has ever heard a Spoon song, its most likely from "Kill the Moonlight."  The song they've heard?  The upbeat, fun-loving, "The Way We Get By".  After hearing this song, most would assume Spoon to be one of those upbeat alternative-rock, slightly indie bands, however, if anyone has ever listened to any of their albums, they would know better.  The thing that makes Spoon so great is not only their variety in song "feeling", but playing style.  

One minute, you listen to "Jonathon Fisk" and definitely get a rock feel from them, with a constant guitar strum in the background accompanied by a four count drum beat. The lyrics "Just like a knife, down on my life/ so many ways to set it right" in particular have that rock feel.  However, if you listen to the song just before that, "Stay Don't Go," you would almost think you're listening to an entirely different band were it not for lead singer Britt Daniel's unique singing style.  "Stay Don't Go" definitely has more of a trance feel with some simple synthesizing and a looping beat box in the background, which, surprisingly, never gets irritating.  When compared to the complicated lyrics of "Jonathon Fisk," the lyrics of "Stay Don't Go" are surprising minimalistic, the chorus consisting of only three lines: "Confession is stay don't go/ ooh it is/ ooh let's stay don't go."  Spoon manages to keep their own unique flavor and radically change their playing style at the same time, which makes them such a joy to listen to over and over again.

Remember the rock feel I said you got from "Jonathon Fisk"?  Well, that changes immediately afterward with "Paper Tiger."  In this song Spoon has a hybrid of "Jonathon Fisk"'s complicated lyrics and the minimalist style of "Stay Don't Go."  There are only two verses and the chorus, the chorus only said twice, once after the first verse and once before the second.  The band gives you a break in between verses with a repetitive, yet ambient instrumental section.  "Paper Tiger" definitely gives Spoon that softer feel that compliments their more upbeat songs like "The Way We Get By" and "Someone Something".  Balancing out the upbeat rock songs is the more ambient, almost dark toned "All The Pretty Girls Go To City" (which is competing with "Stay Don't Go" for my favorite song on the album).  The song definitely has a bouncy quality with the running bass line, the accompanying piano, and Daniel's repetition of "do d-do d-do".  The way Daniel sings the lyrics makes it sound like sort of a fun, bouncy song, but the lyrics reveal that the song is about young girls going out to the city acting older then they are.  Although the lyrics are subtle and simple, they're poetic in the sense that the say so much with so little.

The last song I have to talk about is "Vittorio E."  This song tops out the album perfectly.  It gives you the feeling that you're almost watching the band rehearsing before a show.  Daniel counts out the beat before hand; the guitarist loses count and has to start over; Daniel's voice echos like he's in an auditorium or studio.  The song later picks up a bit and gives a more lighthearted feeling; the choir chimes in late, almost reminiscent of The Beatles "Because".  The song progresses into a final piece, not just some jam session between the band members.  This song really helps to balance their rock vs. softer feel along with "Paper Tiger" and others.

Other tracks that I love that I couldn't get around to are "Back to Life," "Don't Let It Get You Down," and "You Gotta Feel It."  In all honesty, every song on this album is great and I'm sad that I can't talk individually about each song.  However, each song I talked about should give you a good feel for the album and the band itself and hopefully will convince you to give it a listen.  Overall, I give the album a high score of 95.  Its perfect in almost every way.  Here's to Spoon and here's to the first third of my defense as to why they're the best band of the decade.

The Shadow of an Empire

 

"Do you like dags?"

Sorry, I had to quote Snatch there, the guy's Irish.  Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan just recently released his follow-up album to his 2006 "The End of Histroy," which was nominated for a Mercury Prize.  Released on February 8th, 2010, Fionn Regan falls into a mess of genres, ranging from rock, alternative, indie, and singer-songwriter.  He received an overall Metacritic score of 82 and a BBC Music score of 80. 

Fionn Regan's new album is a lot of fun.  It starts with the very upbeat "Protection Racket," but he's not just some pop junkie.  He's true to his rock and alternative roots, while maintaining a sort of indie feel.  The one thing that really impresses me about him is that you can tell that he's passionate about what he's doing.  He takes pride in singing the lyrics, playing the guitar tabs, and just creating music overall.  His sound is very original, and I can't manage to really connect him firmly to anybody else.  A few of his songs are a bit reminiscent of Modest Mouse and some of the back beats (guitar and drums in particular) sound a bit like The Fratellis.  

Each song has its own individual flair to it and definitely stands out among the album as a whole.  However, each song isn't so diverse from the one that preceded it that it feels like there's absolutely no connection.  There are no awkward transitions between songs, in fact they all seem to lead into one each other seamlessly, mainly because of Regan's unique sound; that is the one thing that is present in each and every song.  "Genocide Matinee" and "Violent Demeanour" probably have the most radical jump within the album.  "Genocide Matinee" is fast paced and almost furious in its message, whereas "Violent Demeanour" is a more slow paced lamentation.  Although these songs are back to back and one notices a radical change in the pace of the album, Regan manages to make a smooth transition, his unique style and voice as the bridge. 

The album as a whole, if it really conveys anything is his passion for music and how much he wants to stand out from within the music community.  He does this successfully.  He's definitely something new and although he may sound like a lot of indie bands coming out of the wood works right now, he manages to intertwine alternative and rock, with his indie flair, to successfully stand out from the crowd.  Songs like "Lines Written in Winter" and "Lord Help My Poor Soul" really show an insight into the artist's passion for writing his own music and lyrics.  Songs like "Protection Racket" and "House Detective" really show how much fun Regan is having with his music; you can really tell he's doing something he cares about.  Overall, Regan has a really unique style, standing out from what's currently out there, but manages to not change it too radically and to mix genres that are relatively similar to one another.  If you're interested in trying something new that's fun to listen to and is a quick listen, I would definitely recommend this.  The Shadow of the Empire gets an 85 from me.

Take a listen here.

XXXX

No, I'm not reviewing an adult film... I wonder how that would go over though...

The album I will be reviewing today is You Say Party! We Say Die!'s new album "XXXX". We're going up Nort' for this band; they're canucks! They released this album in Canada last fall and just released it here in the US on February 9th, 2010. So far, its received some pretty good reviews: an 80 in both All Music Guide and NOW Magazine, and with an overall Metacritic score of 73.

This band falls all over themselves with concerns to music genres; they can be tossed into rock, indie, alternative, and pop. For me, personally, the pop and rock stand out for me most. When it comes to female vocalists backed by a rock ensemble, its hard not to fall into the idea that all female vocalist rock bands sound the same. Fortunately enough for You Say Party! We Say Die! they bring to mind other successful female bands, reaching as far back as the 1980s with The GO-GOs and more recently to The Donnas. "Glory" is very reminiscent of The GO-GOs hit "We Got the Beat". Almost immediately I thought of The GO-GOs while listening to that song. It has a very poppy, upbeat rhythm to it, that definitely brings out the pop side in YSP!WSD!. Their song "Cosmic Wanship Avengers" draws more from The Donnas with a bit of a more "we're strong, rebellious women" attitude. This song definitely draws up from their rock attitude with a consistently fast guitar line and drum beat, accompanied by the anthem like lyrics that definitely gives the idea that a mob of women are singing the song.

Throughout the album, the rock side of YSP!WSD! is definitely brought out more than the pop side. The song "Make XXXX" is a bit more poppy than some of the other songs, but still has a very strong rock quality. After that, they do start to bring out their alternative side a bit more, in fact, for the whole last half of their album entirely. Whereas the first half was more rock and pop, the last half is definitely more alternative and indie. "XXXX/ Loyalty" seems to be the lone standing "rock" song within the last half of the song. Now, do they do a good job of balancing this? Yes, for the most part, they do. They definitely lean more towards rock and alternative, shying away from the pop and indie side a bit, which is unfortunate because "Glory" is definitely one of my more liked songs on the album. Their last song "Heart of Gold" definitely shows why they can some times fall into the indie category. Its a very soft song and if you didn't know better, you'd would think its an entirely different band, falling somewhere along the lines of A Fine Frenzy or even Enya.

As far as the album as a whole goes, I like it. However, there are some parts I like more than others. Like I said before, this band is literally tripping all over itself in the genre department: they fall into rock, indie, pop, and alternative. This, however, isn't an advantage for them. They do the rock and the alternative really well, however, I think they're rock/pop is almost their strongest factor. If they're still trying to figure out what their sound is, its evident from the album that they're leaning towards rock/alternative. Personally, I think that's unfortunate because I do like their song "Glory" so much and it is so reminiscent of The GO-GOs. "Heart of Gold" although its a pretty song, really doesn't fit into the album; YSP! WSD! really should not venture into the indie realm, especially when the whole rest of the album is rock/alternative. Their pop aspect fits in because they manage to merge it into the rock/alternative, but "Heart of Gold" sticks out like a sore thumb and is a very disappointing end to the album.

Although they draw on many female vocalists, The Donnas and the GO-GOs among them, I think that You say Part! We Say Die! is still really trying to figure out where they fit into the picture. If this were their first album, I would understand more, but its their third. They may catch a break because it is, however, their first album to be released into the US. Also, if anyone decides to give them a listen, in the songs "There is XXXX (Within My Heart)" and "Make XXXX", try to see if you notice a sort of howling noise they make. Its supposed to be a bird, I think, but regardless, if anyone has listened to Shakira's "She Wolf", it definitely sounds like it was inspired by her "howl"; I just thought it was funny. In the end, You Say Party! We Say Die!, although they draw from several female vocally led bands, whether inadvertently or not, they struggle to find their own sound. If they don't find their own sound soon, they'll soon fall into that idea that all female vocal rock bands sound the same and will be quickly forgotten. Overall, I give the album a 74. Give it a listen here.

Coming up tomorrow: "Crazy Heart OST"

Dream Get Together

Here we go...

Just to make sure I was ready to sit down and write this review of sorts, I made sure to listen to that album a couple of times through beforehand; I'm on my third listen through now as we speak. Citay's third-full length album "Dream Get Together" is their first to really be nationally recognized. I haven't listened to their other two, but I'm strongly considering it after having listened to their newest one. Its a relatively new album, released January 26th, 2010. The band is based out of San Francisco and has a sort of rock/ indie feel. Its a relatively short album, only eight songs long, but still keeps you looping through the tracks well after it has finished. It starts off with a lighthearted song called "Careful with that Hat". This song is probably one of my favorites among the album. The transition between it and the next song (only 0:54 seconds long after the 6:59 long tune of "Careful with that Hat) is great and gives the listener a little break, hence the title "Return from Silence". Citay likes to focus mainly on their instrumentals which consists of a front acoustic and electric guitar, backed up by a running bass line and some simple drumming. The vocals come in occasionally, and when they do, they compliment the instrumentals really well, being either a happy or an ambient chant.

In the albums title song, "Dream Get Together", you hear a bouncy beat coupled with simple almost folkish vocals. The bouncy pace keeps up with "Secret Breakfast", but changes a bit with a bit of a more relaxed melody, easing the listener into the first down-paced song, "Mirror Kisses". "Mirror Kisses" is definitely in competition with "Careful with that Hat" for my favorite song on the album. It has a very slow, simple acoustic rhythm with a slow bass line behind. The vocals are in a slightly higher octave and have a very ambient, flowing quality to them. A female vocalist later comes in to compliment the lead vocalist, which only increases its ambiance, giving the song a very dreamy, loving quality. The song slowly leads into "Hunter", which still contains Citay's basics, acoustic, electric guitar, simple drums and simple bass. The instrumentals are coupled with the almost silent cooing of a few female vocalists. This song, coupled with "Mirror Kisses", really helps to slow down the upbeat pace of the first three songs. Outside of the female vocalists, who are almost entirely drowned out once the electric guitar begins its own signing, "Hunter" is almost entirely instrumentals. Citay does a good job of balancing vocals and instrumentals in this album. They have songs with vocals, but not so few that its awkward to hear them sing, wanting them to just shut up and play, but not so many that you wish they would convey their ability to play an instrument. They emphasize their vocalist's skills just as much as they do that of the guitarists, the bassist, and drummer.

"Fortunate Sun" brings the album back to a bit of lightheartedness, bringing back some simple soft vocals. A running bass line compliments the softness of the lyrics and the constant strumming of the acoustic really helps to accentuate it. This song, along with "Hunter" are the longest on the album, separated only by six seconds (7:02 vs. 7:08). Having the two longest songs in the album back to back may seem weird, but "Hunter" rounds out the more down-trodden" part of the album and "Fortunate Sun" really lifts the listener back up. Once again, Citay does a good balancing act, but this time, within one song. In "Fortunate Sun", the vocals, guitars, drums, and bass all get their fair share of the seven minutes. The song ends on a softer note, adding in a little bit of piano and some synthesizing to bring back that ambient quality that was heard in "Mirror Kisses".

The album finishes out with the 3:45 long "Tugboat". As far as I'm concerned, this song is a perfect one to end on. Its a perfect blend between the ambient and upbeat that has been seen throughout the album. The instrumentals and the vocals compliment each other incredibly well and both show their importance throughout the album. Overall, I was impressed with Citay's album and "Dream Get Together" may make me a fan. Overall, I would have to go a little bit above the Metacritic score of 76 and give Citay a solid 80. Although the album isn't very long, the songs, even though having the same elements to all of them, have a great variety and stager the tone throughout the album, without making it seem awkward. Artists who often try to merge upbeat with a bit of a slower pace tend to be unsure as to what order to put the songs in. Citay, however, eases the listener into every song and there are no awkward transitions. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone who likes rock/indie, but is looking for a new experiment.

Check it out and take a listen here.

EDIT: Just a special note, the link I provided up above to take a listen is to Amazon.com. I don't know how long they're doing this for, but as of now, "Careful with that Hat" is a FREE download! Take a listen, its totally FREE and LEGAL!