There are so many music/entertainment websites that copy one another, scrambling so fast to “discover” or present something new to the world. And just because you get there first, it doesn’t really make you an explorer. We did poke a stars and stripes into the moon, but we could always see it. We knew it was there. It wasn’t new. We can always come along and say we did, saw, heard something first, but we’re never right. What Daytrotter is attempting to do is to not kid around with you and tell you that we found something that you never knew existed. We are going to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line. We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard. We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands.
These fine people – as they’re traveling through America’s heartland – take two hours out of their travels between shows to stop in for a Daytrotter Session at The Horseshack in downtown Rock Island, Ill. The name of the city is not ironic. They use borrowed instruments, play with their touring mates, utilize an often unkempt toilet, eat some food and then cram back into their vans for the last half of the drive. What they leave behind is a pile of ashes, sometimes a forgotten stocking hat and four absolutely collectible songs that often impart on whomever listens to them the true intensity that these musicians put into their art, sometimes with more clarity than they do when they have months to tinker with overdubs and experiments. These songs are them as they are on that particular day, on that particular tour – dirty and alive. We want you to make this your new home as it is ours. We promise that you will love it here.
-from the 'about' section of the site
And so, I re-discovered this site after I had downloaded a few songs from the band 'fun' a few months ago when my obsession for this band was at its peak (it's still pretty high up there, mind you). There are usually around 4 songs per artist and there are truly hundreds of artists with some little nuggets to offer, some I had known of before and miles of ones I'd never even heard rumor of. So, the discovering began on Friday afternoon and a few clicks turned into exactly 165 new songs (to this point in time), all free downloads offered from Daytrotter as a gift to the listening ear. Auto-tune free, these songs are raw and fun, with not too much thought put into them (as it should be, most times). The site even has its own artist, Johnnie Cluney, who does really basic and fun illustrations of each of the bands and artists that record for the site. Please check it out and make yourself a new fun playlist to make your morning commute, homework hours or run through the park a little more hearty and fresh. Even Ebenezer would have to admit, it really is something.
The song for today is one of the standouts from a band I'd never heard before Daytrotter:
'Airplanes' by The Local Natives (The original version or, even better, that offered by Daytrotter for FREE!)
