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Tools To Enjoy More Music - KEXP Song of the day.

On the blog, I have featured my top music of 2010 & 2011.  This isn't meant to be a billboard top 40 by any means.  But instead the best of music, that I'm listening to, and of course what you should check out.  Looking deeper, about fifty percent of it has roots in a track I first found via a free podcast.  In fact many of the songs themselves were free. 

A few years back, after finding the AOL interface podcast (now just the interface) where I found recordings of the Raconteurs, Lady Soveriegn, Decemberist, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ted Leo, and KT Tunstall, I branched out to find more song podcasts, rather than just performances.  KEXP & KCRW, two excellent NPR type radio stations each have a daily song with KCRW's 'Today's Top Tune" and KCRW's "song of the day".

Today I'll feature the KEXP 'Song of the Day.' Some gems found include, a favorite of my brother in law with Passion Pit 'The Reeling' and radio mainstays, Metric "Gold, Guns, Girls', and Phoenix 'Listomania'. 

Other greats have been:
Freelance Whales -'Generator ^ Second Floor'
Passion Pit - 'The Reeling'
White Rabbits 'Percussion Gun'
Neko Case - 'People Got A Whole Lotta Nerve'
Blind Pilot - 'Go On, Say It'
Michael Franti and Spearhead - "Say Hey (I Love You)'
Best Coast - 'When I'm With You'
Yeasayer - 'Ambling Amp'
The Soft Pack - 'Answer to Yourself'
The Very Best - 'Warm Heart Africa'
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - 'I Learned The Hard Way'
Blitzen Trapper - 'Heaven & Earth'
(all of these above songs are still available FOR FREE)

More songs are available from such up and comers as Sufjan Stevens and Tokyo Police Club, or even old throwbacks, the Vaselines

HOW TO GET THEM  :
You can browse the iTunes store until you find podcasts.  Or, you can search for KEXP song of the day in the iTunes store search bar.  Or, you can follow this link for a preset pick: 

Once you have one, check the podcast section of the iTunes player.  You can subscribe to the podcast, or search for more daily. 

I used to listen to them with less frequency, but I've started to find ways to add them into playlists or even my collection permanently.   The podcasts don't get shuffled in with the rest of your music in most modes, as their media type is podcast.  Also, if you go to podcasts, and click on one with your iPod, they don't play continuously, for some reason, just one forced play at a time.

To combat this, you can either set a smart playlist for specifically playing these all together.  Or, right click any of them, and under the OPTIONS tab, change MEDIA KIND from podcast to music.  Bam!! free music to add into your collection.

Now, be warned: Not every song is a gem, and I sometimes go two months between one I like.  Simmer on them for a bit.. come back to them again, and give another listen.  I would have skipped over Metric the first time, but I came across it elsewhere and I remembered I had heard it on a podcast, and went back to re-download it. 

Enjoy & Happy Explorations!

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