Imagine if Nick Cave had sung for Crowded House. If you can imagine that, then your atleast part of the way towards understanding english/irish five-piece, Cousteau: contemporary rock band with the velvetey voice a crooner.

Even though it probably doesnt do much justice to call Cave, the dark poet of australian music, a 'crooner', such a term is certainly suitable for Cousteau's man at the microphone, Liam McKahey.

Also an injustice, might it be to call the other 4 members of Cousteau a "contemporary rock band". Maybe truer to say that the whole damn band, belongs in a smokey, poorly lit, lounge bar somewhere. No electric bass guitar here, only the big double-bass. No distortion on the guitars here, only sharp, polished sounds.

In fact perhaps my favorite part of Cousteau is how seriously they take themselves: everything they do is epic in its sombre melancholy. Or how perfectly their arrangements of sonorous horns and strings, drums, guitar and impecable timing have you in exactly the mood intended: relaxed almost to the point of being comatose.

"Talking to myself" is off the newly released album, Sirena, and is probably about as close as Cousteau get to doing a pop song: its a bit faster and more upbeat then is typical for them.

"Mesmer" is from the self-titled Cousteau, debut of a few years back now. It contains a beautiful violin piece that makes the whole song worthwhile. I would have posted the easy listening classic from that album: "The Last Good Day of The Year", but I presume that most of you already have it. If you don't, as usual, get your arse into #themp3alt on DALnet.

ExistAngst is crooning along to:
Cousteau - Talking to Myself 192kbit 5.18mb
and
Cousteau - Mesmer 160kbit 6.72mb

Enjoy this after a long night out, when perhaps your head and your gut need the soothing melodies of Cousteau. It's ideal come-down music.

Cornelius - Drop

What a harmonious and lush song, from the dreary water samples in the background to the great surreal guitar rhythm. This is the second single from Japanese producer Cornelius' second album, Point, which is the follow up to the hugely successful 1997 album, Fantasma.

The new album, Point, as a whole is very well done and clearly covers a range of Cornelius' varying musical tastes, from the chilled tracks of "Twilight Zone" to the fast cut and paste thrash of "I Hate Hate". The album also features similar outdoorish background samples that are heard in Drop, from dogs to birds to night time-like sounds, they do well to complement the groovy acoustic guitar used in most of the tracks.

Do yourself a favour and download this track. You can find the first single "Smoke" which you may be familiar with floating around #themp3alt.

Cornelius - Drop 192kbps, 6.71mb

converge rock harder than motorace... hard to believe, i know.

I have to say that i was a little concerned by a page I visited the other day which mentioned converge in a not-so-cool context. emo is something we all have to deal with. it's not going to go away by throwing boxes of tissues at the emo boys and brown paper bags at the heads of the emo girls. emo for boys is the site in question.. and apparently converge is compulsory listening for atypical emo boys.

never fear cool music people, i've checked the bands official site ( converge cult ) and a quick reading of their FAQ reveals..

"Q: Is Converge a Straight Edge band?

A: No. Some of our members are Straight Edge, but that's the extent of it."

woohoo! stick that meat in your pipe and smoke it emo'lings.

converge - distance and meaning 192kb/s, 6mb

Atombombpocketknife have clearly listened to some Sonic Youth in their time. You might think that Trail of Dead are the only band fit to kiss Thurston Moore's over-pampered toes, but in a couple of albums' time maybe the ABPK can give them a run for their money. They currently reside on TOD's old label Southern Records and have released two guitar drenched albums in two years. This cut is from their first (superior) album Alpha Sounds, and is a must for all grieving Unwound fans (apparently there are more than three of you. Who would have thought?).

atombombpocketknife - Divorce Yourself 128kbps, 3.00MB

If you're hungry for more, check out their page on Epitonic, or their website.

Mini-Update

This is a test to see how long I can store mp3's on tripod. These two mp3s are ones I wanted to post in my first 2 posts but didnt have enough web space. If you get a message saying hourly bandwidth limit exceeded then you will need to try again in an hour or so. Sorry guys, its the price you pay for free hosting.

[Off the 'Keeping Secrets' Single] Motor Ace - Death Defy (Live) 256kbps 7.79Mb
[My fav track off the new album] Dave Matthews Band - Bartender 192kbps 11.7Mb

To download these files CLICK HERE

The James Taylor Quartet - Room At The Top.

As my nick suggests, I like AUS, further more, I like jazz. The James Taylor Quartet are one such band that fall into the jazz category, hense, I like them.

Not to be confused with the 'bridge-over-troubled-waters' James Taylor, this James Taylor is 'King O' The Hammond' and has been bashing out funky tunes since the mid 80's. If you're into funk, and I mean Funk with a capital F, then these guys are the bee's knee's huggy bear.

Speaking of which, one of JTQ's trade marks is re-working classic tv theme songs into classic funk anthems. A prime example is JTQ's rendition of the theme to Starsky & Hutch. Don't you wish all cop shows had theme songs this damn funky! I reckon JTQ should have a go at the theme to Blue Healers.

Their new album "Room At The Top" is slowly making its way into main stream record stores, but for older albums you will need to pay larger stores like borders or blue note a visit. Alternatively you can get most of their stuff on the web. (Including #themp3alt :) )

So grow a mo', pull on a stripy shirt, turn on that lava lamp, crank up the hifi and get dooooooowwwwnn to The James Taylor Quartet

This is AusJazz reporting for themp3alt.

James Taylor Quartet - Black Tuesday 192kbps 4.64Mb
James Taylor Quartet - Theme From Starsky And Hutch 192kbps 8.16mb

Bowie covering The Pixies = Coolness. This is from Bowie's new album, Heathen. This song is heavier than the original, which concentrated more on the drums and bass than guitar or vocals, and Bowie doesn't sound anywhere near as filthy or deseperate as Black Francis, but it's a neat cover anyway. Fans of The Pixies or Bowie's last album ...hours would do well to check it out.

David Bowie - Cactus (Pixies cover) 192 kbps, 4 MB

Many say Jack Johnson is the latest graduate of the Ben Harper school of clones. That probably has something to do with the fact that like Ben, Jack's very much a part of the blues-folk-pop scene. They're such good buds that Ben plays guitar on Jack's his latest single, flake.

Jack Johnson (yes, a good name for a penis, thanks Kods) has that winning combination of lovely, catchy, singalong tunes and great guitar action that make the chicks swoon and the men want to be just like him (do him). From the boppy Bubble Toes (you'll be singing "la-da-da-da-da-da" for at least a day after hearing this) to the sweet Mudfootball, the album Brushfire Fairytales has been my favourite purchase of late.

I know you'll be excited about:
Jack Johnson - Flake 128kbps, 4.4MB
Jack Johnson - Mudfootball 128 kbps, 2.9 MB
Jack Johnson - Bubble Toes 128s kbps, 3.7 MB

If you're a fan of the big Ben, then I recommend checking little Jack out. There's nothing better than a man and his guitar. Did I happen to mention that he's also a surfer and filmmaker?

McLusky are a band with a penchant for snappy song titles and early 90s American indie rock gods. This is A Good Thing. Their latest album McLusky Do Dallas mixes the abrasiveness of Shellac, the deranged pop hooks of the Pixies and the brooding disdain of Girls Against Boys. The band are from Wales, but they aren't just another pale British imitation of American indie - the album was produced by Steve Albini, a man so discerning he...well I don't need to justify how cool Steve Albini is to you people.

McLusky - To Hell With Good Intentions 160kbps, 2.77MB

Dave Matthews Band - Busted Stuff

Busted Stuff is the latest offering from the Dave Matthews Band but don't expect to see it in too many record stores; this album isn't being released outside of the US and Canada. With the exception of some independent retailers you will only get this album if you buy it online from the US for an exorbitant amount or download it off the net for free!

Yes my friends, it is situations like this that I give thanks and pray to the gods of data compression for our beloved mp3 format.

The Dave Matthews Band are a unique blend of rock, blues, jazz and folk that puts them in a league of their own. My favourite album is Before These Crowded Streets but this one 'aint too bad. Busted stuff is a re-recording of the infamous Lilywhite sessions which were supposedly a set of unfinished tracks leaked to the internet before they could be pressed to an album. Rumor [emphasis on the word rumor] has it that Dave himself ripped the tracks to mp3 and posted them to a newsgroup after an argument with his record label.

The DMB are an amazing band. Rhythmically they are superb and their timing is as tight as a fish's anus. Stefan Lessard (Bass Guitar) was a child prodigy, Carter Beauford is arguable one of the worlds greatest drummers and Dave Matthews writes songs that can not only send a shiver up your spine but make you grin even when you know how stupid you look.

My favourite song on this album is "Bartender", however I couldn't find anywhere to host the track due to its 12mb size. If anyone has a spare 75Mb of web space they would like to donate, let me know and I will post the entire album. Until then however, you'll have to be satisfied with the title track from an album most of use will never own :( .

This is AusJazz reporting for themp3alt.

Dave Matthews Band - Busted Stuff 192kbps 5.21mb

Pornland the band, are an Aussie outfit based in Melbourne. Formed in 1998, they have a distinctive 70's funk type sound that would fit into any Johnny Holmes movie of yesteryear.

Pornland have just completed a national tour on the back of the release of their first album In the nude, which is very classy stuff. Posted here is some of Pornlands earlier work, from their EP Take off your pants and listen to this.

Pornland -Chinese Dragon in the nude 160 kbps, 5.04 Mb

Pornland -The Licking song 128 kbps, 2.64 Mb

Reel Big Fish - Where Have You Been.

Everyone knows this band, and if you think you haven't then watch Basketball again, they are the guys singing 'Take me on'. They have a new album, 'Cheer Up', which will out on the 28th of July, although it was released a month earlier in the good ol USA. 'Where Have You Been' is the lead single off said album. They are said to be planing a tour of Australia later this year, but dates are yet to be posted.

I think this song has been written for anyone that has had a girlfriend/boyfriend dump him or her and then come crawling back. If the rest of the album heads in the same direction as this song it will be well worth getting. They seem to be getting back to their roots (their roots being punk rock).

For those who didn't know Reel Big Fish were a 3 piece punk band before adding a brass section and making a name for themselves.If anyone has any of their earlier stuff let me know cause I am trying to find some more. Download, Listen, Enjoy.

TrippingIsMe signing off.

Reel Big Fish - Where have you been 192 kbps, 5.5 mb [zip archive]

Motor Ace - Keeping Secrets.

Motor Ace rock. Motor Ace rock very hard. Motor Ace rock very hard and they write very hard rocking songs which they perform very hard and rocking hard.... Well I lost it towards the end but I'm sure you got the idea.

I will be very dissappointed if you don't know who Motor Ace are by now. Death Defy, from their debut album "Five Star Laundry", is now the theme song to "The Secret Life Of Us" and the guys have toured with the likes of Bodyjar and Blink 182.

This is the second single off their eagerly anticipated new album "Shoot This" due out August 12 containing the track "Carry On" which channel 10 seem to have adopted for any promo ads they run fitting the "hero finds himself in a tragic situation, but chin up son, you'll pull through" genre, and rightly so.

Motor Ace have a rich, mesa boogie sound with powerful melody's and chorus's that just make you wanna sing! This track is no different. I urge you all to not only pre-order the new album when we get nearer to the 12th of the 8th, but also fork out $25 for "Five Star Laundry", easily one of the best albums I have ever bought.

And one last thing, if the boys are playing a gig near you, DO NOT MISS THEM! You'll only cry afterwards and then who will be left to blame? Hmm???.

This is AusJazz reporting for themp3alt.

Motor Ace - Keeping Secrets 192kbps 6.36mb

Spiritualized is a progressive band from the UK. Their new album is Let It Come Down. It's not as good as their last album, Ladies and Gentlemen we are floating in space, but it's pretty bloody good nonetheless.

Spiritualized - Won't get to Heaven (the state I'm in) 192 kbps, 14.8 mb

This is a beautiful piece of psychedelic gospel. Enjoy it.

Little Egypt are a hip hop crew out of Brooklyn, New York.

Vocally Little Egypt are lighter and faster then the likes of Nas or others that might fit easily into the category of Gangsta-Rap. They also put alot of emphasis on the poetry of hip-hop and it's usefulness as a medium of story telling. In some ways the Little Egypt EP: "offworld sounds presents little egypt" reminds me of Blackalicious (expect something soon from the new Blackalicious album).

However the best thing about the new Little Egypt EP is that this track was remixed by the Ku-ling Bros who are from Perth. Its always nice to see hip-hop getting stronger in Australia.

ExistAngst is listening to...
Little Egypt - Sunrise (with ku-ling bros) 160kbit 5.44mb

*sigh*

Kings Of Convenience - The Weight of my Words (Four Tet Remix - Instrumental) variable bitrate, 6.38mb

enon are cool and their new album is pretty fun. just download this track, you'll be better for it

enon - salty 160kbit, 2.78mb

someone post some comments....

ladytron are sex turned into music. anyone who would like to fuck (me) while listening to this song, send an email.

ladytron - seventeen 192kbit, 6.36mb

it's neu-wave'eriffic.

download it, wear a black turtle-neck, get hot in winter.

Calexico are tex-mex, alt-country boys from Arizona. They come from the land of cacti, vultures, deserts and sombreros.... or atleast they sound like they wouldn't be out of place in such a land. They write mysterious, dark tunes that one is inclined to call straight up rock with a twist of mexicana for good measure. Traditional guitar, drum and bass, mixed with melodies and instruments that wouldn't be out of place in a spanish flamenco seems to shore up this appraisal of their sound.

Yet even so, one listens to the music and can't help but think of a desert scene: cacti to the horizon, mountains in the distance, vultures and the blazing sun overhead, and suddenly it doesnt seem to do any justice to call Calexico "rock with a twist of mexicana". Nor will it do to just call them "alt-country" and leave it at that. There is something here that is both at once bitter and arid, and yet at the same time dark and foreboding. For instance, Calexico seem to have a preoccupation with murder, death and intrigue that comes out in the lyrics and even, in an odd way, the heavy bass, sonorous brass and deep vocals.

"Crooked Road and the Briar" is from the Calexico ep of last year "Even My Sure Things Fall Through". I could post the single that you might have heard on the radio last year: "Crystal Frontier", but i decided better of it. Why should I post stuff you've heard before?

ExistAngst is listening to....
Calexico - Crooked Road and the Briar 160kbit, 5.01mb

Much has been written in the last year or so about the resurgence of Rock and Roll. Everybody salivating and copulating over the raw gritty sounds of The Strokes, The White Stripes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Hives etc etc.

Well leading the Aussie contingency are The Vines.

ExistAngst is listening to...
The Vines - Get Free 192kbit, 3.19mb
and just for good measure...
The Vines - Highly Evolved 192kbit 2.29mb

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

I know last time I promised random indie music that you've never heard of, but I've been kinda distracted by something else that Shawn gave me. I'm sure everyone else has been listening to this track since it was released and all that shit, but I'm guessing that there will be someone out there who doesn't have it.

To that person, I have a special gift:

Jimmy Eat World, Clarity, Track Thirteen... Goodbye Sky Harbor. All 16 minutes and 11 seconds of it. The middle ten minutes of this track is basically the same four bars of instrumental repeated over and over with some slight variations. It's hard to explain this so it doesn't sound boring, but listening to it is like slipping into a happy little slice of time where everything is good. Some mornings you wake up, and there's a sliver of sun shifting through the window, and you can just lie in bed and bliss out for a while thinking about nothing really. That's what this track is about.

The version I have weighs in at a hefty 15Mb, which is a little large to fit on a free optus hosting account, and also a little large for someone on a modem to go downloading just cause I tell them to. So I've coded it down to 64Kbit (ewww). Just put a jumper over your head, and it'll sound like you're at a festival and you're sooooooooo wasted.

Jaymis is listening to: Jimmy Eat World - Goodbye Sky Harbor 64Kbit 9.2MB
and just because it's coming in on pretty much the same vibe, and is a little less hefty on the download:
Jimmy Eat World - A Sunday 128Kbit 4.25MB

If Goodbye Sky Harbor makes your peepee hard like it does to me, then you can probably get a slightly better quality version from someone in #themp3alt on DALnet.

Why isn't this site called Music Makes Me Horny anymore?

ExistAngst is listening to JXL vs Elvis - A Little Less Conversation 192kbit 4.84mb

This is the first time since Elvis died, that anybody has been allowed to sample Elvis in a song.

It seems a little strange that the first time the Elvis estate allows an Elvis sample to be used in a song, its for an artist named Junkie XL.

Presumably short for Junkie Extra Large.

I should think that anybody who remembers Elvis in his latter years, and cares to forget them, would want to stay away from any association with a guy that calls himself Junkie Extra Large.

If I havent made the hilarious irony clear enough, let me help you out.... Elvis was an Extra Large Junkie.

So much so, the Elvis Estate cleared the sample on the condition that the song not be marketed or distributed as Junkie XL, but as the abreviated "JXL" because they decided that using the words "Junkie" and "Elvis" in the same sentence was a major faux pas.

No fucking shit. Elivis was the biggest Junkie of them all.

Here is an interview with Tom Holkenborg aka, Junkie XL.

In this interview, Tom Holkenborg, tries to spin some shit about JXL standing for "Junkie Expanding Limits". What species of complete and utter bollocks is this? Im sure BMG told him to say that.

BMG: Ok Tom, from now on you have to call yourself "J Expanding Limits".
Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL): Why?
BMG: Because we need to distract people from the fact that Elvis was a big fat drug addict.
Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL): But everybody already knows that!
BMG: LOOK DO YOU WANT TO SELL ANY RECORDS OR NOT!?!
Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL): Alright alright whatever. I dont give a fuck. I'll abreviate the Junkie and tell people XL stands for Expanding Limits.
BMG: Good

You, I and everyone with any nous know that XL stands for eXtra Large and IF it does stand for eXpanding Limits, we all know that the limits in question are the limits of Elvis's waistline.

Im sorry for running cheap jokes on this site. I know i promised that this site wouldnt be like that.... but i couldnt help myself. The music industry is just plain funny.

Speaking of pulling cheap jokes about music, if your in Australia make sure you catch John Saffrans "Music Jamboree" tonight and every monday night on SBS at 8:30.

Nas is an MC one of my mates showed me the other day. If you like hip hop you will most likely have heard of him as had I but have never really listened to any of his music. 'The message' is a damn fine song it's not one of those full on gangsta rap songs with nothing in the background other than a beat, it's got some cool guitar mixed in it all. He's also got a new clip out and if you wanna check it out its Here

Another really good listen is Bomb Da Bass - Bug Powder dust. This is probably a song you've heard before but it's such a good song I had to put it up. I dunno exactly how long it's been around for but I know it was in the early nineties somewhere. This song was remixed by the Chemical Brothers and there is also another really cool version its called Bomb the Bass - Bug Powder Dust (La Funk Mob Rmx) and its just as good as the original so its worth a listen if you can get your hands on it. Im not sure what Bomb Da Bass is up to now but if you hear anything about them let me know at kaos_au@hotmail.com

Now for the songs
Nas - The Message 160kbit 4.46mb
Bomb da bass - Bug powder dust 128kbit 3.94mb

I dont always have to blab on like a prat each time i post an mp3.

ExistAngst is listening to Princess Superstar - Bad Baby Sitter 192kbit 4.88MB

Anyone that thinks they might like to help with this site but they're not too keen on writing stuff..... take note of this post.... and then email me to tell me you want to write on Thealt.

Anyone that thinks they might like to help with this site but they have nowhere to host mp3s... take note of the links on the right. They dont point anywhere. So email me to let me know you want to help out with writing band bios.

I've just been the dumping ground for some local music sourced all the way from Ames, somewhere in the US, so be looking out for random, never-seen-before-and-never-to-be-seen-again music coming your way. However I haven't had time to sift through it at this stage, so in the meantime here's a little local Brisbane talent:

the Acousma have a page on Brispop.com, so they must be a part of the huge unstoppable Brispop media bandwagon right? Well no, but don't let that stop you.

I saw these guys live at the Alley - Brisbane's most notoriously dodgy pool-hall/live music venue. They were supporting Wipsnade Zoo, and to my ears totally outclassed them with their blend of acoustic/electronic sounds, and lack of "wannabe rockstar" bollocks.

The Acousma (demo) - Red Violin 128Kbit 3.41MB
The Acousma (demo) - Theme and Variations on a Zero 128Kbit 3.61MB

In keeping with the Alt's motto of "Music so fresh it's still steaming", I just got an email from Tony of the Acousma. He uploaded a preview of the EP to their website in the last couple of hours, so here is an MP3Alt "So Damn Phresh it Smells Like It's Used To Make Citrus Trees Grow Big Strong Fruits" release:

The Acousma - in the here and now 128Kbit 5.25MB