Coldplay get it!

Coldplay must be congratulated on the release of Left Right Left Right Left. Too often bands advertise ‘free’ tracks on sites like MySpace only for you either have to fill out unduly complicated web forms to assess them, or only to discover that they’re not available to you because you live in the wrong part of the world.

Coldplay steered clear of both of these pitfalls and raised the bars by giving away an album that their fans would unquestionably paid good money for. It’s a very ‘live’ live album but that’s what the band’s stadium sound is all about. Even their new, experimental sound can’t mask the fact they are all about the arm waving and the sing-a-longs.

To say I’m not complaining is an understatement. I’m really impressed. If I were the hat-wearing type this would be the point I removed it!

A Tale of Two Albums!

I've ranted before that free music is often not worth the hassle. Today I got my hands on two albums in different circumstances.

A bit of late night surfing tipped me off that The Sunday Times were giving away a Moby compliation in today's edition. It was to advertise his upcoming album. This was obviously a more attractive proposition than the Prisonbreak DVD in the Daily Mail, which was piled up everywhere, while The Sunday Times was nowhere to be seen. (Heaven forbid I reveal my feelings on their comparative journalistic merits!) I had to visit three shops to find my copy.

But here's the funny thing. It's not free music because I paid £2 for a paper that'll be 95% unread. And I know I would have put that much effort in if I have been online searching for a download.

However I did score The Charlatans new album for free. I saw a Sky News story about the giveaway and a quick google found the Xfm site with a beautifully simple, no-stupid-registration-just-right-click-and-save-as downloadable album! It's playing now. Yes, it gets plus points for ease of access but I prefer the Moby!