pennywise reason to believe

the music industry continues to change and adjust, especially in light of teh internets. the latest example is the punk band pennywise. i have a few of their albums, and their song 'bro hymn' is a favorite. throw that tune on and i'm ready to bang around in the pit. of course, then i realize i'm old, out of shape, and would probably hurt myself. and look like an idiot being an old guy in the pit.

but back to what i was saying. pennywise has teamed up with myspace and something called textango to release their latest album free. free freakin download. they've also released it for sale in stores, but you can get it for free online. and, it's not just some low quality download. it's a very high quality zip file.

so, yeah, i signed up and downloaded it. i haven't listened to it yet, but i'm guessing i'll get to it tomorrow.

honestly, i'm just impressed by the amount of artists that are seeking alternative ways to get their music out there. sure, it generates publicity to do something like this. it'll sell tickets, and i'm sure a fair amount of people will end up buying the album in the store. the download is only free for a week or two, and then it'll just be in stores. just like i paid for the box set of the latest radiohead, there will be devotees to just go buy.

and, i want to give some kudos to myspace. social networking can be a whole lot of things, but myspace music is a pretty cool place for music. they've made the careers of some artists (e.g. lily allen). and, they're a free spot for artists to showcase music. of course, now they're a super tool for rupert murdoch and the fox empire, which i'm not sure bands like pennywise are down with. but that's still a part of the nature of the beast i suppose.