Fun Sound Opinions - lots of New Wave & the co-author of Mad World this week.

The Replacements are playing the Tonight Show tonight. It's the first time they've appeared on NBC since getting banned from SNL in 1986.

Mats on Tonight Show! That's as weird to me as when Big Star was on the Tonight Show.

Oh, hey. There's still Bob Mould tickets for tomorrow.

Josh Cheuse - 30 years of music photography.

We've talked about this in Natter, but the David Bowie exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is amazing and all Bowie fans should see it if you can make it to Chicago.

David Bowie Is | MCA Chicago

ETA: Jan 4th is the last day. Chicago is the only US location of the touring exhibit.

Does anyone here use eMusic? In recent years I've gotten about 98% of my music via download, and eMusic is the first place I look. They have a pretty good selection of indie music, and they're usually cheaper than iTunes and Amazon.

Yesterday they put up this notice:

Since its inception, eMusic has been committed to serving serious music collectors who are unbound by genre or the latest trend. We built the business in 1998 on DRM-free mp3s and a heartfelt mission to provide independent music enthusiasts with the best music, editorial content and album reviews around. Over the years, the eMusic brand became synonymous with independent music.

When we introduced a vastly expanded library of music in 2009, the experience on the site changed. Our catalog became more a reflection of mainstream trends than a true discovery experience rooted in music from emerging artists and labels. We moved away from our core values as a business and diluted what made the eMusic experience special.

So, in an effort to dedicate the brand once again to its original mission, eMusic is renewing its commitment to independent music and to promoting its musicians, bands and labels. As a result, beginning today, we will be exiting the mainstream music business and offering exclusively independent music. Further, in the coming weeks and months, it is our aim to build upon our existing library and provide you with the most extensive catalog of independent music in the world.

This doesn't affect me too much as I mostly get indie music from them. I just thought this was interesting in a business sense. Maybe they just couldn't compete with iTunes and Amazon on mainstream music? Or sales of mainstream music are down due to streaming?

Anyway, eMusic is awesome as I've discovered so much great music there. And when I encounter an obscure band somewhere else I can usually get their music on eMusic.

Tangentially, where do folks download music if iTunes, Amazon and eMusic doesn't carry what you're looking for?

Tangentially, where do folks download music if iTunes, Amazon and eMusic doesn't carry what you're looking for?

Bandcamp, and if that doesn't work, I just ask Jon.

Thanks--I've never looked at Bandcamp before. Just for the hell of it I searched for Throwing Muses and discovered this awesome cover of "Not Too Soon":

Not Too Soon (Throwing Muses Cover - Bonus Track) | Jeff Rosenstock

Folks should also check to see if their public library belongs to Freegal. It's mostly music from big labels, but also from small labels that have been acquired by big labels over time, They have something like 12 million songs at this point.

By my library's agreement, I can download five songs a week on my card (and five more on my wife's card, which is as much as I can keep up with anyway. Free and legal is good.