On the Download

Linking you to the best in legitimate, artist-approved exclusives.

A A A Comments By Andy Vihstadt Thursday, May 10 2007

Matt Mahaffey is probably best known as the guy behind the Expedia.com jingle, which is a shame. His indie-pop outfit, Self, is just as catchy. It's been seven years since Self put out a legitimate release (DreamWorks refused to release Self's 2004 LP, Ornament and Crime), but Mahaffey promises via MySpace that a new set of songs is in the works. In the meantime, hit up the band's fan site for a massive collection of rarities and online exclusives, including a satirical ode to the movie Titanic (to the tune of the Pixies' "Gigantic") and a cover of Liz Phair's "Stratford on Guy." Only at Selfies...dot-commmm (www.selfies.com).

Z-Trip is still Ahead of the Curve.

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The Web has been good to DJ Z-Trip. With only 2,000 copies pressed, his genre-bending needlework (alongside DJ P) on Uneasy Listening has earned him a massive fan base through file-sharing. In order to keep his karma (and copyright lawyers) in check, he posts the majority of his hard-to-find recordings online for free consumption. Put your bandwidth to the test at his site, which hosts an impressive archive of tripped-out turntablism, including "Mass Hysteria," from his upcoming collaboration with Lateef the Truthspeaker. You'll have to pay to hear the rest of Ahead of the Curve, but as any good dealer would, Trip gives you the first taste on the house (www.djztrip.com).

And finally, step aside, Phil Collins. From now on, when we want someone who can front a band from behind a drum kit, we'll look to Sebastien Grainger. Since the demise of his band Death From Above 1979, Grainger has been hard at work on his upcoming solo project. Keep up with his progress at his MySpace, where he has posted a couple of streaming demos and MP3s, including "When You Go Out," from the very limited Foggy Sea, Foggy Dew split EP. But don't be fooled by his vocal contributions to the creepy yet somewhat innocent kiddie cartoon "The Blueberry Boy of Sicily" (YouTubed on his page): Anyone who headlines his MySpace page with "FEARGASM" would probably make a shitty babysitter (myspace.com/sebastiengrainger).

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