semisolidradio.com
Here you will find all sorts of free, originally composed music for download. And no other kind.
Our mission is to provide an easy to use distribution platform for independent artists, so they
can promote their songs to the widest possible audience with a minimum of hassle.
The music on this site is free to download for your private, personal use. In order to use any of
the tracks for commercial purposes (i.e. 'performance in public'), you should contact the copyright
holder of the track. Further details are provided in the terms and conditions on the download page
for each track.
By the way, that radio is interactive. Just right-click on the waveform to bring up a menu.
Anyways, enjoy the music! Contact us at:
In which 'On Leaving' goes a bit viral
We featured David and Ian Monahan's On Leaving video here a few months ago, and now we've made it more accessible by placing it on YouTube (be sure to watch it full screen, and crank the resolution up to 720p):
If you wish to save a high quality copy of the video to your PC or mobile device, just right-click and save on the version below that best suits your media player. The iPad version looks just fine on any PC with a QuickTime player:
What you see here is an abridged version of a 12-minute video of which David says:
"I would like to ask if any of you have, or have contacts who have, the ability to facilitate a projection of my work during March next year as part of St. Patrick's Day celebrations around the world. The idea would be to add this 12-minute video presentation to an existing event."
Further details and background info on the project can be found at David's site: The Lilliputian. We would appreciate it if you could take a bit of time out to join semisolidradio.com and leave some comments here as well.
Finally, some mobile support!
Accidentally leaving my phone charger in the apartment on my last holiday turned out to be a good thing. It forced me to get rid of my 5-year old brick and purchase a smart phone. I went with Android, largely due to my ongoing personal war with Apple's draconian DRM limitations. Can't download a non DRM'ed MP3 from your browser?! That's insane.
Anyway, this morning I put support in for smart phones on the page that allows you to stream and download tracks (showAlbum). It detects Android and iPhone/iPod Touch, and displays instructions accordingly.
So now Android users, at least, can download the tracks to their phones. Knock yourselves out.
On Leaving "It is my wish to photograph people (of all nationalities) who have made the decision to move from Ireland for economic reasons, in and around the city, juxtaposed with landscapes that are significant to their pasts. If that sounds like you, or, you know of somebody who is about to move, please bring my proposal to their attention. I want to make these works monumental, to show those depicted in a true, heroic spirit."
And so David Monahan's Leaving Dublin project began. Since February, 2010, David has photographed about 80 subjects; most often alone, sometimes couples, perhaps with their children. All of the shots are taken at night against Dublin area backdrops that mean something special to these people. The project has been steadily gaining momentum, and recently even garnered the attention of CBS News in America, who sent a crew over from London to film David at work. You can view this mini-documentary here.
When David was asked to make a presentation of his work to Seán Mac Diarmada Summer School this June, he contacted Ian to put together some original music. The piece On Leaving is Ian's direct reaction to the images shot by his brother David. "It is our hope", Ian commented, "that the music and images synergize into something bigger than their constituent parts, and provide the viewer with a place to emotionally respond to the realities of modern life in Dublin."
To download the video, just right-click and save on the version below that best suits your media player. The iPad version looks just fine on any PC with a QuickTime player:
For the full stories behind individual photos, and to get more background on David's project, you can pay a visit to his site: The Lilliputian. We would appreciate it if you could take a bit of time out to join semisolidradio.com and leave some comments here as well.
Your dreams, my dreams, what's the difference?
We've gone quiet for a while again, as we're wont to do. Somehow Real Life™ keeps getting in the way of all that potential fun that's to be had out there.
Ian's working on a new song, which we hope to have recorded this side of Christmas. Myself... well, I was a pretty enthusiastic guitarist for about 30 years, but gave it up all of a sudden about 9 years ago to pursue my other hobbies: computer gaming and web programming. But a strange thing happened just about 2 weeks ago. Ian spotted a Marshall amp in a pawn shop and dangled the prospect in front of me like a carrot. I bit. So I'm in the process of getting the callouses back (a bit gross, I know, but that's the dark secret of guitar players. So sue me for breaking the Shredder's Oath), and then after a few months of learning all those songs (again), we might see if there's a future for me in guitar playing (again).
Anyway... what was this post supposed to be about? Oh, yeah. Ian noticed that a lot of people have been searching for Corner Of My Dreams lately, which is the way this song is conveyed in the lyrics. But it was actually titled Corner Of Your Dreams, and according to the man who wrote it himself, that was intentional. So then I related the story of a fan called Val who was adamant that the song should be called Corner Of My Dreams because that's what was in the lyrics. OK... so, we listened. It's now been retitled to Corner of Your... Uh, My Dreams so you can have it your way. Well, sort of...
Apple QuickTime plug-in update
Over the past few months, the Firefox browser has gone from version 3.5.something to 3.6.8. And in the same period, QuickTime went from version 7.6.5 to 7.6.7.
The latest versions of these work together again, so one of the parties fixed something. As with a lot of these compatibility problems, even once the smoke has cleared, it's difficult to determine exactly what the problem was and who fixed it unless the responsible party is forthcoming about it.
Anyway, I suppose all's well that ends well. But it hasn't changed my opinion of Apple that much. My next phone will be running Android.
Sounds used on the 'turnedOn' page provided by the Freesound Project
under the Creative Commons license: cognito perceptu - radio_interference_from_DVD_burner.wav, nicStage - lightSwitchImpact.wav.
"It is my wish to photograph people (of all nationalities) who have made the decision to move from Ireland for economic reasons, in and around the city, juxtaposed with landscapes that are significant to their pasts. If that sounds like you, or, you know of somebody who is about to move, please bring my proposal to their attention. I want to make these works monumental, to show those depicted in a true, heroic spirit."
To download the video, just right-click and save on the version below that best suits your media player. The iPad version looks just fine on any PC with a QuickTime player: