If you recall, back in September, Volume 26 of the podcast started off with a psychedelic track from Tallest Trees entitled “Learn.” Turns out that track was but one of five excellent tunes from an EP entitled Hey There Little Nebula, available now as a guilt-free download on their official site. Highly recommended.

Apparently Limewire, a name ubiquitous with illegal peer-to-peer file sharing, went legit some time ago and has been getting their act together to offer up some exclusive downloads showcasing particular regions / music scenes. They’ve just released Ear to the Ground: Nashville, a seventeen track mp3 compilation consisting of a variety of Nashville bands. It looks to be a great introductory primer for familiarizing yourself with some of, but not all, of the best Nashville has to offer. I would assume readers of this site have heard 99% of it already but it’s a great item to send to your friends who don’t know the difference between The Privates and Shoot the Mountain.

It is my opinion that in the current climate of the music world that if you’re going to make a physical version of your album / EP / release / whathaveyou that you should make it as compelling and innovative as you can. Give people a reason to own the physical version. Such is the case with the new EP from Will Holland. The imagery itself is pleasing to the eyes but it has been designed to be folded backwards on itself and turned instantly into an envelope to send the music off to a friend (or enemy). It’s a smart way of recognizing the fact that a large majority of people who buy CD’s will likely instantly import it into mp3’s and, if they feel so inclined, can now send it off to be shared. A prime candidate for Clever Award of the Year if there ever was one.

It’s probably not right to call a new jam posted on an artists personal blog a b-side but that’s what I’m doing. Makeup and Vanity Set creator Matthew Putis has a blog and every so often a new track will pop up there. Maybe it’s not an official MAVS release but it’s from the same mind so it’s worth taking note of. Long story short, here’s a new track from Matthew Putis that may or may not be considered an official Makeup and Vanity Set song.