aurgasm special posts

Aurgasm Live: Priscilla Ahn

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 by Michelle

singer songwriter // folk

When we first featured Priscilla Ahn back in 2007, she only had a 5-track, independently released EP available. Since then, she got signed to Blue Note Records, released two full length albums and has had her music featured in a number of films and television shows. And last week, she and Charlie Wadhams released a free EP under the moniker Sweet Hearts. She’s been pretty busy! Priscilla was nice enough to take some time to talk with us about making When You Grow Up and played a couple tunes, which we’ve included below!


Priscilla Ahn – “Lost Cause” (Live)


It’s been a few years since your EP and A Good Day came out. For the new album, When You Grow Up, were these all brand new tracks, or were some of these tunes you had written a while back?

Yeah, there’s only one song off the record that I started writing back in the EP days, and that’s “Lost Cause”. Everything else has been written sort of from the last record until now. I named the album “When You Grow Up” because a lot of those were written in a growing period. I took a lot of time to do a lot of reflection and thinking, and I feel like a lot of the songs came out of that.

Can you talk a little about your songwriting process? You’ve got a lot of layers in your songs — vocals, guitar and harmonies. How do you start off?

Well I write the lyrics and the guitar parts at the same time, it sort of just flows together. I’ll make a demo of it, so I’ll record that part, and then — it might not even be harmonies I’m thinking of, it could be other instrument parts — I’ll just sing them, to add something to the demo. [laughs] But they usually end up just being crazy harmony parts. I’ve done a lot of co-writing on this record, and each process for that has been really different.

When you’re co-writing, do you go in with an idea, or is it more collaborative?

The one with Inara [George], that was completely collaborative. We just sort of came up with that together on the spot. The one with Charlie [Wadhams] — I was late [meeting him], so he started writing an idea he got, which was great! The one with Sia; the night before I was meeting with her, I remembered that she doesn’t play any instruments, and realized it was all gonna be on me for guitar. So I actually came up with all the chords and stuff for that song, and then she pretty much wrote all the lyrics, which was really cool. And all the other ones have sort of been collaborative ideas coming together.

The people you wrote with, they all have a number of musical projects they work on (both solo and as part of a band). Do you feel like they’re musical influences as well as being friends, and who are some of your other musical influences?

They’re totally musical influences, because I’m such a fan. You know, I’m their friend but also their fan. Which is awesome because I respect what they do and I trust their ideas. At the same time, it’s a comfortable working environment because we’re friends, so it’s real easy-going. Other musical influences, as of late, I’ve been listening to a lot of Beach House, especially when we were recording the record. Françoise Hardy was an influence. I was listening to a lot of her music when I wrote “Cry Baby” so it was sort of influenced by that. Who else has been an influence…

I mean, not just for this record either, but also–

In life?

Yeah. That’s such an enormous question, I know.

Well, Neil Young is one of my biggest heroes. Andrew Bird is really cool. Growing up I listened to a lot of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Beatles. Radiohead was another big one. Pink Floyd.

Priscilla Ahn – “The Moon” (Live)

How did recording this album differ from your first album? I know you went over to England to record it with Ethan Johns, how did that impact the album?

It was really different, this whole recording experience was really different from my last recording experience. Ethan, he works really old school; we record to tape and he’s very organic. On the last record (A Good Day), I was so used to us doing two or three takes of a song, and we’d piece together the best parts in Pro Tools and then — oh we’re done! When [Ethan] started doing it, he had us play the same song all day, into the next day, and I would think, “This is taking forever!” But then I realized how genius it is, and what a big difference it makes, because it actually puts you into the song. Everyone who’s playing is also in the song, and you all listen to it together, and you find that magic take. And for a producer to have that kind of patience I think is really cool. It’s important to him.

And being in England, at first I was so stressed out because I wasn’t going to have all my musician friends around me, and I was not going to be at home, you know? So I was really freaking out about it. But once I got in there, it was much better for me. When I record in LA, I get really antsy in the studio, and I’m like, “I can’t wait to go home” and I’m not really focused. Whereas being there, what do I have to go back to? A hotel room by myself. Being in another country is also a deadline. I can’t stay there forever. I have a plane ticket for this day, so we have to finish. It was just really focused, and made time go by really fast, which was great. It was a really good experience for me to break out of my comfort zone, and try something new. And I ended up meeting some other really great musicians, like Sam Dixon, who played bass, who’s amazing. And Jeremy Stacey who played drums.

On the first album, you had someone play a saw, there was an autoharp — a lot of cool stuff. There were also a lot of interesting instruments on the new album, an omnichord, mellotron, celesta, marxophone. How did you start incorporating all those instruments in the recording process?

Well, for the first record, we just went in there and whatever was available. Luckily Joey [Waronker]’s studio had all this cool shit, and we were like, “Oh, let’s try this!” But for this album, I wanted it to be a little more thought out before we went in to record. For the sake of time, but also to have a sound for the album. I made a list of all the instruments that I really liked, which were a lot of those, and Ethan had a couple other things like a mellotron, and a really old pump organ. Each old instrument brings it’s own character and soul to the song, I think. For this album I gave it a little more thought, I mapped it out a little more. I went through each song and was like, “This one, I hear this, this, and this.”

Priscilla Ahn – “All You’ve Got To Do Is Fall In Love” (Live) [Benji Hughes cover]

The album includes a cover of Benji Hughes’ “Vibe So Hot”. What made you decide on a cover, what drew you to the song?

For this album, I wanted to do a more upbeat song, and I was listening to Benji’s album and I thought “Vibe So Hot” was so funny and fun.

When you were putting the record together, did you feel the need to include more upbeat songs to balance it out? I know a lot of the songs are slower tunes.

Yeah, I naturally just write slower songs and I wanted for there to be more movement in the album. With the first record, I had so much time to write all these songs, without thinking about it. Without worrying about, “I need this kind of song, that kind of song.” For these songs, they were all pretty new. I was definitely more conscious about it, in a stressful way.

Are there any songs or bands that have caught your attention recently? What music have you been excited about lately?

Well I love Cass McCombs. I’ve been listening to Little Dragon, but they’re a little more known. Oh, Blake Mills. He’s here in LA and his music is really cool, I have his Live in Shanghai EP and it’s so good!

Thanks Priscilla!

Priscilla’s recommendations:
Blake Mills – Cheers (demo) from Live from Shanghai EP

Get a free download of Blake Mills’ Live from Shanghai EP here.

+ Purchase/Visit

donthink: Classick #57

Saturday, December 24th, 2011 by Kyle
Cleaning barn stalls on the farm is often accompanied by my Uncle’s radio playing AM stations, and fresh sounds from generations passed inspired me to make a mix where current electronic trends resemble classic gems. Open your ears to 60’s pop, swinging electric beats, rumbling jazz, hazy noir, retro boogie, school band funk, swanky smooth sensations, robotic soul, and a safe moon landing. 2002 ErrorFM

donthink – Classick #57 (58min):

  1. Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ [1966]
  2. Cujo – Popsicle [2002]
  3. Defcon 5 ft Bluu – Goodbye [2002]
  4. Louis Prima – Jump Jive an’ Wail (Tranquility Bass Remix) [1956 / 1999]
  5. DJ Git Hyper – Just Face It [1997]
  6. Henry Mancini – Lujon [1959]
  7. Anjali – Lazy Lagoon [2000]
  8. Fingathing – Come on Girls [2000]
  9. Mo’Horizons – Do the Boogaloo [2001]
  10. Shirley Ellis – The Clapping Song [1965]
  11. DJ Shadow – The Newborn Hippopotamus Jazz Rock Machine [2000]
  12. Louise Vertigo – Où est la Femme? [1998]
  13. Jazzanova – L.O.V.E. and You & I ft David Friedman & Paul Kleber [2002]
  14. Michael Jackson – Ain’t No Sunshine (SSY Remix) [1972 / 2001]
  15. Avia – Exil Exit [1998]

donthink: Safe Bet

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 by Kyle
A luscious and vibrant sound was my aim for this mix, titled ‘Safe Bet’ because I wanted to create an introduction to downtempo / electronic music in a way that may captivate and grow interest. To subtly build an unfamiliar atmosphere and give hints of more to explore.

Classical tendencies, strings especially, sweet beats, glitchy cinematic effects and jazzy grooves fill the air. Mixed in 2003 while DJ’ing at ErrorFM as I hoped to inspire people with new music from around the world.

donthink – Safe Bet (63min):

  1. Xploding Plastix – Dieci
  2. Mujaji – Siempre (Jon Kennedy Remix)
  3. Bonobo – Change Down
  4. Jon Kennedy – Brown Acid
  5. Bathysphere – Where’s Vicky (Quantic Mix)
  6. Caural – Sipping Snake Blood Wine (Savath & Savalas Remix)
  7. The Cinematic Orchestra – All Things To All Men ft Roots Manuva
  8. Broadway Project – Beauty
  9. Yenara – When Mountain Meets The Sea
  10. A Guy Called Gerald – Humanity ft Louise Rhodes (Funkstörung Remiks)
  11. Daedelus – Minor Detour
  12. King Seven – Hidden
  13. Opiate – Pk 50
  14. Hint – Count Your Blessings (Bonobo Mix)
  15. Florian Ross – Piano Interlude

Special: Aurgasm’s Jukebox Mélange mix

Thursday, August 27th, 2009 by Paul Irish

My good man Tom Korkidis (of Eksi Ekso) invited me back our local River Gods, in Cambridge, for a night called Jukebox Mélange. Here are the sets I played; jams from the 70s, early 00’s and 09.

Aurgasm – Jukebox Mélange mix (part 1) (51min):

  1. The Rip Off Artist – What Kind of Blue [2004] blu tribunaL
  2. The Soul Fantastics (Ain’t No Sunshine) [2009] DJ Beto – Panama! 2
  3. Beau Love – Pacific [2007] Untitled
  4. Urbs & Cutex – Up & Down [2002] Breaks of Dawn
  5. Digable Planets – Dog It [1994] Blowout Comb
  6. Natural Self – In The Morning (Paul White remix) [2009] Tru Thoughts – Shapes 0901
  7. Hot Stuff Band – Juju Man [2006] Brazilian Breaks & Beats LP
  8. Eddie Bo – Hook and Sling [1969] Hook and Sling pt 1+2
  9. Diplo – Krunk (Variation #2) [~2003] Sound and Fury {bootleg}
  10. Mark Ronson – Diversion [2007] Version
  11. The Whitest Boy Alive – Keep a Secret [2009] Rules
  12. Love Grenades – Tigers In The Fire [2008] VA – Accidental Rhythm (Mix One)
  13. Quantic – Transatlantic [2002] Apricot Morning
  14. Baby Mammoth – Final [2003] Octo Muck

Aurgasm – Jukebox Mélange Mix (part 2) (59min):

  1. Quantic – Not So Blue [2002] Apricot Morning
  2. Ratatat – Mirando [2008] LP3
  3. Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada - Ora Como Rey, Manana Como Guey [2006] El Nino y el Sol
  4. The Dining Rooms – Fluxus (The Cinematic Orchestra World Goes Round mix) [2004] Versioni Particolari
  5. Wando – Nega De Abaluae [2001] Brazilian Beats 2
  6. The Dining Rooms – La Citta Nuda (SoulPatrol Afrolicious Mix) [2004] Versioni Particolari
  7. Kanye West (feat. Kid Cudi, Common, Lady Gaga) – Poke Her Face [2009] LVs & Autotune 2 mixtape
  8. Robin Jones (feat Bosco de Oliveira) – Royal Marcha (Raj Gupta Vocal mix) [2001] Turntables on the Hudson Vol 3
  9. Unknown track
  10. MOVITS! – Fel Del Av GÃ¥rden [2008] Äppelknyckarjazz
  11. Instituto Mexicano Del Sonido – Yo Digo Baila [2009] Soy Sauce
  12. Dabrye – Smoking the Edge [2002] One/Three
  13. Jack Penate – Tonight’s Today [2009] Everything Is New

Special: Aurgasm’s Fukstronaut Mix

Monday, October 20th, 2008 by Paul Irish

My good man Tom Korkidis (of Eksi Ekso) asked last week me to join him playing some music at a local pub, River Gods, in Cambridge. The night had a great vibe, a full house and plenty of worldly tunes. I wanted to offer my sets to you guys as well.

Aurgasm – Fukstronaut Mix (part 1) (47min):

  1. Marlena Shaw – California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent Remix)  Verve Remixed 4 (2008)
  2. Kultiration – Ur Jord Om Gaia (2004)
  3. Nitin Sawney – Shadowland (feat. Ojos de Brujo) Shadowland (2008)
  4. David Holmes – Rodney Yates Let’s Get Killed 1997
  5. Cinematic Orchestra – Flite Everyday (2002)
  6. Da Cruz – Sarah Nova Estação (2007)
  7. Lightning Head – NPG Afrobeat EP (2007)
  8. TM Juke – Electric Chair (instrumental feat. Elmore Judd) Electric Chair EP (2008)
  9. Hint – Snake Patrol At the Dance EP (2007)
  10. Astrud Gilberto – Bim Bom (Psapp Remix) Verve Remixed 4 (2008)

Aurgasm – Fukstronaut Mix (part 2) (55min):

  1. The Pharcyde – Runnin’ (Philippians RMX Instrumental) Rmxxology (2008)
  2. Natural Self – Faultlines (Aurgasm edit) The Art Of Vibration (2008)
  3. Lettuce – Blast Off Rage! (2008)
  4. Manu Dibango – Soul Makossa Soul Makossa (1972)
  5. Radiohead – 15 Stepz (Amplive Remix feat. Codany Holiday – Aurgasm quick edit) Rainydayz Remixes (2008)
  6. Bonobo – The Fever Days to Come (2006)
  7. Parov Stelar – Kiss Kiss Daylight (2008)
  8. Biosis Now – Indepdent Bahamas Calypsoul 70 (2008)
  9. Mr. Scruff – Stockport Carnival Ninja Tuna (2008)
  10. Dubben – Karameller Kollectoren Dub (2007)
  11. Mr. Scruff – Hairy Bumpercress Ninja Tuna (2008)

Aurgasmic Adventures: Betahouse Mix

Thursday, April 17th, 2008 by Paul Irish

My good friends at Betahouse, a coworking space in Boston, asked me to put together a mix for their latest party. I was delighted to do so. My mate Tom Kershaw and I boiled down our fave tracks to a solid set.

I continued in the same vein as the Breeze & Sweat mix from 2006 – a sultry, funky, jazzy, chill to hot mix of tunes.

A few funky ones have debuted on Aurgasm before (Bahamadia, Flevans & Freddie), Kraak And Smaak deliver both the hot Max Sedgley and their own brand-new track, and Boston-natives Soul Clap close with some techno heat.

Mix available here as a 104mb zip
Betahouse By Aurgasm

Tracklist:

  1. Bahamadia – uknowhowwedo (Ski Remix)
  2. Freddie Cruger – Pushing On feat. Linn
  3. King Britt – Superstar
  4. Beanfield – Re-ac-tion
  5. Peace Orchestra – Meister Petz (Beanfield Remix)
  6. Mr. Scruff – Donkey Ride
  7. Max Sedgley – Devil Inside
  8. Barakas – Kes
  9. Flevans – 12 Apostles
  10. Kraak And Smaak – California Roll
  11. Soul Clap – The Giraffe

Aurgasmic Adventures: My DJ Debut

Saturday, July 29th, 2006 by Paul Irish

Last Tuesday, I received an email from dj, academician and ethnomusicologist Wayne Marshall. Also known by wayneandwax, he holds down a weekly at River Gods in Cambridge, nearly a mile from me. In the email, Wayne invited me to join him to guest DJ at his last night before he heads off to for post-doctorate studies in Chicago.
I accepted but admitted never DJing publicly before and not knowing much about DJ technique–luckily, Wayne assured me this would be fine. Putting together my first DJ mix was much tougher than throwing together party playlists. But for you, I wrote up my process, in case you’d like to do the same!

How to DJ your first set without knowing how

I finished putting together my set with just enough time to drive to the bar. Wayne was a cordial host and the audience was receptive. Playing for a crowd and tweaking dials from a balcony perch was quite a thrill. The free beer didn’t hurt either. :) After my set we had some experimental vocal indie and then some hip hop/rock accordion courtesy of Julz A. Great overall vibe in that place. Chi-town residents, seek out wayne’s future music engagements–he crafts a good time.

In case you stuck with me this long, I’ll reward you with my amateur dj mix. Some transitions are really rough, but I’m pleased with it. Enjoy.

Aurgasm – Breeze and Sweat (55min, 80MB)

Tracklist (cue file)
1. Nuff Wish – Healing In Vain
2. Kinny & Horne – Why Me
3. Dancing Djedi – Body Surfin’
4. Nomo – Hand & Mouth
5. Balkan Beat Box – Sunday Arak
6. Senor Coconut – Mambo Numerique (Featuring Marina And Towa Tei)
7. Quantic & Nickodemus – Mi Swing Es Tropical
8. Amadou & Mariam – M’ Bifé Balafon
9. Quantic Soul Orchestra – Walking Through Tomorrow (Super 8 Part 3)
10. The Bamboos – Step It Up Featuring Alice Russell
11. Mr Scruff & Quantic – It’s Dancing Time
12. Boozoo Bajou – Killer
13. Zuco 103 – Peregrino
14. Captain Planet – The Don
15. Romanowski – Strudel Strut
16. Quantic – Off The Beaten Track (Carmel Remix)
17. Peter, Bjorn And John – Young Folks (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Remix)

How to DJ your first set without knowing how

Saturday, July 29th, 2006 by Paul Irish

I was asked to DJ a one-hour set, though I had no previous DJ experience. I didn’t know how to beatmatch, transition smoothly, use Ableton or Traktor, and neither do you. You just have to be comfortable with being a laptop DJ.

Know your audience
I had never been to the venue and from what the outside looked like, I figured inside was a bunch of dusty overweight 30-year-olds with massive facial hair. I took a weekday evening trip over and had a beer inside, scoping out the clientele. I learned that from the balcony dj booth (!), I’d be playing for an affluent, educated set of 20- and 30-somethings that weren’t necessarily music nerds, but seemed receptive to different sounds.

Determine the theme
I thought about what music has moving me lately. While I wanted to do an all out electro-rock-dance-indie set with jams like Wolfmother’s “Woman (MSTRKRFT Remix)” and Madonna’s “Hung Up (Diplo Remix)”, I instead took influence from the very summery flavors of Nickodemus and Captain Planet.

Select your songs
I went through my entire music collection picking out the best tunes that fit the afrobeat/tropicalia/soul/funk vibe. If your audience won’t be earnestly dancing, don’t pick vocal-heavy tunes. Keep a mental picture of the venue inside your head as you listen to your potentials.

Narrow down your picks
After my first sweep, I ended up with 60 tracks, clocking in at 3.75 hours–far more than the one hour I was given. Toss anything that will garner significantly more or less attention than the rest of your set. I had to let go of some classics like Barrett Strong’s 1962 hit “Money”.

Cut it down to size
After tossing half my selections, I still had nearly an extra hour of music. Time for the surgery. I went in using audio editing software (CoolEdit and Audacity work) and cut out extra pieces: extra repetitive choruses, needless verses, instrumental solos. I wanted to keep the song lengths between 2 and 4.5 minutes to keep the energy level moving. [As this takes a bit of know-how and technique, this step is completely optional.]

Put them in order
I used Traktor to help identify the BPM of all the tracks. If you don’t have any audio software, just manually gauge the energy level on a scale of 50-150 for an approximation. My set started with my lowest BPM (79) and gradually worked its way up (with a few tweaks) to finish with my quickest song (126bpm).

Configure your crossfade
Using winamp? I suggest the SqrSoft crossfade plugin. Using iTunes? Even easier; if you left the default settings, your crossfade is already working, though you may want to tweak it in Preferences.

Play it!
Run through it at least once, in its entirety. Watch your levels, some songs are louder than others. iTunes has a fix for this called ‘Sound Check’; try it. Write on a notecard which songs have levels that stick out so you can tweak ’em with your mixer. Otherwise, you’re ready to go!

Well it’s about time for a finished product!

Grab my ‘Breeze and Sweat’ mix.

Like my How To? Be a cool kid and Digg This.

The Music of New Orleans

Monday, September 19th, 2005 by Paul Irish
Many have been afraid that the culture and music of New Orleans being lost, but of all localized music sub-cultures, I’d consider The Big Easy’s as one of the most resilient. As the city’s instrumentalists were moving out of the city, their priority was locating their musician brethren. For now, the website of the popular N.O. venue Tipitina‘s serves as information portal on accounted and missing artists, donors providing housing and instruments, and upcoming gigs.

Well, come on everybody take a trip with me… way down the Mississippi, down in New Orleans!

1932
Sidney Bechet – Summertime
The classic Gershwin tune. Bichet beat Louis Armstong to be the first important jazz soloist recorded, and also remains one of the finest jazz clarinetists of all time. His wide vibrato was trademark, along with forceful delivery, and well conceived improvisational ideas. He makes the clarinet soprano saxophone reed growl on this somber rendition of ‘Summertime’.

1944
Kid Ory – Tiger Rag
This’ll probably remind you of the comprehensive Ken Burns Jazz Special. Kid Ory was a pioneer of New Orleans music, leading a band in 1911 as a trombonist. He collorated with Sidney Bechet (the two fought often for lead), Jelly Roll Morton, and a young Louis Armstrong. He retired from music to run a chicken farm, but returned by request of Orson Wells to record this scorching ‘Tiger Rag’.

1956
Clarence “Frogman” Henry – Ain’t Got No Home
Very early one summer morning, Clarence Henry was performing on the bandstand and improvised his way into the basic riff behind “Ain’t Got No Home”. The crowd responded favorably, so he developed it further. Soon, Chess Records A&R was hustling Henry into Cosimo Matassa’s studio in September of 1956 to record. Local DJ Poppa Stoppa laid the “Frogman” handle on the youngster when he spun the catchy 45 and it stuck.

1958
Snooks Eaglin – When They Ring Them Golden Bells
Although New Orleans is generally thought of as more of a jazz and R&B town, the streets of the Crescent City also gave birth to a quite different strain of the music. The Acoustic New Orleans Blues style embraces everything from itinerant street singers and guitarists to rag-tag “spasm” bands. The blind Snooks Eaglin was known as a human jukebox inside the town, being able to pull hundreds of songs out from his eclectic repetoire, often confusing his own band.

1965
Dixie Cups – Iko Iko
Although they’re best known for “Chapel of Love”, the Dixie Cups wrote ‘Iko Iko’ quite accidentally. After the musicians had gone home from a recording session, the women were doing some overdubbing and started singing “Iko Iko” among themselves, using only a chair, drumstick, Coke bottle, ashtray, and drums as accompaniment. And although its roots are identified with New Orleans celebratory rituals, the song emerged as a quirky pop hit.

1970
Lee Dorsey – Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further?
Lee Dorsey epitomized the loose, easygoing charm of New Orleans R&B perhaps more than any other artist of the ’60s. Working with legendary Crescent City producer Allen Toussaint, Dorsey typically made good-time party tunes with a playful sense of humor and a funky, gunnagetcha backbeat. The bassline here is infectiously evil.

1998
Louisiana Gator Boys & The Blues Brothers – New Orleans
More of a tribute song than an authetic NOLA piece. From The Blues Brothers 2000, this track was the finale for the musical journey. It features a modest lineup: B.B. King, Junior Wells, Steve Lawrence, Taj Mahal, Lonnie Brooks, Eric Clapton, Nia Peeples, Darrell Hammond, Steve Winwood, Eddie Floyd, Paul Shaffer, Billy Preston, Koko Taylor, Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes, Joshua Redman, Lou Rawls, Travis Tritt, Jimmie Vaughan, and Dr. John.



New Orleans music from the Aurgasm archives (mp3’s back up!):
Professor Longhair 1970’s new orleans funk // piano rhumba
The Meters 1970’s new orleans r&b // funk // soul
Rebirth Brass Band 1990’s new orleans brass band

Blues musician Vasti Jackson's studio was destroyed by this tree

Other blogs covering the NOLA music scene:
Home of the Groove always showcased The Big Easy’s musical output
Jazz And Conversation offers up a mix of the spirit of New Orleans
The Entroporium has a number of choice Nola tracks
Soul-Sides rep’s some Allen Toussaint and The Meters
IckMusic has some essential Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Cocaine Blunts threw together the best of New Orleans Bounce

Full broadcast of Higher Ground, a show for Hurricane Relief live at the Lincoln Center.

Special: Streamsampling Tutorial

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005 by Paul Irish
I’ll make the easy assumption and say you deal with a good number of mp3 blogs on a regular basis. I’ve got a method of sampling the music on them that’s quick and easy. You can skip right to the music to see if you like it. The technique is essentially streaming the file to your audio player, instead of downloading the entire file first. This saves you time, energy, and lets you listen to much more music in less time. Check out the screencast below to get the skinny on it.

aurgasm’s Guide to Streamsampling