Free: Things always better when they're free

This post is a partner post to the previous post discussing interesting use of web time.  You see, while I was writing the last post there were a few other websites I wanted to mention, but because I had failed to write them down, I could not remember what they were (maybe I should create some sort of innovative memo-making website). On with the websites...

I want to point out how cool it is that, for the most part, gaining information/obtaining things from the Internet is totally free!  I mean, you no longer have to go buy a dictionary, just Google the word.  You no longer have to buy a newspaper, just go to the NY Times website.  While free things are great, some of these new freebies could potentially be harmful to certain established medias as we know them, but that is a whole other topic of discussion for another post.   

Sam Wolfe Connelly's work featured
on Artist-A-Day

Therefore, in this post, let us not dwell on the future downslide of print media and rather focus on how awesome getting stuff for free is! The first interesting website is brought to you by my iGoogle homepage.  It is called "Artist-A-Day" and it features a different artist everyday of the week.  It is meant to just present a few of their works to spark interest and if the viewer feels so compelled, they can go to the artist's website for more goodies.  Now, I know that anyone can find art for free on the Internet, but I like how this website is really promoting lesser known artists and giving them a spotlight, even if just for a day.


The next website condones the free sharing of music via the web.  There have been numerous law suits over the illegal sharing of music files through websites like KaZaa and LimeWire (which I definitely DO NOT recommend).  NoiseTrade is a fair trade music website that allows artists the opportunity to have their music available online for free for people to download.  The philosophy of NoiseTrade: 


"Artists want to know, connect with, and be supported by music fans. Music fans want high-quality, free (or variably priced) music and to be rewarded, not punished, for sharing the music they love with their friends. We believe that if artists and fans work together, everyone can get what they want."


It is a great place to find new music and I have enjoyed much of what I have found there, including Katie Herzig, Derek Webb, Lovedrug, and Sleeping At Last.  But remember, just because the music can be free, be sure to tip the artist every now and then by making a donation to NoiseTrade.  

Daytrotters' depiction of
Freelance Whales

The final website I would love to share is also a free music website.  Daytrotter is a site that supports many great musicians as they tour through the Midwest.  Artists like the Local Natives, Dawes, Tegan and Sara, and Bon Iver have all stopped at The Horseshack in Rock Island, Ill., in order to record their "Daytrotter Sessions."  Basically, the guys at the The Horseshack record a few songs live and then make them available for free downloads.  It is beautiful.  "These songs are them as they are on that particular day, on that particular tour – dirty and alive," says the Daytrotter's website. 


They also promise that if you make Daytrotter your home, you will love it, and I do!  Most of the live recordings are very different than their original recordings, but that is what makes it so worth it.  It's a very raw and unplugged feeling.  And a cherry on the top: they have cartoon-style drawings of the musicians done as well, which I find super hipster/relevant. 


Well, I definitely feel better now that I have shared these free things with you.  Next time, I will remember to write these important things down so that I don't forget and leave all you Internet-users paying for things unnecessarily.