tommy (FMA Admin)

If you're beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by the 9500 tracks now housed in the FMA, have no fear.  Curators have been compiling collections and mixes of some of their offerings to help you along.

Excavated Shellac hosts 91 digital captures of rare 78rpm records from the first quarter of the 20th century and has compiled an outstanding mix of some gems from the collection called International Association of the String, "A collection of early masterful fiddle and violin performances - including a few variations on the instrument, such as the kemence of the Black Sea, and the hardanger of Norway."  Listen below to a beautiful guitar duet from pre-tango era Argentina.

The Faux Fetus Collective's featured collection, "John Dwyer for Hire," includes a series of exclusive FFC releases from the current frontman of Thee Oh Sees.

dublab is currently featuring a collection of over 14 live performances from their dublab.com sessions including the likes of Smegma, Peter Walker with Jack Rose, and Bradford Cox.

CASH Music (Coalition of Artists and Stakeholders) has a collection featuring only full albums and EPs, and a killer mix of music from the likes of Xiu Xiu, Superhumanoids, and Learning Music.

And if all else fails, find that fellow FMA-er whose got your taste in music, dig their mixes, and browse through their favorite artists, albums, and tracks!

It's damn easy to view the FREE MUSIC Archive as just that, an already large (and continusously growing) library of free (as in "free beer") and awesome music downloads. However, a recent flurry of activity and articles concerning copy-left and Web 2.0, file-sharing court cases, and the ever-present performance royalty debate, has reminded me of why I got involved in the FMA in the first place, and it has just as much to do with viewing this archive as a bastion of free (as in "free speech") cultural interaction.

Part of the FMA's explicit mission is to re-imagine/design the function of traditional radio for the digital era by continuing to allow the public free access to new music.  Internet radio, and now your local AM/FM station, may benefit greatly from a resource like this, as the government continues to debate over how the public accesses (or "consumes," depending on how you view it) culture, and who owes what to whom.

Terrestrial radio experienced a (temporary?) victory last week when the House of Reps gained enough signatures to block the Performance Royalty Bill from going to a vote. Near the end of 2007 (and right about the time WFMU began developing the FMA. Coincidence? Methinks nay), the Royalty Act was introduced, which would require terrestrial radio stations to pay a performance royalty fee to the performers (artists, musicians, back-up singers, producers, basically anyone involved in the creative end of the production) and copyright holders (the respective record label) on top of the royalties stations already pay to the composers and publishers of the music they broadcast.  The revenue generated from these royalties would then be split between the artists and the record label.  Just as webcasting royalty rates negotiations continue, this issue is sure to stick around for a few years while the RIAA predictably uses its political influence to sway the bill's detractors.  Bob Cherry at Cybergrass.com has written an approachable beginner's guide to understanding the issue, for anyone interested.

More exciting news after the jump!

Little things keep me happy. Like when my mp3 player randomly picks absolutely perfect shuffle mixes when I am driving for hours. I mean a great mix really takes your mind off of how friggin' terrible driving I-95 for 600 miles on Memorial Day weekend can be. Luckily, I had loaded up my player with tons of free FMA goodies prior to departure.

I found myself constantly checking the iPod ticker to see what the hell I was listening to, and the Clinical Archives jazz compilations were popping up all the time. Song of the weekend? Damo Suzuki & Now - Metro Girl. Just something about that incessant krautrock motorik, Damo's incoherent, Cookie Monster-growling-mouth-diarrhea, and the hum of my tires. Intrigued? Have a listen below.

Clinical Archives is a netlabel "for eclectic and illogical music" that really takes the "archive" descriptor in its title seriously. Click on any song in the Clincal Jazz compilations and you're given artist bios, recording dates and settings, pictures, and literally anything else that can be said about a single recording. Fascinating info, fascinating music.

FMA Curator Nadav Carmel has been steadily uploading gems from the WBSR/WMBR/KDVS lo-fi radio show Phoning It In. I've been loving this program since catching a live session back in 2005 featuring Queens, NY-based musician Keith Zarriello, a.k.a., The Shivers.

I was first introduced to Keith's music with the 2004 freeform anti-folk album Charades. Five years and innumerable line-up changes later, The Shivers unique marriage of songwriting technique and live performance has remained intact. Zarriello often provokes his audiences with a direct and unwavering emotional intensity that is part farcical melodrama, part earnest sincerity. Live performances of songs about critical self-awareness and the challenges of integrity seem to simultaneously ridicule taking oneself too seriously while praising the ability to feel comfortable with your own shadow at your feet. See them live, and let the catharsis begin!

They'll be launching their new album In the Morning (as a duo, maybe a trio) with Peter & the Wolf and others TBD on May 18 at the Blender Theater at Gramercy in NY. Enjoy a track from 2008's Beaks to the Moon.

The FMA is honing in on the 7,000 track mark! You can really get a sense of just how much the archive is growing by searching for completely random terms and seeing what comes up.

Searching for two of my favorite things, cheese and candy, yields over 100 songs, including a recently added comp featuring the fellas of Foot Village and many, many friends covering "Chicken & Cheese 2."

Songs about swine? Check. Colombian folk songs about Barack Obama? Check. Hades, ancient god of the underworld? Check. Pickles? Check.

While you get your search on, have a listen below to Ric Royer explain exactly why I love candy so much.

I need to achieve a particular state of mind in order to perform the mindless tasks that my day-job demands. Too much coffee makes me feel like I'm dying, so that doesn't do the trick. Nor does attacking my work with a positive attitude and chipmunk-like efficiency, because then I just realize the futility of what I'm doing. No, I need something that helps me completely zone out, that allows me to achieve the peculiar state where mind and body operate independently. So, I spent a day at work cruising the FMA, and made a mix that does just that...step into my coma.

My favorite part of creating this mix on the FMA was the external player feature. As I was browsing through the thousands of tracks in the archives, I clicked the plus (+) sign next to any track that sparked even the slightest interest. This would automatically load that track into the FMA external player, basically allowing me to create my own customized webstream. I could sample tracks to my heart's content, starring my faves, and axing my not-so-faves.

The other cool feature with the external player is that it records your track history. So, when you go to create a mix from your profile page, you can select a number of options from a drop-down menu, such as your browsing history or your favorite tracks, and all of the songs that you've added to your player will appear. Then, it's just drag-and-drop to make your mix.

So get to it! Mix away, share with your friends (it's legal!!). If you're looking to make a lil' Cartesian-split, check out this track from Portland, OR's Grouper to get you in the mood for a coma-inducing (in a good way) mix.

(photo via Flickr user ydhsu Some Rights Reserved)