The 1 GB iPod Shuffle is now at the low low price of $49. Why the price cut? Because there will now be a 2 GB Shuffle for $69. I would think that the extra 20 bucks is worth it for double the storage space. The 2 GB Shuffle will be available later this month.

Hi we’re The Impossibles from Austin, Texas! Not exactly, but I wish. It’s the latest from former Impossibles front man Rory Alan Philips (the one in the middle of the photo), Rory and the Artificial Heart.

Rory Allen Phillips hails from Austin, Texas and has had a part in many a band. Possibly the most notable being one of my favorite bands of all time The Impossibles. Some of the other bands he’s been a part of include Imbroco, The Stereo, and most recently Slowreader (the Elliot Smith inspired acoustical, soft indie type thing done with fellow former Impossibles member Gabe Hascall).

While Rory has mainly been producing music the past few years, including Recover, At All Cost, and Kissing Chaos, he’s had his share of personal endeavors including the20goto10, Amex, and Nineteen Ninety Now. Rory’s current project is Rory and the Artificial Heart along with former Impossible bassist Craig Tweedy (in the photo, on the right).

Official-ish Bio: Rory and the Artificial Heart are a five piece rock outfit hailing from beautiful Austin, Texas. The band started playing shows in June of 2006 with their sound evolving from a fusion of new school rock and up tempo disco by way of a raw emotional state characterized by the vocals and tense guitar hooks. Featuring some of the best local musicians from all genres Rory and the Artificial Heart bring the rock in a way missing from the current music scene.

This is Rory and the Artificial Heart, the song is Self Esteem, the album not yet named. You can hear this on the CounterAgent podcast episode 26. You can also listen to more on their MySpace page.

Boom!

This weeks featured artist is… Alucard! The song, Resignation Song. The album, After Dark. Fun Fact: Alucard spells Dracula backwards.

Band Members: Mike, Ryan, Colin, Tommy and Nick

Bio:

This is where we tell you about our band, Alucard. We’ve never been very good at writing these stupid things, even after years of playing in bands and having to think of slick, interesting ways to relate mundane information about what we listen to, what other bands we play with, why you should buy our new record, and so on.

Even describing the sound of our music with words like “fast”, “melodic”, “emotional”, and “dark” seems pointless because by the time you read this, you will have no doubt heard at least one or two of the songs we have posted online and you can decide what you think it sounds like yourself.

I suppose we could try to impress you by telling you about the bands we’ve played with, like Chiodos, The Black Dahlia Murder, Finger Eleven, Silverstein, Boys Night Out, Ultimate Fakebook, Misery Signals, No Motiv, etc. etc. But this just seems silly. How many times have you gone and seen a really good band play with a bunch of other bands that suck?

Check them out online at: Official Site, PureVolume

Listen to them on Episode 25 of the CounterAgent Podcast.

Boom!

Any surprise that all the top downloads are all the most pop songs of the year? What was the most popular song of the year? Ready for it? Fergie with Big Girls Don’t Cry. That’s definitely my pick. I mean, I bought that song several times and gifted it several more. Check out the full list on iTunes. The list kind of proves why iTunes is the leader and not a more indie artist focused music download service like eMusic (which is great if you like stuff nobody knows about).

Boom!

The social music revolution

Last.fm is a site filled to the brim with music. It syncs to your iTunes and Windows media player to create a personalized station. Last.fm will play songs it thinks you may like. This will introduce you to new artists. I have Last.fm downloaded onto my PC and prefer playing this rather than my own library. One of my favorite things it provides is the bio of the artist. I like to have some insight into the singer’s life. This can sometimes make or break the song for me. I know, I’m that fickle. Also you can “start a station” by typing in a band. Last.fm will then start playing all songs linked up to that artist. You can share music, create playlists.

And for all the musicians out there, you can promote your music FREE on Last.fm. That’s not all! You can also get weekly airplay stats. Isn’t that incredible! Go already and sign up! And let me know what you think.

Wouldn’t life without DRM be grand? The folks at Warner Music and Amazon.com are going to start offering DRM free tracks. It took a while but finally Warner was convinced to start offering their music DRM free on Amazon. Looks like iTunes might have a bit of competition.

While there is still no word on Sony BMG going DRM free with anybody, this is a pretty big force that they will have to reckon with. If Sony gets on board with the DRM free craze it could be curtains for the CD. I personally am a fan of Cd’s. I like have the jewel cases and the booklets. That said I haven’t listened to a CD in years. It gets ripped onto my PC and then put on my iPod right away for the first listen. Granted the end of Cd’s is far off, this might be a sign of the times.

I found this great band and they had this great video, it’s The Mae Shi with the song Run To Your Grave. I found them on Chime.tv, which is a great place to watch videos online. The video is actually over at Vimeo, which is another great place to find stuff not on YouTube. I just thought I’d share it with the CounterAgent audience. I was also wondering, should I continue writing and posting about music related stuff here on CounterAgent or on the new SuperLame spinoff?

Boom!

This deal comes to us thanks to TechBargains.com. Griffin Technology, the makers of some great, and overpriced, iPod accessories and peripherals has a Coupon Code to get you 20% off anything they sell.

If you enter: “BeThankful” you’ll get the 20%. It expires 11/27/07, minus the quotes. Add the code to one of their Holiday Specials for the best deal. Oh, and they’re also offering Free shipping on orders over $50.

Boom!

While i posted the other day about the bonus tracks on Rock Band and how I had no idea about who most of the bands where. The DLC for Rock Band is a whole other story. It looks pretty good with some really good artists packs and some great individual songs. The price will be anywhere from $.99 to $2.99 with most clocking in at $1.99.

Here’s a small taste of what you can get.

Week of November 20, 2007:
Metallica Pack
“Ride the Lightning”–Metallica
“Blackened”–Metallica
“And Justice for All”–Metallica

The Police Pack
“Can’t Stand Losing You”–The Police
“Synchronicity II”–The Police
“Roxanne”–The Police

Queens of the Stone Age Pack
“3’s and 7’s”–Queens of the Stone Age
“Little Sister”–Queens of the Stone Age
“Sick Sick Sick”–Queens of the Stone Age

Individual Tracks
“Fortunate Son” as made famous by Creedence Clearwater Revival *
“Juke Box Hero” as made famous by Foreigner *
“Bang a Gong (Get It On)” as made famous by T-Rex *
“My Sharona” as made famous by The Knack *
“Cherry Bomb” as made famous by The Runaways *
“Joker & The Thief”–Wolfmother

Week of November 27, 2007
David Bowie Pack
“Moonage Daydream”–David Bowie
“Heroes” as made famous by David Bowie *
“Queen Bitch” as made famous by David Bowie *

Week of December 4, 2007
Black Sabbath Pack
“N.I.B.” as made famous by Black Sabbath *
“Sweet Leaf” as made famous by Black Sabbath *
“War Pigs” as made famous by Black Sabbath *

Week of December 11, 2007
Punk Pack:
“Rockaway Beach”–Ramones
“I Fought the Law”–The Clash
“Ever Fallen In Love” as made famous by Buzzcocks *

Week of December 18, 2007
Individual Tracks
“My Iron Lung”–Radiohead
“Buddy Holly”–Weezer
“Brass in Pocket” as made famous by Pretenders *

An asterisk means its a cover of the song

Salutations, this is Veda (Counter Agent’s new chick) and I would like to introduce a new artist named Terra Naomi. She is one of the many singers made famous by YouTube. Her CD was released September 17 2007. The nice thing about YouTube is you get a taste of the “at home” artist before rushing to the stores to buy the CD. I felt like I was in her bedroom listening to her strum her guitar or play on her keyboard singing for my pleasure only. Oh! And her songs are really easy to learn on guitar. I can’t play… I really can’t, but I sat in front of my computer, guitar in hand and learned “Say it’s possible”. The pick continues to fall into the hole in the guitar so I can only strum with my hands. Big deal, who needs a pick N E ways? I also taught myself the “Close to your head” song.

So, if you’re a hot chick or a guy looking for hot chicks, you really should check Terra Naomi out…HA HA…don’t CHECK HER OUT…You know what I mean. She has some sweet vids on YouTube, creating her own music videos before making the big bucks. She’s cute, determined, her voice is strong and she lived in NY so you know she has something to say. What New Yorker doesn’t? She is going to get really big soon. I feel it. So check her out on YouTube or the official site at www.terranaomi.com and if you like what you hear then buy or download from itunes.

Veda

Radiohead is leading the charge with there new album in making it available for download at the price of your choice as well as with no major record label support. Now a few other pretty big bands are following suit. Oasis, Nine Inch Nails, and Jamiroquai are saying that they will do the same. Is this the beginning of the end for the record labels? Even Madonna, in between adopting African kids, is getting in on this latest craze. I will at least support Oasis if they choose to do something similar and would love to see this get some more momentum.

This is one of the best things I’ve seen a band do in a while. This truly is a band showing that they care about their fans. We payed for the album as was posted earlier and it is a pretty good album. The debate has been rageing about if this is just a fad or if this will affect the record industry as a whole. Some people say there is no way this has record execs even care about this and that you shouldn’t pay anything for the album. Some say the industry has been forced to sit up and take notice. Other bands have said that they are going to follow suit and release albums without a label.

I say come on people go ahead and pay for this album and show the execs that we will support this. The rumor is that this is a marketing ploy and Radiohead has been shopping the album to labels. If thats true or not we will see, either way its a chance to get a very good album from a very good band for any price you want.

The Spill Canvas has a new album hitting stores tomorrow, October 2nd. If you want to preview it PureVolume.com has a full online album preview. Go here to listen before you make your purchase. The Spill Canvas classifies itself as Rock, Alternative, and Powerpop. The band says it’s influences “range from Van Morrison to Otis Redding.” All the while they keep it modern and fresh.

The Spill Canvas tours with bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Straylight Run, Mae and The Plain White T’s.

If you like what you hear you can get the CD and t-shirt (limited edition) from the band’s official online store for only $14.99.

Boom!