Not 50 Cent but still in da Club.

Switching things up a bit today with a tune called “The Club” by Nick Lowe.  I knew nothing about Nick Lowe before discovering this song.  I thought I knew of him, but I think the reality is I probably just lumped him into the brain bank with other Nicks like Nick Cave or Nick Drake.  “Oh, yeah,” I thought to myself.  “Nick Lowe.  Of course.  He’s that guy who sounds like…uhh…wait, is he the one who….Okay, I give up. I don’t know who he is.”  Well, wikipedia tells me he’s an English singer-songwriter in his late 50’s who was a one time producer who worked with The Damned and Elvis Costello.  Skip ahead a couple decades and Lowe’s got an album that came out in June 2007 titled At My Age.

Not a New Yorker cartoon.

Let me admit a few things right up front: one thing I really love about this track is that it feels like it belongs in a Tarantino movie.  There’s an airy coolness to the song and a hint of darkness, as well.  Despite being a new composition it feels more like the product of a much earlier decade.  The second thing I really love about this is how much I paid for it.  Nothing.

It’s nice to see what Amazon has going on over in their mp3 department.  I don’t think the iTunes store is going to start shaking in its apple-boots any time soon, but I think Amazon has become a very substantial alternative for legally downloading music.  For starters – and most important to me anyway – they’ve got a healthy selection of songs available for free.  Some good (including The Avett Bros. and Albert Hammond, Jr.), some bad, but all free.  In addition, they’re doing a daily deal on an entire album at a ridiculously low price.  On Monday, for example, you could’ve bought Elliott Smith’s Either/Or for a whole $2.99.  That’s Elliott Smith, dudes! $2.99!!?!?!? Crazy.  In addition, every download is DRM-free and available at over 200k (I think).  I’m not entirely sure what that all means, but I’m told it’s good.  There’s an installer app. available that makes downloading multiple tracks a breeze.  It even provides artwork and moves the tunes right into your iTunes library for you.  Easy, breezy, amazoneezy.  Take a look at it if you’re interested.  It seems that Tuesday’s albm deal is quite often an older release by an artist that has also has a new release coming out that day.  For instance, I got Coldplay’s X&Y for $2.99 on the day that Livin’ La Vida Loca (or whatever their new one is called) came out.

Anyway, that’s enough free advertising for a little mom n’ pop company like Amazon.  Go ahead and listen to Nick Lowe and see just how chill you can get.  Take pictures, in fact.  Then show them to no one.

Stream at muxtape.

Download Nick Lowe – “The Club”

And here’s a video of Mr. Lowe doing his thing back in the day.  Oddly enough, I think he’s become cooler with age, which is pretty much the opposite of how it works for the rest of us.

More tomorrow.