Downloads

Surfing the Web for new music, video and MP3 downloads can be a serious time investment. Picks from Times staff and contributors will help take the drag out of click-and-drag music choices. Some downloads may contain explicit lyrics. All are free, except as noted.

“Old Dan Tucker”

Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band

www.aolmusic.com

AOL Music has provided an exclusive glimpse at Bruce Springsteen’s tribute tour to the patriarch of American folk music, Pete Seeger. A new concert video will be posted the morning after each night of the tour, making a total of 18 videos available by tour’s end in Holmdel, N.J., on June 25. All the videos are being archived and the footage is impressive and likely to be of the same quality. There is coverage of the entire ensemble, good audio and the sense that Springsteen himself may turn into a Seeger in years to come. The tour arrives at the Greek Theatre on Monday.

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“Throw It All Away”

Zero 7

www.zero7.co.uk

A video from the first single off the group’s new album, “The Garden,” that explores the whimsy of the marketplace and disposable culture; that is the cynical view. The positive one would be a portrait of a man who sticks to a vision and succeeds -- in this case a geometric shape he’s designed that catches on like fire, making him new friends and a wealthy man. The design, looking suspiciously like California, fails in the face of competition, but subsequently is resurrected as a variant on its original theme. The song complements the images perfectly with a subtle arrangement, a sprightly Bacharach horn motif and easygoing vocals from Sia Furler and Jose Gonzalez.

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“Park”

The Chambermaids

thechambermaids.com/album2.html

The name of this Minneapolis trio consisting of siblings Neil and Martha Weir and Colin Johnson gives no indication of the musical content, which is loud, rough and overdriven. It’s not well recorded, but that’s part of the charm, and they’re not above thinking outside the box harmonically (much like the group’s Twin City rock patriarch, Husker Du). “Park” may have a chorus that hangs on one note, but listen to the bass against the guitar. The track “City Predators” is worth checking out for the same reason.

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“Twista/GG Allin”

my!gay!husband!

www.mygayhusband.com/mp3.html

It is difficult to defend the late GG Allin’s violent and self-destructive live performances, many of which put him on the wrong side of the law. But in this energetic, adrenalized mash-up of a hardcore street rap from Twista, the fastest rapper ever (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) and Allin’s scabrous blasts, my!gay!husband! has managed to use the best qualities of both. The track is a rolling train of three chords over and over again, but morphs into drum ‘n’ bass tribalism one moment and sheer cranium-knocking rock ‘n’ roll the next. This is guaranteed to bring out the raving lunatic in anyone.