Little by Little, Bit by Bit

(Doug)

When a band you like releases a new album, you're excited.

When you hear of a band that's released their newest album for free over the internet, you're gratified.

When a band you like releases their latest album for free over the internet, it's magic.

Such is the case with with Harvey Danger's "Little by Little."

File sharing is an ongoing debate in the media, in our government, and in our minds. It's currently viewed as being mostly illegal in use, although the legal precedent has been set that it's legal.

So it's nice to see a legitimate band using arguably the best, and most prevalent, file-sharing tool, BitTorrent, to distribute their new album -- completely legally, completely free, no strings attached.

As for the album itself: the lyrics are fairly derivative, the rhymes simple and unsurprising. But it's a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts; the lead vocals are strong, and some of the guitar licks are truly rockin'. It's enjoyable and there are more than a few songs that will implant themselves in your skull and refuse to leave.

"Little by Little" doesn't break any new ground, musically. However, it's another blow for Good in the fight against the evil record industry, and as more bands lend their legitimacy to the file-sharing cause, I expect that tools like BitTorrent will be used more and more, whether for paid content or freely-distributed files.

Dougie has used BitTorrent more legally than illegally and recommends you do the same.