BeigeJournal

Tom Smith has an extensive web site which includes MP3s for sale. Now that I’ve got broadband Internet I thought I’d give them a try. Payment is by PayPal, you are e-mailed a lengthy URL to download the files from using standard HTTP, and the files are standard MP3s, the collections bundled up in ZIP archives. No problems, no DRM, no BS. The one thing to keep in mind is that the URL is e-mailed to whatever PayPal thinks your primary e-mail address is. If, like me, you signed up for PayPal way back when and use it rarely, you ought to log into you PayPal account and make sure it has your current e-mail address as the primary address. The address is not actually displayed at any time during the transaction, and since I’ve undergone an address change, I had to e-mail Tom when it didn’t work. He sprang into action and made everything OK right away, but it is easier to get it right the first time.

The GaFilk 2001 collection is great. It is a pretty good live recording, with Tom recorded quite well and the audience not so well but well enough to hear at least much of their half of the between-songs discussions. I can only describe the songs and their delivery as very Tom Smith-like. If you’ve heard Tom, you know what I mean. Wonderful. Seventy minutes of Tom Smith for $4.99, and well worth the price.

“Badgers and Gophers and Squirrels, Oh My: The 24-Hour Project” is most special. All written in 24 hours, the songs are not all the very most polished, but there are some real gems in there. It must be heard to be believed. Given that, on a good day, I can get part of a verse done in 24 hours, I’m quite amazed. Twenty-seven minutes and also well worth the $4.99.

The Best of ChiCon 2000 stuff is also great, and you might as well get Tom and Luke Ski doing Cthulhu Fthagn too.

Go give Tom money. You can give him money without getting MP3s, but I’d definitely recommend you get the music.