Great websites #2

It's been about a month since my last "Great websites" post, which you can find here, so I figured it's about time I threw another one together.

This time, I want to bring your attention to Grammy.ru. Now, before I go any further, I must first say that I can't vouch for the legality of this site. It seems perfectly above board, and maybe it is ... in Russia! But my guess is that it's not something that non-Russians should know about. Why? Because it offers free mp3 downloads of songs by hundreds upon hundreds of artists. You can pick up virtually anything by Prince, for example; there are some 800 songs each by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones; seemingly everything from this year's Eurovision Song Contest... Well, the list goes on and on. There's even a four-CD bootleg box set by Buddy Holly on there, called What You Been A-Missin'.

It's not fully comprehensive, of course. What would Russians want with Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, Adam & The Ants, and the Black Crows? And some albums mysteriously have one or two songs missing(!). Even so, it's got to be worth checking out if you're looking to top up your iPod.

I wouldn't want to be seen to encourage piracy, so I can't tell you which buttons to push. I will say, though, that the link in this post will take you to the English-language version. And that will make everything look far less scary.

Would it be worth buying the Internet for just this one site? Well, no, possibly not. But it is fucking cool nonetheless.

So, without further ado, Grammy.ru, for services to music, the Web, and the world, A Blog About Nowt salutes you.

Great websites #1

This is the first of an occasional series in which I intend to highlight great websites. Now my definition of a great website may differ from that of some of my visitors. I can't help that, and I shall make no attempt to pander. (Well I might, at the right price.)

The logic behind this series will be: I would get the Internet if I didn't have it purely because this site is so fucking good.

So, number one.

The first site to win this money-can't-buy-it award is Elliott Smith: B-Sides & Other Songs.

I like Elliott Smith (pictured below, in a great "Bust A Move" T-shirt). I think he's one of the finest songwriters of the past 20 years, and then some. I'm not an über-fan, and it's not my intention to convert anyone. Wife is an über-fan. When I mentioned that I wanted to name this site on my blog, she kind of groaned in that way you do when people suddenly discover an artist you've loved for years. (Yes, I know that's snobbery, but we've all done it!)


Smith, in case you didn't know, is no longer with us. He died of several supposedly self-inflicted knife wounds to the chest. Yah, right. And what happens when an artist dies tragically young is that fans want to get their hands on as much of the unreleased material as possible. For Smith fans, this site is the Holy Grail.

And if this was the only site on the Internet, the Internet would still be worth getting.

But even if you don't like Elliott Smith, you should still love this site for what it stands for: free downloads of unreleased material by a great artist.

Elliott Smith: B-Sides & Other Songs: for services to music, the Web, and the world, A Blog About Nowt salutes you.

Update: On Monday 14 May 2007, I visited this site again, as I do every once in a while. Sadly, I was greeted with a note dated 1 April 2007 that read: "We're honestly surprised that it took this long, but the RIAA finally came knocking. Most importantly, this site is not dead. We won't be able to share any songs that were recorded during the Dreamworks era, but many of the demos will remain. We need some time to update the site, but hope to return next week." Well, clearly they didn't "return next week". Who knows when they will. Let's hope it's soon.