Three songs, one music vid this week.

1. Aṣa- Jailer

Aṣa (pronounced Asha) is a great artist hailing from the new wave of Nigerian hip-hop. The song itself has a timeless feel, reinterpreting that old adage of reaping what you sow. Asa is huge in Africa these days, and is starting to get her music heard in the US. Definitely worth checking out.

2. Adam Gregory - Crazy Days

I'm not a huge country music fan, but I acknowledge that there is good country and bad country. Johnny Cash, good country. I'd even admit Carrie Underwood sometimes forces me to grudgingly acknowledge that maybe all country music doesn't rupture my ear drums.

Adam Gregory is so boring, I'm not even willing to classify him as bad country. He's more "meh" country. "Crazy days" is a pretty harmless pop song with a little twang thrown in. I think it's the ludicrous music video that makes me crazy. He has to leave his beautiful girlfriend to drive across Florida in a giant Hummer SUV and then his own private yacht, and this makes him so sad. Lame.

3. Mister Danger - Doctor Krapula

The track is fine, I guess. En español. I would recommend downloading it just because you can't not have a song in your collection from a band called "Doctor Krapula". That's just made of win. I wonder if Krapula means something different in spanish?

4. Someone Like You - SafetySuit

This download is a music video. The video alternates between a girl running and the band playing on a beach. Not exactly cinematic excellence.

The band is a standard alt-rock group from Oklahoma making their chart debut with a song about unrequited love. The lead singer has a more emotive voice than most standard rock bands (Nickelback: I'm subtlely dissing your gritty monotone), so it's a nice track to have in your collection.

This week, iTunes offers a free pilot episode of A&E's new show "The Beast", starring Patrick Swayze.

I guess I'm glad to see that Patrick Swayze is working after his scare with pancreatic cancer. Last I read, he was still pretty sick, so I don't know what that means for the future of this show. In the show, he appears pretty gaunt, but the look lends a fierceness to his demeanor that's suited to the part. Here's hoping he stays healthy.

That said, the show is much better than I expected for a standard FBI drama. It's gritty, intense, and darker than I thought it'd be. The pilot has a great twist that makes it worth watching on its own.

Get "The Beast".

It's Inaugural Week, so why not celebrate our multicultural society with some free iTunes?

1. Stop the Clock - Jean

This week's first featured track, "Stop the Clock" comes in both English and Spanish flavors, both of them in yummy soulicious stylings. The artist, Jean, goes by one name, but actually legally holds claim to five as Jean Carlos Rodríguez López-Cepero. While the clock ticking as percussion in the background is a bit literal, I'm digging Jean's silky voice. Overall, a good track in any language.

Check out Jean's album.

2. My Love Sees You - Beni
Beni the Australian producer was one half of the duo Riot, and is now on his own with this sweet disco-meets-electronica track. Squishy goodness.

3. Her Morning Elegance - Oren Lavie
I thought this was the highlight of the week. We don't often see music videos for free, and this one was particularly charming stop-motion animation with a very sweet accompanying track. A must-download for those of you that have bandwidth and gigabytes to burn.

As far as Oren Lavie, he makes stunning music. I just picked up his album last week. His chord progressions are complex, his arrangements are rich, his vocals quiet but laden with rich, unexpected harmonies. I find myself sinking into the quiet intensity of this album with pleasure.

Definitely a rare pleasure to find such a gem. Check out Oren's album here.

Hey,

Sorry we had to go away for a while, but life gets crazy like that for a while, y'know?

What? You want to know where we were? Would you believe us if we said we were huddling underground waiting for the end of the Bush regime? It's true -- underground bunker, tinned food, and an ipod powered by a treadmill. At least we had tunes while we were working out.

Anyhoo, we're back and ready to keep showcasing all of the free and nearly free stuff that iTunes has to offer. We should also get the free music contest going again after a little bit too.

So sing the Welcome Back Kotter song and welcome us home.