“Gran Ganga” The Cheapskate: Free Radiohead and Alela Diane gigs; Sigur Rós film; SXSW Torrent; etc.

ALELA DIANE-The Pirate’s Gospel

Our “Gran Ganga” comes back loaded with all sort of exciting freebies for all of us cheapskates. This month: a whole cartoon series; a feature film, a new found lost track from one of popular music’s most influential bands ever and the usual array of listening parties, mixtapes and free online and real live shows.

+Beginning with Alt-folk vocalist Alela Diane, who is in London playing tonight at Bush Hall the gorgeous compositions included in her debut collection “The Pirate’s Gospel”. She will be also performing a free live set next Friday’s during lunchtime at Rough Trade East shop, probably to thank them for choosing her album as the best of 2007. Next to favorites like “The rifle”, we hope to hear some new songs from her forthcoming second opus, expected later this year. Some of them are already circulating online.
+ Radiohead have also announced they will play another free gig, after the storming set they gave last January at 93 feet east, originally scheduled also at Rough trade East but moved due to overcrowding. This time it will be for BBC 2 radio on April the 1st; held at the corporation’s Broadcasting House central London headquarters. Tickets can be obtained via different Radio 2 shows or calling 08700 100 200.

SIGUR ROS-Heima

+Sigur Rós, the Icelandic dreamy soundscapes specialists are streaming her beautifully shot tour documentary “Heima” on its entirety at you tube. The band is also giving a free download on their website with the tracks they played on that tour but didn’t make the final tracklist.

NEON NEON-I Lust U

+Plenty of preview listenings available since our last edition: The new album by the Anticon indie collective Why? “Alopecia” can be heard on Paper thin Walls’s Listening party section; Bradford Cox parallel project, away from his duties with Deerhunter, Atlas Sound is available at Myspace; as it is “NY’s Finest” Hip-Hop class act Pete Rock with his well received new opus; Neon Neon, Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip collaboration project and Catalonian/Canary Spanish rising indie star El Guincho, who previews his world-acclaimed, spaceage lounge, tropicalia and world music melting pot “Alegranza” one half on his myspace page and the other half on his label’s Discoteca Oceano.

+Send me dead flowers blog has rescued what’s probably the only unexploited Velvet Underground rarity left on the planet. According to the excellent blog “It’s the ONLY available live stuff from 1967”. Recorded just after the release of The Velvet Underground And Nico and featuring the debut performance of Sister Ray (19 mins long) and the *previously unheard* song I’m Not A Young Man Any More”. Tracklist and dowload here.

KANYE WEST- “Flashing Lights”

Kanye West keeps on collecting headlines with his amazing and rather graphic latest clip, directed by Spike Jonze, and the preparations of what looks like the one of the biggest US tours of the summer, “Glow in the dark”, next to Rihanna and N.E.R.D. To celebrate it, West has produced a mixtape with moments of all the artists on that tour and some affiliates. Also in the free mixtapes department, superstar DJ Diplo has made available his first AEIOU mixtape next to Triple Double and Justice blended French pop classics with contemporary electronica in their mysteriously rejected Fabric mix, made available online after being turned down.

+La Blogotheque carries on their fantastic “Pret-a-porter” shows series with respective live sessions by Yeasayer and Stephen Malkmus. The Ex-pavement icon, plugging his new album with the Jicks, goes through a few R.E.M. renditions.

+And two very different displays of generosity to finish this edition:
The south By South West festival begins today and has made available a torrent containing 3.5 GB of free songs including a wide selection of music from the bands scheduled to play in what’s become the biggest launch platform for new music in the world. The MP3s are totally legal and DRM free..Get some free space in your hard drive and enjoy!!

+Last but not least, Matt Stone and Trey Parker have made the whole of South Park series available to watch online on a website specially dedicated to it, www.southparkzone.com, for all of you lucky cheapskates!!