This is my first post on MOG and it appears that most posts are about specific bands and or songs...but I'm a huge fan Daytrotter and thought it'd make a good opener for me. I stumbled upon Daytrotter site while putting together a SWSW 2007 mix. It was such a wealth of musical enjoyment, I decided to base an entire mix on it. Daytrotter not only features free tunes, they’re all live one-takes. Sessions and songs all feature commentary from artists, engineers and editors. There’s a radio station, blogs and every song you download is accompanied by a thumbnail created the day of the recording. Here’s how Daytrotter describes themselves:“What Daytrotter is attempting to do is to not kid around with you and tell you that we found something that you never knew existed. We are going to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line. We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard. We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands. These fine people – as they’re traveling through America’s heartland – take two hours out of their travels between shows to stop in for a Daytrotter Session at Futureappletree Studio One in downtown Rock Island, Ill. The name of the city is not ironic. They use borrowed instruments, play with their touring mates, utilize a often unkempt toilet, eat some food and then cram back into their vans for the last half of the drive. What they leave behind is a pile of ashes, sometimes a forgotten stocking hat and four absolutely collectible songs that often impart on whomever listens to them the true intensity that these musicians put into their art, sometimes with more clarity than they do when they have months to tinker with overdubs and experiments. These songs are them as they are on that particular day, on that particular tour – dirty and alive. We want you to make this your new home as it is ours. We promise that you will love it here.”After much deliberation, I finally settled on my favorites (as of this post that is). There’s more from each artist and others on the site…dirty and alive: 1. Jeanne, If your Ever In Portland, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone 2. These Days, Mates of State 3. Jims’s Room, Nina Nastasia 4. Better in Manhattan, Casey Deinel 5. Middle Distance Runner, Sea Wolf 6. New Partner, Bonnie Prince Billy 7. I’ll Bring You Home, Jennifer O’Conner 8. From, Dr. Dog 9. While You Were Sleeping, Elvis Perkins 10. Bank and Trust, The Elected 11. We Used to Vacation, Cold War Kids 12. Feet Asleep, Thao Nguyen 13. She’s Gone, Langhorn Slim 14. Well, Eef Barzelay 15. Damnatio Memoriae, Two Gallants 16. Winged/Wicked Things, Sunset Rubdown 17. Shoplifting, P.O.S. 18. When I Wake, The Changes 19. Lovers Who Uncover, The Little Ones