Magnifier Goodies Now in Google Play

Magnifier's mission has always been to bring you amazing new free music every day. Back when we launched, this site was the most convenient way for you to add those songs to your Google Music locker. From exclusive live tracks by the Rolling Stones to the hottest songs by emerging artists such as Twin Shadow and Grimes, we've always emphasized music we feel passionate about.

Since then, of course, we've unveiled Google Play, where you can supplement your music collection with even more songs, both free and paid. So, while our mission isn't changing, our venue is. From here on out, all of Magnifier's features will live within Play. Free Song of the Day will continue to update on Play’s Music home page, as will our monthly Antenna roundup of new artists and recurring video interviews/performances.

You'll find much more as well, from all the latest new releases to themed discounts. Basically, it's Magnifier times 1000.

Enjoy.
–Tim Quirk, Google Play

In Memoriam: Dave Brubeck

One of the towering figures in jazz, Dave Brubeck passed away on December 5, 2012, a day shy of 92. The maverick pianist, composer and bandleader was a major star for decades who kept writing new works and playing until the end. "Take Five," written by Paul Desmond and recorded by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, became the first million-selling jazz single and remains probably the single most recognizable jazz tune across the globe. Sometimes attacked for his success, Brubeck created his own sound and style; he never copied artists such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, whom he celebrated and revered.

Raised to be a rancher, Brubeck used to create songs in his head to the clip-clop of his horse's hooves. After serving in Europe during World War II, he returned to his native San Francisco Bay Area, where he studied classical music theory on the G.I. Bill with Darius Milhaud. The noted French composer and teacher encouraged Brubeck greatly, and he started playing an often experimental variation of swing and bebop with future stars such as Cal Tjader and Paul Desmond.

Antenna: New Artists You Need To Hear

In a year when many genres seemed to reinforce themselves—indie folk got folkier, retro soul more soulful and so on—December's Antenna recognizes some acts that have made late 2012 that much weirder and wilder, from electronic eccentrics to acid rock purveyors to less categorizable artists.

Gary Clark Jr. is one such hard-to-pigeonhole artist: a superb blues guitarist with pop tendencies (he's worked with Alicia Keys) who also lets loose with raucous riffs, as on the fuzzed-out "Numb." There's also plenty of heaviness in Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats' "I'll Cut You Down." Comprised of monster guitars and menacing vocals, it's rock 'n' roll fried, melted and psychically distressed.

Stones Throw Label Spotlight

Since producer Chris "Peanut Butter Wolf" Manak founded Stones Throw Records in 1996, the label has delighted in confounding a rabid fan base that often scoops up anything Stones Throw-related, from pricy limited-edition Madlib vinyl to Quasimoto and Madvillain toys and skate decks. Rap music remains its bread and butter: this year alone has brought albums from Los Angeles street rap crew Strong Arm Steady (Stereotype), bookish New York wordsmith Homeboy Sandman (First of a Living Breed) and Detroit drummer/producer Karriem Riggins (Alone Together). Yet the label often prides itself on embracing iconoclasts. There are The Stepkids, whose self-titled debut sounds like a mash of Funkadelic circa Maggot Brain and Iggy and The Stooges. There is Jonwayne, whose Oodles of Doodles is exactly that—minute-long beats that sound like doodles and wiggle into your memory. Chrome Canyon's Elemental Themes evokes the synthesized soundtracks of Tangerine Dream and Giorgio Moroder. And Jonti escapes classification by mixing hip-hop beats, synth melodies and dreamy vocals into an electropop explosion. The best way to process Stones Throw's new world of sound is to leave your expectations at the door. Visit Google Play now to score free tracks and hear awesome Stones Throw albums. – Mosi Reeves, Google Play

Sorry, but this promotion has expired. Check Magnifier regularly for more free music.

FILTER Magazine's Psssst Sampler

For over a decade, FILTER Magazine has adeptly covered the the alternative and indie music scene, faithfully abiding by their slogan, "good music will prevail." This month, Google Play teams up with FILTER to provide you with a killer sampler featuring this year's biggest alt-indie acts, from Father John Misty to Dum Dum Girls.

Indie folk continued to boom in 2012, but Father John Misty—a.k.a. former Fleet Foxes drummer Joshua Tillman—pushes against the genre's increasing formalism with sardonic humor, hip-swinging swagger and a floating folk rock croon on songs like "Nancy From Now On" from this year's Fear Fun.

Antenna: November

Every month, Antenna brings you a new batch of tracks from rising hip-hop, indie rock, pop, metal, country and electronic artists. November's harvest is especially bountiful, with something for every music fan to be thankful for.

Unstoppable Seattle rapper/producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are riding the momentum of their recent chart-topping album The Heist. On the new track "Victory Lap," Macklemore (a.k.a. Ben Haggerty) rhymes celebratory and sentimental over Lewis' horns, piano chords, and bass bump. Bay Area mixtape vets Main Attrakionz clear the cloudiness from their raps for the laid-back (to melancholic) "La Piñata" off debut LP Bossalinis & Fooliyones. Heading south of the equator, Colombia's ChocQuibTown mix Afro-Colombian rhythms, Spanish rapping and modern electronic beats on "Uh La La" off album Eso Es Lo Que Hay.

In Memoriam: Terry Callier

A cult artist in his native United States, singer-songwriter Terry Callier was championed in the U.K., and remains a touchstone in modern folk-soul, acid jazz and downtempo circles. He also released a number of the finest albums most people have never heard.

A childhood friend of Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler, Callier grew up steeped in Chicago doo-wop and R&B, but by the early 1960s the influence of Bob Dylan as well as John Coltrane and other jazz modernists started seeping into his work. His highly personal songwriting and singing voice—which could be smoky and laidback, or intense and slightly shrill—made him closer in spirit to Richie Havens, Nick Drake, Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell than to his mainstream soul peers. A charismatic live performer, Callier's sometimes harrowing, heart-on-sleeve songs were often leavened with sly stage patter and a sharp sense of humor.

Yep Roc Label Spotlight

Based in Haw River, North Carolina, halfway between Greensboro and Durham, Yep Roc Records is an expression of a region that, since the '80s, has been a crucible for a rich heritage of indie rock, Americana and alternative pop. Not surprisingly, this sensibility rings most strongly in the music of neo-bluegrass quartet Chatham County Line and of singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, both of whom are natives of the Triangle –the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metro area. Yet it also explains the label's dogged and honorable support of long-established cult favorites Dave Alvin and Chuck Prophet; after all, both initially emerged from '80s roots rock, a movement that sought common ground between heartland ethos and punk and new wave.

Halloween Classics!

Spooky sounds and songs to perk up your costume party!

We dug deep into a witch's cauldron of scary ditties, vampire anthems, and horror movie and TV themes to showcase the greatest Halloween music on Google Play. These classics compromise everything from oldies to hip-hop, and from classic R&B to rock and new wave.

Michael Jackson's epic "Thriller" is so groovy ghoulish that it features a rap by horror flick icon Vincent Price and ties Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash" for Defining Halloween Classic. While those two are pulled out especially for October 31st, classic rock numbers Warren Zevon's sly hipster satire "Werewolves of London," Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and Donovan's "Season of the Witch" deservedly receive a scary amount of airplay all year long.

Fall Festival Sampler

Just because summer stops doesn't mean the festival season is over. Fall is also home to some big music fetes, such as Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest, New Orleans' Voodoo Experience and Asheville, North Carolina's Moogfest. Can't make it to them? Let Google Play bring the fests to you with this playlist of free tracks from festival artists.

Hip-hop offers two takes on unbridled fury: On "Big Beat," off the outstanding El-P-produced R.A.P. Music, Killer Mike teams up with Bun B and T.I. over a sinister bumping beat to welcome you to a gunfire-punctured Atlanta; on "Guillotine," Death Grips' MC Ride screams cryptic threats over paranoid synth-and-drums from producer Flatlander and Hella drummer Zach Hill.

Zedd Video Interview

Play probes this young elecro-house prodigy on his new album and remixing Gaga.

Though only 22, German electro house producer and DJ Zedd has risen to the upper echelons of the EDM world. He's done remix work for Lady Gaga, Skrillex and Diddy, and his recent solo EP, Spectrum, is one of the hottest releases in electronic music this summer. The super-producer stopped by the Google Play tent at Lollapalooza this summer for a special interview with our very own Sam Chennault.

Zedd's new album Clarity is available now on Google Play. Get it right here.

For more sessions and interviews, subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://goo.gl/UX1U4

Ghostly International Label Spotlight

Visit Google Play to score free tracks and browse new releases from Ghostly International.

If you think electronic music is merely for all-night rave dance parties, think again. For nearly 15 years, Ghostly International has been releasing synthetic sounds for all environments, continuing the legacy of Midwest techno while putting their phantom fingers into various pockets of pop, rock and hip-hop. This Ghostly International Label Spotlight is a classy collection culled from the imprint's recent releases. It's full of lush and futuristic ambience—and not a fuzzy boot in sight.

5 Albums for a Perfect SoCal Soundtrack

Is there a place more mythical in modern America than Southern California? Like the mighty Big Apple, it's one of those rare locales whose myriad landmarks and landscapes are known intimately even by those who've never stepped foot. There's the towering palm trees lining Hollywood Boulevard, the sprawling suburbs smothering Orange County and Compton's working class bungalows. It's a mythology that rests in large part on the area's inextricable ties to mass media: movies, television and, of course, music. Which is why Google Play has plucked from our SoCal State of Mind album collection the five titles that best capture a region No Doubt famously called the "Tragic Kingdom." After all, how much more Southern California does it get than Gwen Stefani's glamorous sass? Or Ozomatli's funky Latin grooves? So get ready as Snoop Dogg and others put the top down and take us for a ride from Long Beach to Del Mar and beyond. See the full SoCal State of Mind album collection on Google Play now. – Justin Farrar, Google Play

Antenna: New Artists You Need to Hear

Fall is in the air, school's back in session, and Google Play's Antenna new music round-up returns with another batch of artists you need to hear—some that'll help you settle into the season, and some that'll help you escape it.

On the autumnal side of things, there's prolific SF garage pop band The Fresh & Onlys' "Presence of Mind," off new album Long Slow Dance, a song that blows in like a chill breeze, with its soft-chiming xylophone melody, acoustic strum and singer Tim Cohen's forlorn vocals. Leeds, UK band The Chevin similarly lead with acoustic guitar on "Blue Eyes," off their album Borderland, but the song takes off quickly from there, thanks to a propulsive rhythm section and singer Coyle Girelli's earnest yearning vocals alongside a high falsetto chorus.

Fall Reggae and Dancehall Sampler

Wondering what Jamaican music sounds like in 2012? Look no further than Google Play's Fall Reggae Sampler, a comprehensive overview of reggae and dancehall sounds by the music's top artists. We start with modern one-drop roots reggae, the present-day musical successor to Bob Marley's '70s sound, represented with authority by the gruff-chanting DJ Capleton's "Weh Dem A Try," from the Blessings single-rhythm (or "riddim") compilation. Newcomer Jahman also plies a nice one-drop song, while St. Croix, Virgin Island supergroup Midnite offer a typically mystical approach on "Peak Tension Time," taken from their Kings Bell album.

Video Premiere: Busta Rhymes, Doin It Again

In the introduction to the video for Busta Rhymes' "Doin It Again," the NYC rapper pulls back and pays homage to Chris Lighty—the transformative hip-hop executive and Busta's manager of 20 years who recently passed away. It's a somber prologue to a sunny song, but a necessary one. The video that follows is more of a celebration than a wake, as Busta takes the party from the rooftop to the club with a little help from Reek da Villian and Chanel Nicole. – Sam Chennault, Google Play

Earache 25th Anniversary Sampler

In Nottingham, UK in 1987, Digby Pearson put out the first vinyl offering on his newly-minted imprint Earache Records. From The Accused's The Return of Martha Splatterhead to the first proper signing of his good friends and grind godfathers Napalm Death, who released their legendary first record Scum that same year, the label was officially born. From its humble beginnings and Pearson's "motivation to not get a real job," Earache went on to breed grindcore heroes Carcass, Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At the Gates, stoner metal beacons Sleep, experimental cyborgs Godflesh, new wave of thrash titans Municipal Waste and so much more.

"Siege of Power" Napalm Death

Chris Lighty: Remembering a Hip-Hop Innovator

The death of hip-hop manager Chris Lighty last Thursday shocked everyone who knew him. Those of us at Google Play who'd worked closely with him over the last year are still trying to wrap our heads around the tragic news. We've also been sharing our memories and admiration for the man's quiet but effective style and subtle humor. We didn't know him nearly as well as those whose careers he's guided for years, but the loss stings deeply, and we share the recollections that follow because honoring his life is the best way to lament his passing as he's laid to rest today.

14 months ago I sent Google Play's Gwen Shen a three-sentence email letting her know Busta Rhymes was label-less and interested in working with us. I asked her if she wanted to join a meeting in a week when both Chris and Busta were stopping by to play us songs from a new album Busta had completed.

Gwen leapt at the chance, and I remember being struck that, eager as she was to meet Busta, she seemed even more excited that Chris Lighty would be in the room. That was the first of many times over the coming year that I would hear Chris' name invoked with a slight lowering of volume, an almost-reverential tone that probably transcends business cultures, but is unmistakable in the music industry for meaning: this person knows and does things other people can't.

Now, I usually dread playback meetings with managers and label reps, doubly so when the artist is in the room, as politeness demands smiles and enthusiastic nods whatever your actual emotional response to the music might be. But that initial session with Chris, Busta and Gwen was among the most enjoyable two hours of my career. It helped that I genuinely liked the new songs. More than that, though, it was simply a thrill to talk about possible ways to distribute that music with a manager who didn't waste any time hyping you—he let the music speak for itself (notably, not by saying anything trite like "the music speaks for itself") and went straight to what we might do together.

A lot of managers just demand the outrageous and negotiate down from there. Others overwhelm by being the biggest, loudest presence they can manage, and grind everyone into submission. Chris' style was unique. He listened far more than he spoke, and when he did speak he was soft and persuasive.

That laid-back style could be deceptive, as he was also a fierce negotiator—something we learned over the next three months, hashing out a deal for exclusive online rights to Busta's next album. Even when Chris was at his most intractable, though, his voice never really raised, and the things he was demanding weren't the typical ego-appeasing tributes many managers settle for. They were crazy smart. They were actually things that made the odds of the release succeeding greater.

Gradually, we learned to read that style, so that, even when his volume didn't rise, we could tell if he was displeased or happy. I'll never forget the evening our video guru Lauren Tabak and I pitched Chris the "Spit Like Busta Rhymes" concept. It was late enough on the West Coast—and past 10 p.m. where Chris was—that we weren't in the office, and were instead huddled over my mobile's speakerphone. When we finished our spiel, there was a very long pause. When he finally spoke, we could barely hear him over the street noise as he said in a monotone, "I like that." Lauren was convinced we'd blown it. "No, no," I explained. "That's his excited voice. Really."

We were privileged to hear that deceptively quiet excited voice numerous more times over the next year. And will miss it terribly now that it's gone. – Tim Quirk, Google Play

Antenna: Free Song Sampler

This month, Google Play's Antenna locks in on a fresh batch of artists you need to hear, spanning styles from indie to modern bluegrass, avant hip-hop to hard rock and glistening electronic pop.

First up, Canadian indie electropop duo Purity Ring work in gently lurching trap beats, glassy synths, and singer Megan James' alternately crystal clear and murkily processed vocals. It's haunting and astral, pretty yet vaguely unsettling. Similarly chilled, Wild Nothing is the sighing, aching dream pop band of one Jack Tatum (formerly of Jack and the Whale and Facepaint). The sophomore album Nocturne is appropriately dim-lit and romantic, full of swooning vocals and slippery soft guitars.

Back To Basics Music

The digital music revolution of sampling, synths and auto-tune has created a counterrevolution of artists who've gone back to "real" electric instruments, unairbrushed vocals or have gone acoustic. These righteous performers cover everything from rock to R&B, alt-country to indie pop and folk to hip-hop.

One of the forefathers of keeping things real is the peerless Nick Lowe, who walked away from a successful career as a new wave rocker so he could sing unadorned torch songs. Breakout duo The Civil Wars come on like a country noir White Stripes, while the equally alt-country Chatham County Line somehow make traditional acoustic instruments rock. Over in the UK, Michael Kiwanuka has a searing bluesy soul-folk style that recalls Amos Lee, while Joe Louis Walker and Janiva Magness are practically the physical manifestations of the blues. Martin Luther should be a major star; he's the finest soul-rock funkster since Prince or Lenny Kravitz.

"Gone Tomorrow" Lambchop