by SHANE SINNOTT

Those who read the Load-Down regularly will remember some yammering a while back about Digital Rights Management (DRM) in online music sales. DRM is the stuff that restricts the way you can use files you pay for and download from a service like iTunes—you can only play them on a certain number of PCs, for example. In February, there was a big hullabaloo when Steve Jobs published his manifesto-like “Thoughts on Music,” calling for the elimination of DRM, on the sound (get it?) principle that music you buy at a record store has no DRM, so it doesn’t make sense to restrict music you buy online.

It seems that EMI has heeded the call, announcing last month it will begin selling DRM-free music through the iTunes music store—starting, hopefully, by the time you read this. With EMI being the largest music publisher in the world, the smart money is on the other labels soon following suit. In any case, if you’re the type of person that pays for the music you download online, you’ll soon have the option of shelling out $1.29 per song, instead of the standard 99 cents, for “premium” tracks with slightly higher sound quality and no DRM. And just think, you can offset the increased cost by sharing what you download with, say, a bunch of friends.

This coming Saturday, Blonde Redhead is playing at Club Soda, and Anagram and the Creeping Nobodies are playing at Zoobizarre. If you’re having trouble deciding, run, don’t walk, to your PC and get online. Blonde Redhead plays the type of atmospheric melodies that were popular in the ’90s, and they remain among the best at it. “Spring and By Summer Fall” is available on the excellent Crossing State Lines blog (www.crossingstatelines.com/2007/05/02/music/blonde-redhead).

For the more adventurous, the Creeping Nobodies are damn near indescribable. Follow this link to download the track “Pangrammatic Window”: www.iheartmusic.net/serendipity/index.php?/archives/530-Best-albums-of-2006.html. It’s bizarre but compelling. The music is straight atonal intensity, with sing-speak lyrics. The chorus of the track is the phrase “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” over and over—which is better than it sounds. Trust me.

Not without express permission… ssinnott@gmail.com