by SHANE SINNOTT

This week, things are being stripped to the core—a list of songs you can download for free, complete with (very) short descriptions.

The National, “Fake Empire”(tinyurl.com/yw5zhp): The first track from the just-released album Boxer. A slow grower of a song that becomes, due to too-loud drums and horns, a slow rocker by the end. If you like soft music with smart, deeply intoned vocals, you’ll like this. If you don’t, you’re liable to find it an example of what’s irritating about indie music.

Simply Saucer, “Bullet Proof Nothing” (tinyurl.com/2g2c2w): Simply Saucer recorded in Hamilton, Ontario during the early ’70s. Legend has it that the band brought only two albums into the recording studio—the Stooges’ Funhouse, and The Velvet Underground and Nico. Evidence of the latter is clear on this track, as it chugs along to a chorus of “Treat me like dirt, drive me insane.”

El-P, “Up All Night” (tinyurl.com/2vxg4d): This is from the much-ballyhooed album I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. El-P has left behind the near-perfect grittiness of Cannibal Ox that spilled over into 2002’s Fantastic Damage. What we get now is more spacey and chaotic—listen for the off-rhythm bass that starts around 20 seconds in.

The Creeping Nobodies, “The Sound of Joy” (tinyurl.com/2j89az): From the selfsame album, “The Sound of Joy” shows off the best this limit-pushing band has to offer, which is basically an intense freakout. I went to their show at Zoobizarre a few weeks back and there were, like, eight people there. Boo, all who didn’t attend.

Dan Deacon, “The Crystal Cat” (tinyurl.com/37f3cq): This guy is also a real weirdo, but in a very hipster (and therefore more popular) way. A one-man show, Deacon makes a hyper-paced mess of electronic noise that’ll sound unmistakably nostalgic for anyone over the age of about 25. He also sings parts in what I imagine must be the “cat voice” on this one. As a bonus, here’s a video of Mr. Deacon playing this song on some NBC daytime-type show: tinyurl.com/3au2lx.

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