Ghost Factory - Ghost Factory

i can't scan the cover in because my scanner fell off a cliff and was eaten by jaguars

http://www.mediafire.com/?melmzj2jteg

Album from my buddy Rob, performing here as Ghost Factory.
Literate and interesting folk-rock that draws influence from such artists as Tom Waits but ends up being a very unique creation in its own right. Very varied, multi-layered instrumentation, and well-written songs. I heard this album before I really knew him personally and was tremendously impressed at the caliber of songwriting and the overall quality of the album.
You should listen to this.

< personal anecdote>
I asked him once if it was weird to go places like a friend's party and have your music come up on shuffle amongst tunes from such as Against Me! and Brother Ali.
He said it was very weird.
I lol'd.
< /personal anecdote>
http://www.myspace.com/aghostfactory

Pretty Hot - Demo CD-R 2 (2004)

http://www.mediafire.com/?lyguyjzdzhz

Pretty Hot was a punk band formed in 2004 by Cathy, Ryan, and Geoff (the latter two of Defiance, Ohio). Theo (from Defiance, Ohio and Nana Grizol) joined them on drums for a while before leaving and being replaced by Ginger from One Reason.
Geoff also played in Disaster.

This shares some of the characteristic Defiance, Ohio sound (thanks mostly to Geoff, i expect) except with electric guitars instead of the folk instrumentation.

They have not officially broken up but apparently have no plans to ever play again.

Appalachian Terror Unit - It's Far From Fucking Over

http://www.mediafire.com/?5mwdcjamznd

West Virginian anarchist crust punk band with dual male/female vocals as per Witch Hunt.

And a word on my genre tags: while i could be more specific with the genres i don't want a list of tags three pages long with like one entry per category. I try to maintain a balance between specificity and succinctness.

http://www.myspace.com/appalachianterrorunit

Alan Lomax - Prison Songs - Vol. 1: Murderous Home

http://www.mediafire.com/?zz5dmdm1zmj

History lesson! Alan Lomax!

Alan Lomax (1915-2002) was a folklorist, music historian and 'ethnomusicologist' who recorded thousands upon thousands of folk songs from the US, UK, Caribbean, and others. In the '40s he produced concerts, recordings, and radio shows showcasing practically every form of music, from klezmer to jazz to spoken word to pop, blues and pretty much any form of world folk music you can name. This man is nearly singlehandedly to thank for the preservation of thousands of local folk songs before such cultures became marginalized under the weight of the modern world, as well as the resurgence of interest in such folk music in the latter half of the 20th century.

This album, Prison Songs, are real recordings of prison work crews and chain gangs in the Southern United States from 1947. Mournful work chants, complete with shovel/pickaxe strikes keeping time.

"These songs belong to the musical tradition which Africans brought to the New World, but they are also as American as the Mississippi River. They were born out of the very rock and earth of this country, as black hands broke the soil, moved, reformed it, and rivers of stinging sweat poured upon the land under the blazing heat of Southern skies, and are mounted upon the passion that this struggle with nature brought forth. They tell us the story of the slave gang, the sharecropper system, the lawless work camp, the chain gang, the pen." --Alan Lomax

Some of these songs were also used in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
I cannot stress enough how much you should be downloading this right now. It's important. Listen to it. This is music. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_lomax

Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen - Poetry for the Beat Generation

http://www.mediafire.com/?205xwtwnqez

Debut album from novelist Jack Kerouac. Here his spoken word poetry is accompanied by jazz pianist Steve Allen. If you like Jack Kerouac, spoken word music, poetry, or jazz piano you will enjoy this. It just... takes you places. Even if you don't know if you'll like it, give it a shot. It is absolutely tremendous.

For those who are more familiar with Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner, this album is a fair bit like that. Although this came first so it is probably more accurate to say Nighthawks is like this. I LOVE Nighthawks (and indeed every single thing Tom Waits has ever done) so it makes sense I would enjoy this.

Punkin Pie - Broke Truck, Good Luck (2007)

http://www.mediafire.com/?dtuwiwnnw5j

 Punkin Pie features Emmalee, Brad, and Kirke from Rosa. Both bands existed contemporaneously for a brief period, and then after the breakup of Rosa, Punkin Pie became their main band. Then i guess Kirke quit the band shortly after. Every time i listen to Rosa i wish they hadn't broken up. Punkin Pie has also since broken up and i wish they hadn't.

This is rough and outstandingly fun pop-punk with male/female vocals. Every song sounds like they were just having a blast, but i guess it couldnt have been that great due them having broken up.
Not dissimilar from Plan-It-X labelmates Chinese Telephones.

Wingnut Dishwashers Union - Burn The Earth, Leave it Behind

http://www.mediafire.com/?nmzmjyolfyw

The newer project from Pat the Bunny, of Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains. The recording quality is a little higher than some of his past work, and theres no trumpet as per Johnny Hobo, and it has more to do with politics than drugs, but the songs are still incredible. He has a fantastic songwriting talent and manages to do so much with so little (in terms of instrumentation and complexity). It's very personality-driven music.

Recently, Pat the Bunny had this to say, on his website:

"December 6, 2009

I have entered a year long treatment program for addiction. During this time I will not be able to send or receive mail. I'm sorry to people who ordered things and did not get them. It's very unclear whether I will keep playing punk rock music when that peiod of time is over. I wish that I knew more, but nothing is certain right now. Thank you for liking songs that I wrote, and helping me not feel so alone a lot of the time.

(pat the bunny)"

So it might seem contrived of me to say so but i hope all goes well because i love the songs this man writes. One of the best folk-punk artists around, no question.

http://www.wingnutdishwashersunion.com/

Joshua Fit For Battle - To Bring Our Own End

http://www.mediafire.com/?zg2nxgmdnhd

Late '90s screamo band out of Newark, Delaware. Now defunct. Along with such bands as pg. 99, part of the so-called "first wave" of screamo (aka skramz), to be differentiated from such infinitely lamer bands such as Thursday and The Used.

First wave screamo draws a lot more heavily from hardcore and has much fewer clean vocals than later screamo. It also seems unlikely you would hear this on mainstream radio.

Such song titles as 'Destroying From the Inside Out Kinda Like Cancer' and 'Fuck The Men in Her Life' give you an idea of the tone of this album.

www.jffb.com

Laughing Owls - Bad Knees

http://www.mediafire.com/?utmyyyqmomm

This isn't exactly typical for music i post here, but then again...
Laughing Owls is Meagan Day, who now makes music as Wisdom Tooth. Meagan Day makes quiet solo acoustic music. This album is 23 short songs, and i think it was recorded on a Macbook. I find it all very endearing, and the songs range from the good to the superb. I have a soft spot for homemade, DIY music.
So i can't guarantee this is for everyone, but i don't think one single album i've posted has been for everyone.
Except me.

Standout songs include "medical district song", "miles away (response)", and "when i went to the coast".

Oh this album is available for free on her last.fm as well.

The Gundown - A Tribute to Isolation

http://www.mediafire.com/?kh2zmtodxwn

Spanish pop-punk band. Their last.fm page calls them a hardcore band but i can't imagine why. This is (almost) textbook pop-punk, with lots of whoa-oh's and transitions from driving verses to cleaner bridges. What is atypical and interesting about The Gundown is the presence of (tasteful) guitar solos, which lends the band a distinctly Dinosaur Jr. flavour to it as well.

This is a very enjoyable 5-song EP. I like it. Maybe you will too!