Release date: May 2002
Description: “OVER 30 MP3 SONGS” on the front of the box. It has 31 songs! They’re all from eMusic.
This is the last MMJB with songs on it – I bought 8.0 just to be sure of that. By 2002, a lot of people who would want this sort of program also had good enough internet connections to use Kazaa and Limewire. (I was not one of these people; I paid $10 to Juno every month to get a few megabytes of dial-up internet in my dorm room, and otherwise I transferred files onto CD-ROMs or floppy disks. I got a lot of songs off mp3.com under 1.44 MB, let me tell you.) It was getting easier and easier to fill out a song collection quickly. Maybe that’s why 8.0 (July 2003) didn’t bother.
Of course, it’s also possible that websites stopped making deals with MusicMatch (or vice versa). I don’t know! But there are a few good songs out of this batch of 31.
The songs
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Arsonists | We Be About | |
| Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Trio | Thru Dreamin’ | The website says it’s “Rockabilly and Roots Americana,” if you want to know what Elvis-ish things are called nowadays. |
| The Botswanas | Pleasure Seeker | |
| Cab Calloway | Minnie the Moocher | This isn’t the 1931 original, but it doesn’t sound like it’s younger than World War II – it has a major Spike Jones production vibe to it. This isn’t really good for demonstrating the sonic quality of an MP3 (which was a thing these companies seemed to care about for awhile). |
| Clem Snide | Moment in the Sun | |
| Daryll-Ann | Surely Justice | A Dutch group that sounds like it was making Britpop. It’s quite good! |
| Dave Thompson | Standin’ in the Rain | The MMJB genre tag says “Other,” but the album name is “C’mon Down to the Delta,” and Dave is wearing a fedora and holding a guitar. Surely it’s something like delta blues as a genre, then? |
| DJ Rap | Spiritual Aura 2001 – Engineers Without Fears (DJ Rap vs Freestylers) | There’s a bit of swung-garage-y breaks to this remix. It doesn’t sound much like the original, but it’s pretty sweet on its own. |
| FlightCrank | What You Need (Geneside II) | |
| Fugu | The Best of Us | This band has some connections with Stereolab, as it turns out. That tracks well enough with how this song goes. |
| George Acosta | The Reeper | One of the biggest, loudest-looking waveforms I’ve ever seen, which is impressive given the 20+ years since. Compress that hard trance until the blood flow stops! |
| Hayden | Dynamite Walls | The Bandcamp for this calls it indie rock. It bears some post-rock influence. I looked it up because I wasn’t sure how to label it. There are some clean chugging guitars; that’s what I appear to be saying. |
| Jeff Gauthier Goatette | Waltz for K.P. (Von Essen) | |
| Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros | Johnny Appleseed | |
| Kristie Stremel | Shaky Hands | |
| The Melody Unit | Welcome Back Tomorrow | Like a Britpop group with My Bloody Valentine’s singers. That’s a nice 2002 place to be. |
| Merle Haggard | If You’ve Got the Money (I’ve Got the Time) | Not a Pet Shop Boys cover of “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money),” unfortunately. |
| Money Mark | Information Contraband | |
| Nels Cline | Ghost of the Pinata | Mathy prog stuff. I like it well enough. |
| Precious Bryant | Fool Me Good | Her career as an old blueswoman is quite interesting. Look it up! |
| The Premiers | Get Your Baby | From 1965! Might be considered surf rock. |
| R.L. Burnside | Shake ‘Em on Down | |
| Ralph’s World | Freddy Bear the Teddy Bear | This is a children’s song. The name might have given that away. |
| Reuben Wilson | Blues for McDuff | The album’s called Organ Blues; I’m not used to that style of blues. It’s pleasant enough. |
| Scienz of Life | Yikes!!! (Vocal) | |
| Slang | Field Guide to Snapping | Big beat hip-hop instrumental…ish. |
| Soulstice | Lockdown (Soulstice Remix) | Off Mixed Illusions and not a remix, so far as I know. One of the best tracks across all MMJB, and a great one for your COVID-themed playlists (that presumably go to 19 songs). |
| Spanic Boys | When You Fall | Their path to fame is surprising. I didn’t know it before this disc. |
| The Star Room Boys | White Lies, Blue Tears | |
| Thursday | Understanding in a Car Crash | |
| Vladimir Horowitz | Etude in C Minor Op. 25 No. 12 | A Chopin piece. |
Now for the MMJB logo on a completely different product: Mp3.com House Party
restlessmosaic.com 