Josh Ritter, Live and Free

I've blogged about Josh Ritter -- a great modern singer/songwriter who both writes killer songs like "The Temptation of Adam," "Rattling Locks," "Harrisburg," and "Girl in the War" and leads a great rocking band to deliver those songs with grace, style, and pure heart-of-rock-and-roll power -- several times before. (He's also that guy who was on Letterman last night, if you need an immediately cultural reference.)

But I know I like to discover music by listening to it on my own terms -- I download a lot of free stuff so it comes up on my iPod and elsewhen, and so I'm not as interested in streaming music that I can't take and live with for a while. And maybe you're like me, too.

Well, now you can grab a big handful of really good Josh Ritter stuff -- the entire live album Live at the Iveagh Gardens -- which recorded a great show at a unique venue in Dublin, where Ritter has a strong, enthusiastic following. This is a double album, folks -- those of you as old as me will know what that means -- with well over an hour and a half of great live music by one of today's smartest and thoughtful artists. And you can get that for free!

But wait! That's not all! (Imagine this in your best smarmy-late-night-infomercial voice.)

The free version of Live at the Iveagh Gardens also includes two songs from his new album, The Beast in Its Tracks, including the lovely first single "Joy to You Baby."

It comes via NoiseTrade, so you know it's all legit. And it probably won't be there forever, so get it now.