freegal

  • Freegal playlists to stay home and stay healthy with

    Spending all day alone in a silent home isn’t easy. Luckily, you can stream plenty of music through Freegal – for free! – with your library card. What’s more, there are some fantastic mixes already curated and available on the platform to accompany your Stay Home, Stay Healthy experience, no matter what you have planned… Continue reading

  • Meditation for Tough Times

    We live amongst our stressors and our struggles. Anxiety manifests as feelings, physical symptoms, and in how we connect or disconnect with the people around us. We so often think “I’ll be more relaxed when-” but there is always the journey of getting to “when.” Mindfulness is the practice of finding peace wherever we are,… Continue reading

  • Missing Live Music? We’ve Got You Covered, Part 3

    Welcome back to our Live Music series! We certainly hope you’re hanging in there during these especially strange times. Certainly, one of the best ways to get through a difficult period is through music, and that’s why we’ve been writing this series. The next film in our lineup is one that has a true community… Continue reading

  • Missing Live Music? We’ve Got You Covered, Part 2

    Welcome to the second installment of our Live Music series. We hope you enjoyed basking in the glory of all things 1990’s riot grrrl last time. Today, we’re taking a look at the 2015 hip-hop/fashion fusion documentary Fresh Dressed from director Sacha Jenkins, available on Kanopy. Continue reading

  • Missing Live Music? We’ve Got You Covered

    If you’re a live show junkie, Washington’s new “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order might have you feeling a little stir-crazy. Not to worry: we’ll be writing a series of posts that might help you get your music fix with the aid of streaming services like Freegal, Hoopla, and Kanopy.  First up, let’s take a deep… Continue reading

  • Freegal – Five for Free – Spaced Out Edition

    By Cameron M. As the tag line for the movie Alien goes, “In space, no one can hear you scream.” I’ve always wanted to go to space. Maybe even attend a concert on the moon someday, and call it “Moonstock.” That would be super dope. Except, the absence of an atmosphere prevents sound from travelling… Continue reading

  • Freegal: Five for Free (Connect the Dots Edition)

    By Cameron M. Each week, all Seattle Public Library card holders are entitled to five free MP3 downloads through Freegal. In this post, I’ll highlight five songs that are connected through the artists involved. Continue reading

  • Freegal: Five for Free

    ~ posted by Cameron M. Due to recent changes in the matrix, Seattle Public Library patrons are now allowed five free song downloads a week from Freegal, up from the previous allotment of three weekly downloads.  Let’s take a look and see what’s available. Continue reading

  • Three for Free: Guardians of the Galaxy edition

    In this summer’s most enjoyable movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill (aka Star Lord) is an Earthling snatched away from his home as a child in the Eighties and thrown into a life of crime and adventure on faraway alien worlds. His only reminders of his life on Earth and his beloved mother are… Continue reading

  • Isn’t It a Pity

    by Library Staff   Are you tired of cookie-cutter songs with interchangeable melodies, sung by manufactured celebrities packaged in sound-bite-sized pieces? If so, I invite you to listen to one song which is the complete antithesis of this: “Isn’t It a Pity” by Nina Simone, from the album Emergency Ward (also available on Freegal). Continue reading

  • Three for Free – “Cold” Cuts

    As the long, cold, winter rolls along and the weather in the PNW continues to set record lows for high temperature numbers, get warm by moving your body to these “cold” cuts, songs utilizing the word “cold” that are available for free download using Freegal. Continue reading

  • Freegal – Three for Free – Under the Covers Edition

    This week in Freegal, consider using your three free downloads to discover some interesting cover songs. Jimi Hendrix – “Blue Suede Shoes” (Carl Perkins cover) from Hendrix in the West Continue reading

  • Do It Yourself Harmonica

    All my life I wanted to play harmonica. So many songs come to mind that grab me.  There’s On the Road Again by Canned Heat or maybe Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker and Rollin’ and Tumblin’ by Cream too. I could try to pay for lessons, but could I also learn harmonica by myself? When… Continue reading

  • Three for Free – ‘It’s so hard’ edition

    Writing is hard. How hard you might say? Rock hard, I might respond. For example, I’ve spent the better part of an hour just writing these opening sentences. For those of you keeping score at home, the first question I would ask you is why are you scoring this at home? Then, I would tell… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: I heart Harry Nilsson

    Pop star crushes – we’ve all had them at some point. For the past several years I’ve been majorly crushed out on Harry Nilsson, the L.A.-based singer-songwriter best known for his hits “Everybody’s Talkin’” (1969), “Coconut” (1971) and “Without You” (1972). I just can’t get enough of his angelic voice and sweeping instrumental arrangements. It’s… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: YouTube edition

    Remember when they had music on MTV? I don’t. YouTube has wiped that knowledge from my brain. Whenever I want to watch a music video, or even just listen to a song, it’s going to be on YouTube. But if I’m going to be in the car or on a bus with my mp3 player,… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: Stand-out songs by Bumbershoot 2012 performers

    Sure, the rain is back and we’re hunkering down for months of gray skies here in Seattle, but I’m still buoyed by the several rainless weeks that eased us into autumn. I’ve found a simple way to tap back into that sunny time–revisiting some of the outstanding music I heard at Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual music… Continue reading

  • Three For Free: Old Blues for Me, Please…

    I just downloaded three free songs from the library. No fee, no borrowing, no waiting–they’re all mine. It could have been any genre, but lately for me it’s all about the Blues–old, gritty, raw Blues–the kind of sound that lingers long after the music stops. One was “Boogie Chillin” by John Lee Hooker. It’s great for heading… Continue reading