Make Magazine and Handcrafted Music

Regular readers of this blog (or, at least as regular as I post, which I realize isn't saying much) know that Make magazine holds a special place in my heart. The bad news, perhaps, is that my article is no longer featured in the current issue. The good news is that Volume 06 is out and it looks great! If you haven't snagged yourself a copy, do so now. It's really great to see the magazine continuing its great start and maturing with each new issue.

As an aside, if you already have your copy, you might notice the first full-page ad for "handcrafted music." At the bottom of the page, there's a URL for ordering this complimentary sampler (the same album that's sold through the iTunes Music Store for $9.99). I saw the same ad in ReadyMade last month and, as coincidence would have it, my copy just came in last week. It's quite a nice compilation and has already convinced me to buy The Little Willies album, which is a lot of fun too. You just gotta love hearing Norah Jones singing "Gotta Get Drunk," originally made popular by the band's namesake.

As a further aside, this is just one new album of many I've recently downloaded that are now in heavy rotation on my iPod. Here's a brief list of my current playlist (in order of purchase):

• Sing-a-Longs [sic] and Lullabies from the Film Curious George, by Jack Johnson and Friends
  
• We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, by Bruce Springsteen
  
• Surprise, by Paul Simon
  
• The Little Willies, by The Little Willies

Each of these albums is great. I hope to get around to writing a more detailed review here for at least one or two of them, but in the meantime, I'll simply recommend them highly.