This week, we said “hi” to October. We took an outsider artist’s practice of gifting CDRs, and made it digital by working with Chicago artist Willis Earl Beal to create a new BitTorrent Bundle: a 5-track EP featuring music from his upcoming film Principles of a Protagonist. (Get it here.)

We also introduced the world to Aaron Cohen, engineer, DJ and moustache-wearer par excellence. We were reminded how sick Internet Explorer is. And we started getting ready for our next Palooza (T-2 weeks).

Happy weekend.

Herewith, three of the best downloadable objects on the Internet, courtesy of the intrepid preservationists over at Internet Archive.

The James Dean Story

7 years ago, legendary actor James Dean died in a car crash at the age of 24. The life and impact the Rebel Without a Cause star is powerfully captured in the Robert Altman-directed documentary, The James Dean Story.

Night of the Living Dead

The candy and costumes everywhere seem to indicate that Halloween is (almost) upon us. So it’s a good a time as any to revisit horror classic Night of the Living Dead. The film that started zombie chic before it was cool has been preserved by the  National Film Registery, and it’s available for free, right here.

The Decemberists

This week, we celebrated Colin Meloy, lead singer of The Decemberists, birthday, by digging up something from the band’s past. Turn on and turn up this 2007 performance of songs featuring selections from The Crane Wife and more. We especially loved the encore track – the deliciously vengeful “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” from Picaresque. 

See you next week!