Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes (seen here in one of the four costumes he sported at this year’s Coachella

It’s no secret that the way people discover and consume music has changed. The days where radio, concerts and older siblings were the primary sources for new music are over. In their place, of course, is the Internet, which has the ability to turn bands into superstars before they ever release an album, and to make record labels soil themselves as their precious moneymakers become available illegally months before they ever see stores.
    The problem with the Internet as a source of new music is that it’s a scary place. It’s filled with an endless string of crappy bands hoping to become the next MySpace smash alongside penile enhancements, bad humour and illegal torrent sites. Despite these drawbacks, quality, free and completely legal music can be downloaded — it just takes some patience to find where. In an effort to make this process a bit easier, Fast Forward presents the first in a monthly series highlighting some of the best or, at the very least, most interesting Internet sounds.
    • Stereogum Presents… OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer (www.stereogum.com/okx)
    Though the title pretty much says it all, it doesn’t even hint at how shockingly good this song-by-song cover of Radiohead’s 1997 masterpiece actually is. Tribute albums are usually forgettable at best and often downright offensive. This one, however, somehow manages to accomplish what tribute albums are supposed to do: remind listeners of why the source material is great and provide unique, new interpretations of said material that are enjoyable in their own right.
    Highlights include the fractured piano and marching band drums on Doveman’s stab at “Airbag,” the horns that make Slaraffenland’s version of “Paranoid Android” even spookier than the original, and Marrissa Nadler’s absolutely haunting “No Surprises.” The album also features interesting covers from the likes of David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), John Vanderslice, The Twilight Sad, My Brightest Diamond and an OK Computer-era B-side by Chris Walla.
    • The Cansecos – Juiced (www.thecansecos.com)
    Way back in 2003, Canadian electronic duo The Cansecos released a charming glitch-pop-filled self-titled album. Although it was well-reviewed and clearly influenced fellow Canadian electronic duo Junior Boys, the album didn’t make much of a splash and the band quietly disappeared. Well, The Cansecos have suddenly re-emerged with Juiced, a free 40-minute album. Juiced is certainly a more dance-oriented beast than their debut, but the band proves equally comfortable with big disco beats as with gentle, sunny blips.
    • Devlin — “Fabricfree” (http://www.ronniedarko.com/rockswell_radio_mix_pt_2.mp3.zip)
    This is a bit of a weird one. A few months ago, Baltimore grime act Spank Rock released a remix album called Fabriclive.33. Now, two of the DJs involved have made Fabricdead 33.3, which remixes Fabriclive.33. It gets worse: Devlin, one of the DJs who remixed the remix, made “Fabricfree,” a free 26-minute companion piece to Fabricdead 33.3. Confusing remix chronology and similar names aside, “Fabricfree” is a whole lot of fun. Everyone from The Tom Tom Club to Sam Cooke, to Rod Lee, to Fiona Apple, to Devin the Dude is sampled on this party pleaser. “Fabricfree” only loses points for offering yet another subpar remix of Peter Bjorn and John’s ubiquitous smash “Young Folks.” It’s not as bad as Kanye West’s version (http://iguessimfloating.net/assets/mp3s/13-kanye_west-young_folks-c4.mp3), but give it a rest already.
    • Of Montreal – The Bedtime Drama: A Petite Las Vegas Tragedy (http://tunes.bluesummers.com/index.php/2007/07/kevin-barnes-rocks-the-outback-nsfw/)
    At a recent Las Vegas show, Of Montreal’s front man Kevin Barnes fulfilled a longtime desire by performing nude in support of his band’s most recent album, Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer? Around the same time, an Of Montreal song from an earlier album popped up in a commercial for The Outback Steakhouse. These two events had a profound impact on at least one fan with too much time on his hands, because soon thereafter, a nine-song mini-album telling the story of Satan convincing Barnes to play in his birthday suit, then taking him to dinner at The Outback, mysteriously appeared at Of Montreal’s merch booth, complete with cover art featuring a wreath of Barnes’s penis. The album itself is a poorly recorded, grating mess, but it does contain Satan telling Barnes’s sampled voice that The Outback Steakhouse doesn’t serve raisins or pudding, so there’s that.
    For those interested in some context, or some listenable music, check Of Montreal’s epic “No Conclusion” (http://kate.oberlist.com/ofmontreal/Of_montreal-no_conclusion.mp3), which is easily one of the best songs released this year.
    • Harry and the Potters – Various (http://www.virb.com/harryandthepotters)
    In honour of what should hopefully be the last time the world is seized by Harry Potter hysteria, here are a few cute numbers from a Boston band that has dedicated its talent to writing power-pop songs about everyone’s favourite bespectacled boy wizard.