Heck Of A Guy

Finding 88 Cent Downloads Of Unreleased Tracks From The 3 Leonard Cohen Albums Reissued 4/24/2007

And How To Convert Those Downloaded Files To Unrestricted MP3s

As noted in an earlier post, the first three Leonard Cohen albums were reissued yesterday, April 24, 2007, with remastered tracks, new liner notes, and, most intriguingly for those of us who already own those albums in acetate, cassette, and CD format, five previously unreleased track distributed over the three CDs:

• Songs of Leonard Cohen: Two additional tracks from 1967 sessions with John Hammond: “Store Room” and “Blessed Is the Memory”
• Songs From a Room: Two additional tracks – an early version of “Bird on a Wire” appears here as “Like a Bird” with different instrumentation, and an early take on “You Know Who I Am” appears on this album titled “Nothing to One.” Both feature harmony courtesy of David Crosby.
• Songs of Love and Hate: One additional track – an orchestral arrangement of “Dress Rehearsal Rag” that contrasts with the more ascetic version on the original album

Downloading The New Tracks

If one is loathe to purchase three new CDs in order to pick up those five previously unreleased tracks and is also resistant to firing up Morpheus, LimeWire, Kazaa, Blubster, or another P2P file-sharing program,¹ options for snarfing up these prizes are limited.

As of this morning, I could not find the reissued albums or the five newly released tracks on iTunes or Rhapsody.²

The good news is that Wal-Mart Music Downloads carries the reissued albums and sells them by the track – for 88 cents each.

[Note: This information was updated on 26 April 2007 with additional download sources for residents of the U.S. and Canada; see More Download Sites For Reissued Leonard Cohen Albums]

The bad news is the Wal-Mart Music Downloads requires customers to jump through lots of hoops to buy music. The most onerous restrictions follow:

• Downloading must take place in the United States
• Downloading and playing the music requires Windows and Internet Explorer; Mac and Linux users need not apply
• Licensing and playing music is guaranteed only on Windows Media Player 9 or later (although some other systems may work)

In addition to these requirements, the downloaded files are in WMA format with built-in licensing that enforces these limits:

• Music can be downloaded to 1 computer and backed up on 2 additional computers
• Music can be burned to a CD 10 times
• WMA files, even with licensing, will not play on many portable devices, including iPods

And, having participated in licensed music arrangements a couple of times, albeit not with the Wal-Mart system, I can testify that these elaborate electronic schemes can go wrong in a big way, leaving one with nothing to show for fees paid and frustrations endured except a few gigs of downloaded, previously operative files, none of which will ever produce music again.

The Wal-Mart Workaround

If one craves any or all of those 5 newly available Cohen songs, has a contemporary Windows operating system with Internet Explorer, listens to music only on Windows Media Player 9 or later, and owns one of the non-iPod portable players that is compatible with WMA files,³ then there are no problems. That individual – and there must b one out there somewhere – should head to http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/, search for “Leonard Cohen,” download those tracks desired, and live happily ever after.

The rest of us, however, have this choice to make: Is my lust for these five Leonard Cohen songs such that I’m willing to (1) buy three CDs (which are better than WMA files but not as adaptable as the humble, good ol’ everyday MP3 files) or (2) spend an extra 15-20 minutes after downloading those goofy WMA, license-impaired files to batter them into something usable.

Well, is it, punk?

For me, this was a classic no-brainer, which is, after all, my specialty. I’ll take Door Number 2, Monty.

Instructions for downloading the new Leonard Cohen songs from Wal-Mart and converting the WMA files to unrestricted MP3 files
[Note: there is nothing new about this methodology which has been widely used for years. I list it here only because most folks I meet are unfamiliar with it.]

1. Rev up the required computer operating on Windows. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be your computer. You may even be able to keep this shameful moment a secret from your loved ones. The most severely Mac-addicted or Linux-loving geek knows someone who knows someone who owns a computer with Windows. Borrow it for a few minutes. Maybe you can even convince them to do the dirty downloading for you so you won’t get any Windows cooties on you.
2. Go to http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/, search for “Leonard Cohen” and download those tracks desired. (Keep in mind that Songs of Love and Hate has two tracks called “Dress Rehearsal Rag.” The previously unreleased version is #9 on the listing and runs 5:40 while the version originally on the album is #3 and runs for 6:09)
3. Switch on Version 9 or later of Windows Media Player (WMP).⁴ Open your newly purchased music files in WMP. (The easiest way is to open WMP to “Library” view and drag the files into that window.) Choose (highlight) those songs and then click on “Play.” Once a track begins to play, that file is licensed; at that point, you can go on to the next track. Play a moment of each track in turn to assure each is licensed appropriately.
4. Highlight and right-click on this group of songs, choosing “Add to Burn List.” Switch WMP to “Burn.” Make sure all the songs are in the burn list and eliminate any unwanted songs that may have already been on the list before you started. Burn the desired songs to a CD by clicking on “Start Burn.” When the burn is complete, the CD will automatically eject.
5. Re-insert the CD. Switch the Windows Media Player view to “Rip.” If you haven’t done so already, click Tools-Options and then on the “Rip Music” tab to set “Format” to “mp3.” (The default is WMA) Move the slider under “Audio Quality” to the desired setting (192 Kbps is OK for most listening). This is also a good time to check the “Rip music to this location” on that same tab so you know where your MP3 files can be found. Click “OK” to close the Options box. In the “Rip” view, click “Rip Music.”
6. Once the files are ripped, go to the “Library” view. Find your newly ripped files. Check that all the desired tag information (e.g., Artist name, Song title, Album name, etc.) is present. If any is missing, right click on that track, choose “Advanced Tag Editor,” and enter the missing information manually.

The MP3 files are now almost universally usable. Dump ‘em in your iPod, play them on your Mac, burn them to CDs as often as you wish, bequeath them to your great grandchildren, … .

Heck, you might even listen to them.

1. Come on, dammit. Leonard Cohen got his retirement money ripped off by his manager. Be a sport and toss a few coins in the kitty for these songs [↩]
2. Napster has the reissued albums but is a subscription-only service; i.e., one “rents” the music from month to month rather than owning the file permanently. [↩]
3. A listing of such portable devices can be found at http://www.playsforsure.com/ [↩]
4. Windows Media Player is a free download [↩]