Biter Playlist

Accounting for (Musical) Taste

04.22.2009

The Bite:
Are you one of those people who says they listen to everything? Sounds right on to us. In honor of Earth Day 2009 (today!) we teamed up with iTunes to bring you a playlist of the Biter team's top tracks from artists who are doing good for the planet while doing right by our ears. Rockin'.
The Benefits: 
  • Planetary preference. The music biz adds 150,000 tons of CO2 yearly via tour-bus emissions alone. Check out artists who use biodiesel buses, promote green causes, and walk the eco-talk in their own daily lives.
  • Being partial to less plastic. In addition to being cheaper, downloading your music averts the hard-to-recycle PVC plastic used to make CDs (remember those?).
  • Happy Earth Day.
Personally Speaking: 
One of Jen and Heather's dreams was realized when we found out Jack Johnson actually knows what the hell Ideal Bite is (his wife's a Biter!).
Wanna Try: 
Check out our WeMix playlist on iTunes (note: if you don't have iTunes, you gotta download it to get the mix).
  1. "Flake" by Jack Johnson - Jack founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, which supports eco-causes in his home state; he also tours in a biodiesel bus and carbon-offsets all his tours.
  2. "Lovers in Japan" by Coldplay - the stadium rock band carbon-offset the production of past albums and even sews its own clothes. Singer Chris Martin also has a Make Trade Fair fair-trade tattoo on his hand.
  3. "Human Behavior" by Björk - our fave (sometimes-a-lil'-crazy) avant-garde singer just released a new docu about eco-issues facing her native Iceland (exclusively available on iTunes).
  4. "The Seed (2.0)" by the Roots - hip-hop group (and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s house band) that's worked on veg campaigns with PETA and has hosted green pre-Grammys bashes in the past.
  5. "No Surprises" by Radiohead - front man Thom Yorke's a longtime vegan who even wrote an alt rock album inspired by climate change.
  6. "Holiday" by Green Day - the pop-punk band's pet cause? Green energy, which it champions alongside the National Resources Defense Council.
  7. "Love is Free" by Sheryl Crow - the pop rock queen toured the United States with Stop Global Warming and will likely never get past the toilet paper comment.
  8. "My Humps" by Black Eyed Peas - lead rapper/producer will.i.am's written eco-themed pop songs and drives an electric Tesla roadster.
  9. "We Are All Made of Stars" by Moby - this vegan DJ's a big supporter of the Humane Society.
  10. "My Moon My Man" by Feist - the indie crooner traveled to the Arctic Circle to bring attention to climate change, and offsets her tours with wind power.
  11. "Hot Thing" by Talib Kweli - hip-hop artist who uses recycled materials for his albums and has written more than a couple eco-themed songs (one even name drops Al Gore - no lie).
  12. "Heartbeats" by José González - this indie-acoustic guitarist offsets his American tours through Reverb.

Cocktail Fact

Al Gore's Live Earth climate change awareness concert in 2007 was the most-streamed online concert ever.

Bang For The Bite

Listening to some good music by green artists might inspire you, but won't directly help the rain forests, unfortch.

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You might want to reconsider making PETA a selling point for the #4 listing of The Seed by the Roots. Animal Rights organizations such as PETA are based on the idea that humans must not use or own animals at all. The organizations who support this philosophy, work by changing the laws to eliminate the raising of farm animals for food and clothing, the use of animals in lifesaving research, and the breeding and ownership of all animals as pets and companions, and in many cases use forms of terrorism to get their agenda on track. I fear that many celebs just joint the PETA/HSUS bandwagon (no pun intended), without doing the requisite research into these organizations actual goal-state. Don't get me wrong...I'm a vegetarian, and all for animals and their care, and support many animal welfare organizations and issues, but don't care to see the extinction of companion animals. FMI... www.naiaonline.org www.consumerfreedom.com www.adoa.org www.mydogmychoice.com www.saova.org www.pet-law.com
Didn't see a single musical taste for the over-50 crowd in the bunch! You know, you can care about the environment and try to be proactive about these efforts and still listen to oldies!
They've been strong enironmental activists since their inception in the 90's, and were one of the first bands to offset their tour's carbon footprint back in 2002! Their work for the environment is notable and laudable.
in refrence to the black eyed peas song, "boom boom pow" is a newer and better song. as for the cocktail fact, didn't live earth end up being a horrible concert and produce an extreme amount of trash? i remember news stories saying that it failed.
this would have been much cooler if you had arranged for at least SOME of the profits to go to charities - and let biters choose their charity. really, does ideal bite or itunes need to make more money off of this one? it's a smart promo, but given it came on earth day, i think you missed an opportunity to be impactful - both in helping your readers take action and in using your brand and reach to raise funds for the groups working for the earth on this special day.
You all forgot a very important GREEN group! (any of their albums will do for suggestion). The Barenaked Ladies are soooooo pro-environment, I am surprised they aren't at the top of your list. Their tour buses are clean (bio fuel, I think or maybe natural gas). Their music is clean and thought provoking (for the over 50s group). I went back stage at one of their concerts a few years ago and was served a drink (yes I am old enough) in a plastic cup made of corn. As you walk into the entry hall to their concerts you are greeted by all green vendors (Cliff bars was one) as well as environmental groups. You can't go to one of their concerts and not become more aware of the environment. Check them out PLEASE! http://www.bnlmusic.com/ is the website. Here is what I found just logging on. "...And when you download SNACKTIME! LIVE at Massey Hall 12/07/08 50% of all sales will be donated to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, an organization that builds and maintains the parks in New York City while aiming to increase greening, improve access to recreational and fitness opportunities, and use parks as a vehicle for community and economic development." Just so you know, I am not a groupie or one of their staff. They just came to mind when I read your bite and I thought you and your readers should know about them. Thanks, Tracie
I can't believe you left out Pearl Jam! Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but a very "green" band none the less. Check out this site for more on green bands and music festivals: http://www.grist.org/article/musicians/
why no Jamiroquai?????
I was disappointed that Counting Crows was not on your list.I recently volunteered with Reverb at one of their concerts. They use dishes and silverware made of corn as one way of offsetting their carbon footprint.
it's a smart promo, but given it came on earth day, i think you missed an opportunity to be impactful - both in helping your readers take action and in using your brand and reach to raise funds for the groups working for the earth on this special day. Panic Attacks

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