?I think that if a person doesn’t feel cynical then they’re out of phase with the 20th century. Being cynical is the only way to deal with modern civilization; you can’t just swallow it whole.?

Frank Zappa

?The Ultimate Rule ought to be: ?If it sounds GOOD to you, it’s bitchin?; if it sounds BAD to YOU, It’s shitty.? The more your musical experience, the easier it is to define for yourself what you like and what you don’t like.?

Frank Zappa

You gotta love free music. Well not all of it, but here are three divine Creative Commons aural concoctions courtesy of Jamendo:

Error 4o4, The river I can’t (under) stand

Latin rhythms, lashings of noir atmosphere, the crooning caress of a male vocal, and introspective (but never self-indulgent) lyrics make this album as tasty as biscuits and honey. Error 4o4 appears to be one deep artist who named his act after an error message (signifying something you can’t find). The elegant, intelligent lyrics are in Italian but easily Google-translatable, and he even sings in English the odd time, showcasing a whimsical and slightly ironic view of reality. Take these lyrics from ?Wasting Time?: ?These tired horses/I don’t know why/they’re tasting ?paradise?/Looking the sunset up there/through glassed eyes trying to fall in love/don’t ask me why/they’re setting colours/in a paintbox full of seeds . . .?

Dame Seck, Mbour

This is a set of lovely acoustic tracks, as sweet and soothing as the company of Africans, from a Senegalese guitarist. Due to their folksy reggae riffs, tight but rough-hewn harmonies, and sweet plunky guitars with modal musical phrases, you’ll want to keep them on repeat during your next staycation.

Alpha Twist, Sealand

Space noises, aleatoric soundscapes, bouquets of sonic innovation, gentle, with driving rhythms. These are great to listen to when You’re concentrating hard on finding a way to make lead into gold but don’t want to be lulled to sleep. And if you want to drop everything and just listen to the music, you’ll have much here to occupy your mind.

With instrumental music, imaginative track titles are the only source of verbal intellectual fodder, so It’s especially brilliant when they’re engaging. ?Search for the Mind,? ?Interlude Coming From the Basement,? and ?Electronic Fried Chicken? are enchanting cases in point.