A few months ago I was cycling home along Smuggler’s Way near the Wandle Delta when I spotted some graffiti on the wall of a builder’s mechant. A few weeks later I stopped off to get some photos.

Not a Banksy, I don’t think, but cool none the less. Unfortunately it looks like the uber-efficient Wandsworth Borough Council anti-graffiti squad have removed all traces of it, which is a shame. I bear no grudge against the squad - who I must owe a bottle of wine to by now for the number of times they’ve responded to my pleas regarding graffit on our estate - but a part of me wishes they could make a distinction between art and vandalism.

On an entirely unrelated note, here’s a nice chirpy song for you - “Youkou Yeah Yeah !” from Vulsor’s The Project. Keen followers of my last.fm profile - which records for posterity what I listen to at home - would have noticed this getting a few plays since I found it in my collection. I’d recommend “Mushroom” from the same album, except I hate how it ends. When I get a chance (and err, learn how…), then I’ll remix it and give it a proper conclusion….

For your audio pleasures, my favourite track for this week is the uninspiringly-named “Piste 08″ in Xcyril’s album “Organique”. Very upbeat, well rounded, pick-me-up kind of music.

If I was producing a TV show I’d be very tempted to use it as the signature tune, and with only a little editing of the ending to remove the forced staccato in one of the phrases, I’d be quite happy. Oh, and since it’s cc-by-sa, I’d be allowed to edit it, and use it commercially too!

So Nia buys some music, and gets bitten by DRM - but don’t worry, those big companies are digitally protecting your rights.

I gave up on commercial music years ago, and have stuck to Creative Commons music since then. Sure, you’re less likely to hear their jingles on adverts, and your friends might not have heard of them, but hey! There’s tons of it out there, and most of it is dross - but that’s no different from the stuff you have to pay for. My latest source of music is Jamendo, offering high quality .oggs and .mp3s for free download. I can heartily recommend tryad, especially their cracking album “Listen” (which I’m listening to at the moment - if you do nothing else, listen to “lovely” on the website). If you want something completely unusual, try “Fusion” from Cool Cavemen. Or my favourite from this week - “Drop” from Alexander Blu.

Has anyone else got any albums or songs they want to recommend in the comments?

…and while I’m on the whole music thing, I’ve set up my music player (the wonderful amaroK) to report back to last.fm / audioscrobbler with the details of what I’m listening to. Amarok can suggest songs for you, based on what you’ve got and what people like on last.fm. So I’m helping anyone out there who has similar music tastes to me. You can see what I’m listening to, as well as my favourite tracks, artists and albums, by looking at my profile.

What really caught my attention was when I noticed the list of “neighbours” - people who live in the same musical-taste area as me. Top of the list? Why, naughty_jude, apparently. Now who could that be?

Most music is very formulaic. Not only in style, but in length too. I think that’s still a relic of commercial radio stations, who need to fit in some yakking and some advertising at fairly regular intervals. And even if they don’t need to advertise or yak, I think it would still be risky to put on a song lasting 10, 15 or 20 minutes - the listeners don’t get to choose that track, or press ’skip’, so they might well find something else to listen to.

Around one in fifteen tracks in my collection are over 10 minutes long - some are over half an hour. Today’s track of the day is Terra, by ABA Structure (Kenji Williams) from the album Tektonic Illusion. Fast and rhythmical, and there’s something nice and edgy about it. (Hey, if my descriptions suck, it’s only because I need to practise!) I love the fading in and out of themes throughout, it helps draw you through the track.

For me, the first half of the song is just a long teaser for the introduction of the main rhythmic theme at just after the four minute mark. And to have a teaser that long is great, and something only normally found on drance tracks intended for DJs to mix.

When I read that Creative Commons have to prove to the US IRS they have “public support”, I thought I’d give them a hand. And seeing as I read that when Creative Commons was at the forefront of my mind, I thought I’d give generously to their campaign. So I did.

Will you?