I should be grading final papers but an old friend let me know about the idiot-proof and highly addicting file-sharing program, Limewire. When he first informed me about it I was less than enthralled. I’m no Luddite but I have never downloaded anything from I-Tunes and still purchase CDs from time to time. Downloading music is something my students do, not an old timer like me.

But once I started I was hooked. Now I can’t pull myself away. I’ve downloaded everything from old-school 1980s hip-hop (from BDP to Ultramagnetic MCs), U.S. hardcore tunes (Agnostic Front, Bad Brains, Black Flag, JFA, Minor Threat, etc.), British metal (Motorhead, Tank), loads of jazz and even some classical. The program works for sharing other files besides music but I have not experimented with that yet. I’ve only begun to download.

UPDATE: Roland (But I am a Liberal!) suggested Soulseek as an alternative to Limewire in the comments below. The downloads are much faster and the available material is much more diverse. Cheers, Roland!