It’s worth mentioning that Fur Eel are playing tonight down at the Distrikt. Fellow locals Indigo Joseph are opening the show!

But you, dear prairie dog Dog Blog reader, are no doubt a person with demands on your time and discriminating taste. “Why should I go into this concert blind, if I haven’t previously heard Fur Eel?” you might be saying to yourself. They’ve got that covered — if you go over to their site, you can download the album they’re releasing tonight, Perhaps Another Time, for free. Not a bad deal at all.

I did it myself a while back. The album isn’t my personal jam, but it is well done and definitely speaks to a band that bring the party live. One weird thing about the download situation, though: it first asks for your e-mail address and the city you live in. Then, you click on a button that says “Yes, I want free music!”

From there, it prompts you to “choose a way to share it with your friends”, through an automatic tweet, a Facebook like or entering someone’s e-mail address.

That seems a little off to me. I haven’t even listened to the album at that point; how do I know if I want to go around recommending it to people? What if I just want to listen to the music and don’t want to proselytize for the band, at least not yet? At the same time, I understand where Fur Eel is coming from. They’re working hard, touring a lot and now releasing an album for free, all to try and make a name for themselves.

I can’t remember what I entered when I downloaded it, but I punched in an e-mail along the lines of [fictional character’s name]@gmail.com. My alternative for you: enter in reception@prairiedogmag.com. Let Gregory “G-Beat” Beatty have some fun with those e-mails.