Pitchfork

When your parents were your age, they didn't have those new-fangled mp3s. They had to walk to record stores with their own two feet, carrying piggybanks full of quarters earned from diligently mowing lawns all summer...in 80 degree heat! (And, on some days...90 degree heat!!) That's how they got hold of their music.

Well kids, your parents are living in the past. Sure, piggybanks and record shops still abound (and we duly encourage patronage of the latter), but with the iPod, the music-streaming cell phone, and artists unloading exclusive digital releases by the gigaload, there are some pretty spiffy options these days for obtaining music. And now, enter Anthology Recordings, who seek to expand those options by becoming "the first all digital reissue label" (according to a press release), offering rare and out-of-print recordings, all as mp3s.

The label launches October 5 through the Anthology website and will feature full albums, single tracks, and original album artwork available for download. Individual songs will go for 98 cents an mp3, and though Anthology will be the main resource, select titles will also be available via iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, and other digital retailers.

The label emerged when founder Keith Abrahamsson (who also works for New York's Kemado Records) noticed that amid increasing demand for digital music, obscure titles were in short supply at popular retail outlets. Thus, Anthology will function both as a regular reissue label and an outlet for less-mainstream music. The first set of releases will be available upon the service's launch, including Swedish psych band Pärson Sound, New York City post-punk group China Shop, On-U Sound dub artists African Head Charge, Minneapolis punk outfit Suicide Commandos, Jersey hard rockers Sainte Anthony's Fyre, Walter Schreifels' post-hardcore project Moondog, and German psych/kraut rockers My Solid Ground.

According to the label, Anthology "is not intended to be the antidote to crate digging, but a resource for music fanatics who would otherwise not hear these rare titles." Plus, the music is supposed to be more affordable for both the label and the consumer. You know, so you don't have to mow as many lawns as your parents did.