Surfing the Web for new music, video...

Surfing the Web for new music, video and MP3 downloads can be a serious time investment. Picks from The Times staff and contributors will help take the drag out of click-and-drag music choices. Some downloads may contain explicit lyrics. All are free, except as noted.

“Melo Do Tobaco”

Bonde Do Role

www.myspace.com/bondedorole

Alice in Chains’ heavy metal treatise on alienation and godlessness, “Man in the Box,” might not seem like the go-to song to sample for a dance floor hit. But Brazilian Baile Funk trailblazers Bonde Do Role -- two DJs and a female MC signed to super-producer Diplo’s Mad Decent label -- mash up the track with bongo drums and 808 beats, making it funky (and a whole lot of fun) Carioca style.

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“Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)”

Willie Nelson

www.iTunes.com

Just in time for “Brokeback Mountain’s” Oscar race ubiquity, Nelson retools Texan singer-songwriter Ned Sublette’s 1981 gay cowboy anthem (previously covered by the punk rock group Pansy Division) as a Tex-Mex guitar ballad. “What did you think all them saddles and boots was about?” Nelson tremulously croons, “Inside every cowboy, there’s a lady who’d love to slip out.” Cost: 99 cents.

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“Mind’s Eye”

Wolfmother

www.modularpeople.com

/03/wolfmother/mindseye.htm

This Aussie trio showcases a sonic grandeur and freewheeling song structure that has earned them deserving comparisons with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Fittingly, the video for “Mind’s Eye” -- in which Wolfmother kicks out the jam in the middle of a California desert -- proves to be as epic and viscerally direct as dinosaur rock itself.

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“In My Arms”

Mylo

www.napster.com

Whacked together on a Mac G4 by Myles MacInnes (aka Mylo) from Scotland’s Isle of Skye, this is big beat electronica a la Royksopp or Basement Jaxx, with a bassline proudly shanghaied from Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.” Cost: 99 cents.

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“Dirt Beneath My Nails”

David Serby

www.myspace.com/davidserby

Serby’s brand of alt-country is coffeehouse smart and roadhouse rough. But “Dirt” is about a workingman’s romantic anguish. “All I have is dust, sweat, love and lust,” the South Pasadenan sings, “There ain’t no diamonds in the dirt beneath my nails.”

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“Strip Pour Moi”

TTC

www.90bpm.net/musique

/sons/ninja/index.shtml

Even if you can’t understand French, vive la difference! These Parisian rappers (think: a Gallic version of the Beastie Boys circa 1987) spew ribald rhymes over a “whispered” instrumental track that pays homage to Atlanta hitmaker Mr. Collipark and his “intimate club” sound.