Comes With Music is Nokia’s own music subscription service that allows you to download as much music as you like for a year, or longer if you choose to extend the subscription. With over six million tracks to choose from it’s a great way to build your own music library, which is something we’re putting to the test. Check out what the Letter E has to offer on Comes With Music.

In the course of two weeks we’ve downloaded over 100 albums and so far we’ve only covered four letters of the alphabet. The Letter E doesn’t seem to throw up too many famous bands or artists, so this could be a perfect challenge for Comes With Music.

We’re very much a house of guitars and guitar music, so it’s no surprise that the teenage boy of the house checks out Enter Shikari, Elliot Minor and Eagles of Death Metal. Now, Enter Shikari and Elliot Minor only have one album appease but luckily they’re both on Comes With Music, along with a compilation album of early ES stuff called, The Zove. All three these quickly get added to the queue before adding all three Eagles of Death Metal albums – Heart On, Death by Sexy and Peace Love Death Metal.

The girl of the house in direct opposition has shown some pop sensibilities of late but with no Disney artists beginning with E, it seems that Evanescence and Eminem are the order of the day.

Evanescence have only had two albums but neither of them seem to have mad their way onto Nokia Music, which is something of a surprise. Even their big singles haven’t made it on to there, so the girl of the house has to be content with a single song – Sweet Sacrifice.

In complete opposite, the entire back catalogue of Eminem is up for grabs, as well as the brand new album Relapse – while it’s not exactly a return to form, it’s added to the list. It’s showed along with The Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers and The Eminem Show, bringing the total of albums queued up to 10.

The lady of the house is away this week, which after choosing Duran Duran last week, we’re happy about, so it’s straight on with my choices.

Eels seem to have never really recovered from having a hit with their first album – it’s not so much they lost their touch, they just seem to have become a forgotten gem. Which is why Meet The Eeels: Essential Eels 1996-2006 Vol. 1 is a great starting point to their music. I nab this 23-track compilation for when I’m not in the mood for a full album. However, I also nab SoulJacker and Electro-Shock Blues Show, which are my favourites.

Another band that seems to have become ‘forgotten’ is Echo & The Bunnymen. Perhaps the only band, apart from the glory that is The Smiths, to prove that the early 80’s weren’t big hair and synth-pop shit, quite frankly! The first is Echo & The Bunnymen album I ever bought was Porcupine, so it’s great to get this again, albeit it a digital version. I add to it with Ocean Rain and possibly the best compilation of all time, Songs to Learn and Sing.

Our ‘New Music’ choice for the Letter E is a bit of a cop-out, as we’ve chosen Electronica – the genre. Frankly, we all need convincing that it’s not just a crashed Amiga that’s been recorded. Frankly, after listening to a few snatches using the 30 second random mix, we’re not convinced, so we choose nothing!

If you’re keen to try out new stuff, then Comes With Music as added an ‘Introduction to…’ section gives you a great overview of different types of music. The Blues for Beginners is a fantastic place to start as is much better than the crashed Amiga tunes we’ve skilfully by-passed using Comes With Music to dodge – God Bless, Howling Wolf, Lightning Hopkins et al!

There we have it, Comes With Music has been a bit of a mixed bag for the Letter E. Not so much due to lack of content, more over to the fact there are few bands starting with the Letter E.

Letter E: 16 albums downloaded
126 albums and an assortment of singles downloaded to date