Finding music you like
It was only four or five years ago that I was happy to spend money on albums to find out if I’d like them. Of course, I was single and had extra time to waste then too. I found all kinds of new albums that I liked, and to some degree, I became a little more knowledgeable about music that I liked. Now that I’m a little older and have family commitments, work commitments, and other things that I’d like to accomplish, it’s become difficult to find new music that I like. I’ve got the stuff that I liked five years ago, but I can only think of one or two artists that I’ve gotten to know lately that I’ll listen to for the rest of my life. I don’t hear as much new because I don’t go out of my way to.
So, I’ve started trying to find ways to find music that I like.
Of course, there’s Pandora. But, Pandora mostly plays me stuff I already know. There’s Itunes’ genius (yes, I gave Apple all my music info… they already own the rest of my life between the Iphone I carry and the Macbook Pro I work on)… but the genius so far isn’t such a genius. It hasn’t shown me anyone that I was interested in acquiring.
So, I’ve started in on Ilike. The principle on Ilike is that you tell them who you like and they recommend others you might like. So far, I don’t think I’ve told them enough for them to craft very good suggestions, but I’m hopeful that it might become as useful to me as Netflix’s recommendations have become. I’ll keep you posted. Now, you tell me: 1. How do you find new music? and 2. Who’s your favorite musician that you’ve gotten to know in the last year?
Tags: Music, New Music, Saving time
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1. My main sources for new music: Private Bittorrent trackers.
I’m not going to lie… I download alot of music, and I don’t pay for it. I’d much rather support the artists I like other ways, like going to their shows and buying their merch – their cut off that is much greater than off a CD which I would open, rip to my computer, and put on a shelf never to touch again. I used to be all about the album artwork – now it just takes up space. I went to see one of my favourite artists, Owen, a year or so ago – and he had a couple of opening acts that I had never heard of. What did I do? I downloaded their albums, listened to them on repeat – and they were fantastic. After the show, I went up to one of the bands at their merch table and gave the lead $20. As he scrambled to find me CD, I told him that I had already downloaded their CD (didn’t pay for it) and it was fantastic, and I told him to hang onto it for someone else. He was appreciative, and surprised at the same time. It felt good… and it felt like the right thing to do.
Anyway, private BT sites provide me with an amazing inventory of music that I may not be exposed to otherwise. I get recommendations, find “like artists”, and if I download something I don’t like it – I don’t keep it.
2. I can’t even begin to list off the artists in the past year I’ve been introduced to, or re-introduced in the sense of new albums, or a “change-in-sound”.
Ex. Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan’s latest album “Curse your Branches” is an amazing start. A now self-proclaimed agnostic, his lyrics are raw, honest, heart-felt and at the same time deeply challenging. I’d encourage you to listen to it, hit me up – I’ve got it.
Other notables:
- Kyte (Science for the Living)
- Mew (Frengers)
- The National (Boxer and Alligator) This one’s a discovery from about 2 years ago, they’re brilliant none the less.
I download Music thru Zune and I like a little of everything.
Caleb, thanks for the recommendations. I will begin checking them out immediately. I hear what you’re saying about torrents and spending money where it actually benefits the artist. I wonder when that revolution will finally be completed… how many people still buy CDs from a music store? Do we need music stores any more? Maybe for my great aunt to pick up the muzak theme to the Titanic, but would I rather buy music online? Obviously a shifting paradigm.
Bernadine, when you say “a little of everything” I know you cast a pretty wide net… what’s the best new song you’ve heard this year?
It would have to be the All American Rejects (ha ha)