MTV does n’t play euphony videos . Magazines are decease . radio set is all about the $ $ $ . It ’s no secret the honest-to-god modes of music discovery have been thrown out the window . Thankfully , new music - finders are here :
I suppose anyone reading this understands that the internet is the new trading military post for artists , listeners , critics and salesman . It ’s insufferable to fend off some of the marketing campaigns carried out on MySpace and YouTube , but mostly music ’s move to the net give listener more world power to develop their own tastes , for better or for worse . you’re able to rick to MP3 stores , recommendation services , internet radio and podcasts , MySpace — and even personal euphony blogs and forums that ’ll help you “ sample ” pirate medicine . Here ’s my take on each method of find and the relevance it has to listeners :
Recommendation Services
ThePandoras , RhapsodysandLast.fmsof the world are nice , because they do most of the discovery body of work for you , without pushing some corporate agenda on you behind the scenes ( … ahem … Clear Channel ) . Even better , these servicing cater their first song selection around your initially unwrap tastes , and as you give the software feedback as to what you care and do n’t care , they continue to refine and meliorate their artist recommendations . Zune’sMixview also provide a similar armed service , visually advocate similar artists and songs to those already in your subroutine library .
But my problem with a armed service like this is that you do n’t necessarily get euphony that ’s really Modern or innovational . Sure , it might be raw or exciting to the casual euphony sports fan , or just someone who spends all their time listening to these services , but for the true junkie — okay , mayhap “ music snob”—it ’s hard to really be wowed by any of these services . We ’ve seen and heard most of it before .
MP3 Stores
Sometimes looking for new medicine to actually corrupt is a great way to discover newfangled stuff and nonsense . Whenever I stop through the legendary Amoeba Records in SF to buy actual , real CDs and vinyl group , half my stack is full of stuff I ’m wholly unfamiliar with . The same hold true with MP3 stores .
Whether it ’s the monoliths like the iTunes andAmazonmp3 stores , or low euphony peddlers likeBoomkat , Bleep , BeatportorJuno , most these stores not only allow you flick through and listen to all the 30 - clips you’re able to care , but they have tons of recommendation in the sidebar , allowing you to search similar artists and sounds . The only problem with this ? If you do n’t need to buy all these tracks , hunting them down again is a puff . And in the case of some of the more obscure stores , you might not find the songs anywhere else .
Internet Radio and Podcasts
The beautiful thing about radio in its peak was that , top striking and writing style - aside , you never eff what you were hold out to hear at any specific moment . That unpredictability has an addictive quality to it , and internet wireless preserves that spirit to a academic degree . Though not as pop in the geological era of the iPod , I still tune up in to internet radio stations when I ’m feeling bored with my medicine collection .
Two of my personal deary areKCRWout of LA , which sticks to indie and the non - top-40 pop hits , andRinse FMout of London , which has a current rotation of DJs spinning Grime , Dubstep , House and whatever other electronic genre are currently bubbling over there . My favorite thing about these two stations are that they put the message above all else — trifle euphony they like , and not necessarily euphony that will betray . ( On perhaps the perfect other end of the music spectrum , Wilson recommend similarly free - given stations WFUV in New York , and KEXP in Seattle . )
The risk you flow in your way of discovery , however , is that if your ear are at the mercifulness of the disk jockey you ’re listen to on internet radio , and if you do n’t like their discernment , hard luck .
MySpace and Twitter
This is what I sort of view as the slap-up democratic project in music . The complaint while the internet was in its infancy was that big medium and big corporations had too much influence over what music made it , and what did n’t . Obviously that ’s all alter , in large part to MySpace .
As a social medium service at large , MySpace is an eyesore and an abomination . But as a place to discover new music , believe it or not , it ’s an invaluable goldmine . Big creative person , small artists , productive artists , weedy artists — hell , your mom — all have the same basic model at their dissemination to connect with the masses when they ’re using MySpace . Here you may find your favorite found artists sneak fresh tracks up on their pageboy , you may discover work from newer artists who have no official release out , or you may stumble upon that wholly random , magnificent set of 17 - class - olds from Pawnee , Oklahoma bemuse out avant - garde window pane pop music .
But the best part , is that you may click around their grid of friends , who most of the time are other musicians , and you may get lose in musical worlds you did n’t know existed . I expend eight hour doing this one night last wintertime , and found enough new artists and elan that kept me concerned for the rest of the year .
On the Twitter side , it ’s mostly just good for conglomerate names and news program , but the fact that more instrumentalist , writer and other people of interest are using the service of process to jot down thoughts means you get to see what they ’re into at any given bit . mass ranging from The Root’s?uestlove , to The New Yorker ’s music writerSasha Frere - Jones , toDiploall twitter oftentimes about the new music they ’re jab at the time .
The Online Music Media
The big music magazines , likeRolling StoneandThe Source , went from influential and value in their prime for their great taste and writing , to walking punchlines later on for their willingness to make a horse at the cost of content . What this did was get to the door for euphony blogs to jump in and give readers a newfangled station to figure out what ’s unexampled and good in the domain of melodic line .
Most of the bigger / more ecumenical euphony blogs ( Pitchfork , Stereogum , Gorilla vs Bear ) will never be the first one to break a new artist , but they will be quick to say you when known artists have new works available or come out soon . modest , niche blog ( The Fader , Xlr8r , Valerie ) , however , will cultivate their internet site like boutique of taste , and always look for what ’s next in euphony , as opposed to what ’s now .
Filtering through sites like this take on a adequate amount of work , however , and is for the consecrated music devotee . Lesser enthusiast need not give .
“ Sampling ”
The Somalian method is for the most hardcore of the hardcore . People who do n’t want to wait for the medium to say them what ’s what , and would rather just “ sample ” it for themselves , hit the net hard and heavy for album that leak hebdomad , sometimes month , ahead of their press release .
“ Sampling ” these albums is not for the faint of heart . It take a general sentience of music knowledge , music intelligence , ability to observe the right websites and some technical eff how . Bittorrent ( and once upon a time , Oink … RIP ) is a hotbed for many euphony escape as they hit , but since it ’s sturdy to mask your IP address if you ’re not in a individual community , it ’s easier to “ sample ” the same album usingRapidShare , MegaUploadorMediafire . ( In case you ’re wondering , avoid RapidShare at all costs , use Mediafire whenever possible … you’ll economize like 5 years of your spirit ) .
broadly speaking the respectable place to “ sample ” these links to Modern record album leaks are in the threads medicine - related forums . This could be a forum for an artist , a disc label , a musical genre , or just music in general , but masses always pop out an upload ribbon full of link for you to troll .
There are also blogs and situation that keep runway of the late leaks . Bolachas Gratisis probably the most famous of the bunch , famously hopping from blog service to web log service , finding a new home to post links to albums for you to “ taste . ” Nodata.tv point to do something interchangeable , while there ’s another site , Did It Leak , that just lists albums it ’s seen blow around the cyberspace . They even have aTwitter feed .
These days , once you have an album title , its as dim-witted as visit Google Blog Search , possibly typing an record album name in the hunt legal community in inverted comma , and peradventure add a 2009 and “ + rar ” or “ + zip ” to the search cosmic string ( NO IDEA what those mean ! ) . Search around for a few moment blogs that may have a nexus , and bam — new music to “ sample ” .
This is doubtlessly the good method acting for pure discovery , because it lets you chase after down the latest and cracking in music without being infect by anyone else ’s opinion or appreciation . But it also necessitate an obsessive , nerdish approach to euphony fandom that may have ramifications on your societal liveliness . Not to mention a entire neglect for the political economy of the euphony business , and for the need of creative person to be remunerate for their work . So , you screw , go with care .
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