If you’re like me you’ve probably got 1000’s of songs on your computer and yet you still find you don’t know what you want to listen to. You need some new music. It’s kind of like opening up your closet in the morning, standing in front of all of your clothes and not being able to decide what to wear. You need some new clothes. I can’t help much on the new clothes front, but if you’re looking for new music, here are some suggestions (inpo)*:
- SpoilTheSurprise.com – My friend Joanna is a huge music buff and spends a lot of time discovering new music and going to shows. Earlier this year she decided to share this research with all of us and we’re the lucky recipients of her efforts. The site is a great way to learn about smaller bands you may have never heard of and to learn about upcoming music shows. She’s got a penchant for indie rock so if that’s your thing you should definitely check it out.
- Pandora – this one needs no explaining. But a suggestion for how to use it is to use the Bookmarks feature whenever you hear a song you like. Later on when you’ve got the time you can go back and revisit your Bookmarks and dig deeper into those new finds. Grooveshark (see below) is a huge help here.
- Music magazines and blogs – My friend Adam has been subscribing to music magazines like URB and XLR8R for years and has found a great system. These magazines are overflowing with cd reviews. He reads the reviews and if he finds something interesting he’ll find them on Rhapsody (or Grooveshark if you prefer free, like I do). While I do buy a magazine here and there, I usually get the hand me downs from Adam. So what if I’m 6 months behind on the newest music? It’s still new to me.
- Read the Labels – I learned this trick from Adam. If you find an artist you like, check out the other artists that label has signed. Many labels, especially the smaller ones, tend to sign artists with similar styles and within similar genres. I recently tried this out and discovered the n5md label which has loads of down tempo electronic music, great for background music while you’re working.
- Grooveshark – 1000’s of albums instantly available online. Good quality and a killer selection, I have yet to not find an album I was looking for. Oh, and did I mention this site is FREE?
And perhaps the best way of all is still word of mouth, so if you have any artists that you really like, let us know!
* inpo is an acronym I believe I just coined. Guesses?
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