I have never been a big music guy. For pretty much my entire life, with an exception in my early teens when I became addicted to watching Much Music all day long, the only music I heard was what got played on the radio. I have never just sat and listened to music before and have never tried to look for music beyond hearing a song on TV, or in a movie, and then finding it online somewhere. Due to this I find myself where I'm at now. I have recently started playing some games with a few friends where listening to music in the background helps pass the time while I wait for my turn to come around, but I find myself getting tired of the songs in my music library. No matter how I sort or randomize my play list I keep hearing the same couple a dozen songs again, and again, and again, and it's driving me nuts! So I'm hoping that if I can get a bigger library of music then it will be less likely that I will hear the same songs repeatedly.
As for my taste in music, I'm not one of those "I only listen to genre X because it's awesome and everything else is stupid!" kind of people. If I like the way it sounds, the beat or the lyrics then I will keep listening to it. Although as a general rule of thumb I actively dislike rap music, but there have been a rare few rap songs that I liked. I tend to prefer very vocal and lyric heavy music. Some of the few bands/singers that have more then one song I like are: Empire of the Sun, Scissor Sisters, Gorillaz, Tenacious D, Weird Al, and Johnny Cash. At the same time though I have dozens of different groups/artists that have one or two songs that I like. Groups/artists like: System of a Down, Queen, Powerman 5000, Marilyn Manson, Eminem, Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg, Auto Dropouts, AC/DC, Ozzy, Blue Oyster Cult etc etc. I have tried listening to dozens of their other songs but all but a few hold no interest to me.
So how do you find new music to listen to? Where do you go to look? A large portion of my music I found around a year ago while listening to split infinity radio, but even that has stopped being useful for a source of new music for me since it's gotten to the point where it's about 40% of the songs I already have and 60% of crap I cannot stand.
Help me Giantbomb community, you're my only hope!
How Do You Discover New Music?
How does that work? I made an account and added ten or so songs to the playlist. How do I get more? The radio button? Do I need to keep a list there or will it keep track of songs I like and dislike and suggest new ones based on that?" Grooveshark. Add music you like to the playlist and then use the radio feature. Some of it will be good, some of it will be bad, but it should help you find stuff you haven't heard before. "
" Friends.It's true! Most of the good music I discover is unveiled by my friends.
I know a stupid generic answer, but it's true.
On my own, I go to a few websites. I usually go to Pitchfork and check what's new-ish. Ask people who sell music what they like.
Easy answers but what works, works. "
Sometimes, I'll just search random words on YouTube, like "Punk Rock" and I'll be engulfed by bands and genres i have never heard before. From there it sometimes stems to some of my favorite bands.
Sometimes friends, sometimes Pitchfork, mostly just recommendations/sales from Amazon or exceedingly high ratings on Metacritic will persuade me to buy something new. I just about know what I like and what will fall into those boundaries however, so I doubt that my music taste will change all that much now.
- ask weird people about their favorite music
- surf Last.fm for 30 minutes and you'll get too much new and varied music for you to handle
I'll usually just surf the web. I dont really like the sites that try to give you music it thinks you'll like based on your past stuff. I want to see every option not just the genre most of my music is. I'll usually find a new band or artist just by looking for new music from the ones I like already. You'd be surprised by how many bands you can find just by going from wikipedia page to page every person links to another. type those into youtube and see waht pops up.
A lot of different ways. Friends, family, Grooveshark, Pandora, SHOUTcast Radio, Last.fm, PitchFork, even Twitter. Happy hunting.
go to newbury comics and talk to people look around pick up some music from the wicked cheap bin thats how i usally find new music cause its under 5 bucks or so. theres no real fear of not liking and dropping alot of money. that's how i usually do it or just search itunes for music genre that ur interested in.
Like a few people have said, I find that Pitchfork's Best New Albums page is usually very good in recommending new releases.
For awhile BetterPropaganda was what I used to find new music but it started to end up more suck then awesome.
Nowadays it's pretty much word of mouth from my friends and, while it pains me to admit it, some games. Case in point whlie Brutal Legend may not have been the best of games, the soundtrack was pretty badass and introduced me to some smaller metal acts I hadn't heard of before (3" of Blood).
Also sometimes local papers (The Georgia Straight here in Vancouver, The Stranger in Seattle) can turn up some local gems.
Blogs Blogs Blogs. I got a radio show at school last semester that was Pop Punk and Alt. Rock. I had very few Pop Punk songs on my iPod at that point, so I went searching and found a blog that had the Dude-core form of pop punk that I really enjoy and I found a ton of awesome bands that I really love there like the Wonder Years and With The Punches.
Also, Pandora is fine, Myspace is fine, Groveshark is awesome but it's usually better for songs you already know.
Hey I like Scissor Sisters too! A FIFA game introduced me to them. I usually get more albums and songs of an artist whose song I may have come across and loved. And sometimes I check out people's recommendations.
Honestly, I look on Last.FM for my new music. I also check the charts here in the UK occasionally, because much of the stuff on them does not appeal. Sometimes, there are some great things on the charts here, but for the most part there are not. Check on Last.FM for artists similar to an artist you already like and you'll get plenty of recommendations. If you have Facebook, check a friend's Facebook information and see what artists they have down for their music section. Alright, not all of them will be similar to what you like, but it'll give you a good way to get some more music.
Type in bands you like, search by proximity.
Then I wiki the band and read some reviews.
I listen to last.fm and it will play new stuff similar to stuff I already like. I have found some interesting stuff like Late of the Pier and other like that. I also will read Pitchfork on occasion.
I listen to a lot of trance and house music. Most of the time I just stumble upon it. I may be listening to a remix to an artist I know then look up the remixer and start listening to his original stuff. I'll also listen to podcasts like Tiesto's club life and trance around the world. If I'm liking a song I'll just look it up.
I pick an Artist, go through the Artist's Discography, then go to another Artist. Generally Hip-Hop.
Last.fm mostly. Whenever I start feeling bored I'll just select someone's profile that has low~medium compatibility with mine and see if anything sticks out at me.
this is a very cool website." http://music-map.com/ Type in bands you like, search by proximity. Then I wiki the band and read some reviews. "
As for the OP's question, the greatest music is the stuff that finds you. Pandora is great for this. Just put in an artist of the genre you like and let the good time's roll. Once you hear a song you like, then go find some more from that artist. Shazam is also a handy app to have if you have a phone capable of that. Hear a good song at the store? Use Shazam and tag it, then you'll know who to search for later once your back at your computer.
Luckily for you, there is aton of amazing music out there. Don't limit yourself to popular music either, check out some local unsigned bands. Some of my favorite bands aren't even signed yet. Good luck on your journey. Music is amazing!
Please Log In to post.
Log in to comment