By Guest Author: Chris Spicer
Go To More Concerts
Go To More Concerts
Concerts cost money. You can pay
80 bucks to see Rush play at the Idaho Center, or you can pay 8 bucks to see
four bands put on a show at The Venue in Boise. No matter how great Neil Peart
is behind the drums, you should save your money and go discover new music. It
won't take long before you recognize the name of a band coming through town, and
you might be even like the opener better. I can't remember how many bands I
have discovered this way, but it is quite a few. Example A: Mute Math.
Last.fm is loaded with
opportunities to find new music. At first it seems like "just another
internet
community", but I think it is the best music-oriented community site available.
It uses "scrobbling" (a process of sending the artist and song information from
your computer to the internet) to keep track of everything you listen to. Apart
from giving you awesome insight into your music listening habits, it gives you
recommendations based on the thousands of songs you will eventually "scrobble".
Just click play on your recommendations radio and listen for hours without
paying. There are also detailed artist pages full of similar artist links, and
yes, LEGAL full-length songs. Why haven't you already signed up?
internet
community", but I think it is the best music-oriented community site available.
It uses "scrobbling" (a process of sending the artist and song information from
your computer to the internet) to keep track of everything you listen to. Apart
from giving you awesome insight into your music listening habits, it gives you
recommendations based on the thousands of songs you will eventually "scrobble".
Just click play on your recommendations radio and listen for hours without
paying. There are also detailed artist pages full of similar artist links, and
yes, LEGAL full-length songs. Why haven't you already signed up?
Pandora
Pandora is so easy, and it's so
cool. Just type the name of artist or song, and there you go -- a plethora of
songs that match your input. The genius behind pandora, called th
e "Music
Genome Project", uses 400 different attributes to match songs. These include
anything from subtle use of acoustic piano, to groove oriented approach or
blazin' rappin'. Pandora doesn't mess around. By giving a song a thumbs up or
down, or adding new artists and songs to a particular station, you can fine tune
your radio to play everything you never knew you wanted to hear.
e "Music
Genome Project", uses 400 different attributes to match songs. These include
anything from subtle use of acoustic piano, to groove oriented approach or
blazin' rappin'. Pandora doesn't mess around. By giving a song a thumbs up or
down, or adding new artists and songs to a particular station, you can fine tune
your radio to play everything you never knew you wanted to hear.iTunes Music Store
The iTunes music store is the
second largest music retailer in the United States, so Apple must know something
about music. When you search for music in the store, they offer a list called
"listeners also bought", a great place to discover new artists. On the main
page of the music store, you can also find the free single of the week. Though
the song selection is eclectic, one in ten is a hit. And who doesn't like free
music?
Available in iTunes - free
download on www.apple.com/itunes
DimVision's MusicMapThis is actually one the coolest
things I have ever seen on the internet. Using Amazon.com music information,
the designers behind this website created a living similar-music flow-chart.
Start by typing the name of an artist you like, and a bubble will appear on the
empty page. Clicking more info will give you a rundown of information from
amazon, but the fun starts when you click expand. More little bubbles pop out
from this bubble, each representing a similar album. Over time, and many clicks
on expand, you should have a moving, criss-crossing page of bubbles connected to
other bubbles and artist names. It sounds confusing, but you're wrong. It's
awesome. Sometimes I go there just to play with the bubbles.
Amazon
Sure, Amazon is a great place to
buy books, and movies, and lawn chairs, but what about music? Well, of course,
Amazon has a very large music library, and they know how to sell it. As a user,
Amazon offers me recommendations based on what I have bought on the site
previously. I can update these recommendations by rating other albums I already
own, whether or not I purchased them from Amazon. Amazon, like Pandora, has a
good sense of what two albums sound alike, and will match recommendations to
your taste. Be careful though, this is an easy way to spend a lot of
money.
Record Store Grab
Bag
This one is simple. Play
Eeny-meeny-miny-mo, and buy the cd that your finger lands on. Just do it. Used
record stores are great for this. I like the Record Exchange in Boise. A good
indicator for the sound of the music is to look at the album art. Cheesy band
poses and cartoons are a good indicator of punk pop records. Earthy tones and
subtle titles will often lead you to acoustic guitars and folk-leanings.
Anything that looks like it took less than one minute or longer than two weeks
for the artist to make is also probably indie.
Film Soundtracks
Watch more movies. Although many
blockbusters contain original scores that are hard to listen to on their own,
there are plenty of films that contain great music. Indie films are a good
place to look. Garden State is a popular example, as the movie heavily relied
on the soundtrack to tell the story. If you're the type that likes to stick
around for the credits, you'll be awarded with a list of every song played
during the movie. IMDB.com also has complete soundtrack listings on almost
every movie site.
Ask Friends
We all have friends that are more
musically inclined then us, it's true. All you have to do is ask. I'm sure
that someone around you is listening to at least one band that you have never
heard of. Isn't everyone curious what's being played through the headphones of
people all over America? I know I am.
__________________________________________
Chris Spicer is a walking wealth of new music wisdom. He is currently finishing up his undergraduate degree at a private University in Idaho. Chris is a screenwriter. Someday...he will get paid to do it for a living.
__________________________________________
Chris Spicer is a walking wealth of new music wisdom. He is currently finishing up his undergraduate degree at a private University in Idaho. Chris is a screenwriter. Someday...he will get paid to do it for a living.
Great post! I just stumbled across your blog and absolutely love it! This is a great topic to cover and I appreciate it as will my readers.
Posted by: Amy | April 08, 2008 at 01:47 PM
Great post! I just stumbled across your blog and absolutely love it! This is a great topic to cover and I appreciate it as will my readers.
Posted by: Amy | April 08, 2008 at 01:48 PM
Recently I found a great music store http://www.polybonk.com which offer a subscription of DRM-free music. I believe they just launched and are adding music everyday, its kind exciting to watch!
Posted by: Steph Wright | May 25, 2008 at 06:55 AM
This is an awesome post! I'm glad I found these new ways to find music! I'm a music fanatic so I'm always looking for ways and deals for music. Actually, I'd like to share some musical wealth too. If you're looking for some cool ringtones for free, check out www.motorola.com/e8 unde the Hotel Cafe, they're giving away ringtones as a promo for the new Motorokr... take advantage! Thanks again, awesome post!
Posted by: CaliSurfer | July 22, 2008 at 05:25 PM
http://www.musicroamer.com
Posted by: Tanya | February 21, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Not only do they try to rip you off, they send your email out and you get a ton of junk mail.
I am from Peru and now teach English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Asmodeus remained in amsterdam in 1992, the sure idea the kryptonix became in france, and the godless wicked creeps gained in denmark the stopping job."
With love 8-), Britany.
Posted by: Britany | September 05, 2009 at 02:50 PM