For those of you who don't listen to Top 40 artists, how do you discover new music?

Question

I don't necessarily mean new music (musicians from any decade), just music that is new to you...

I was listening to a Charley Patton record and was asked how I came across it. He's a very old blues musician that died in 1934...I have no idea how I found out about him. I think I saw his name in an article talking about notable bluesman, so when I saw the record I got it....

So, how do you discover your music?

*bluesmen...

Answer 1

Fantastic question. I grew up in a college town and when in high school I would go into the local independent local record store and just pull stuff off the shelves. The guy who most often ran the place would play whatever and it would be normal for me to stay up to three hours listening to and exploring new music.

College came and with it new influences from friends who had similar yet different tastes. Probably the point where I had most of my influences, I would listen to punk, alternative, reggae, classic, jazz, older country.....from Charlie Parker to Charlie Pride and from Jon Cougar to the Jon Cougar Concentration Camp. I was good friends with two owners of local bars and got into most of the shows free, one being more reggae and blues and the other being more rock, ska, and industrial with bands from around the Houston area and beyond.

Now I find the net to be my main source of new music. Y! Answers has opened me to many new bands as well as MySpace. I also spend a lot of time on archive.org downloading live shows (legally!) and explore the numerous bands available. My wife once told me that I was the only person she knew who actively tried to find new music, but what can I say, I guess I'm just a geek that way.

Answer 2

I just explore iTunes. If you have a lot of music in your library already, then the Just for You section on the homepage sometimes has some really good stuff that I would not have found otherwise. My friends and I are all into indie music, so another source is just them telling me new bands. Also, if we see that a band we liked was at a music festival like Glastenbury or Coachella we look to see what other groups were there, because they are often similar.

If you're looking for music The Kooks are an amazing band!!!

Answer 3

When there is a musician who interests me, I do a bit of research on them and a lot of the time I find out about their influences and go from there.

Another good way is to listen to internet radio stations in the genre that you like. They often play lesser known artists and songs. I found a lot of new to me music on one called "live365". They were free at the time, but now they are a paid subscription type deal.

Answer 4

I listen to a little bit of everything,
so I get a lot of stuff off the radio,
but other than that,
well, I have 4 siblings,
and they all listen to different music,
one sister listens to similar music as me,
so I pay attention to what she listens to,
and if I like a song,
I ask,
and she'll give me the whole CD to listen to.
Or,
I strike up a conversation with somebody about music,
and if we generally listen to the same music,
I look up bands they mention that I dont know.
Or,
I have an old friend who knows me very well,
despite us not taling oin almost 5 years,
and when he said Id like a band back in 6th grade,
he was right,
so,
Now i listen to him,
because he;s been right every time with his recommendations.
Or, If I really like one song by a band,
I look up others,
or I look for sweet music videos.
Or if I see a certain band mentioned a lot while reading about another band, I'll look up that band.
Or, If i hear a lot about a specific person,
I'll look up their music.

Oh,. geez. I just gave a long list.
Sorry.

Answer 5

Through good magazines whose writers' reviews I trust. There are so many outlets online and in print: pitchforkmedia.com, and fantastic social networking music sites like http://www.last.fm/, and I know I'm always dropping their name (ehem - maybe because I also, on occasion, write for them) but Skyscraper Magazine is a fantastic indie music magazine. They've garnered more attention lately, but are still great because they do reviews by record label. And there are just so many obscure labels out there with amazing stuff! I mean really amazing stuff regardless of the genre.

Answer 6

Well I listen to a lot of stuff. I like almost anything. Sometimes its just something I hear on the radio. Sometimes I go onto iTunes and just click on random artists and see where it brings me. Also reading, friends, billboards or some other type of sign on the street, and random google searches.

Answer 7

Well, major part of it is from Y!A. Before Y!A (what did I do without Y!A?) I usually got it from reading music magazines (CMJ came with a free sampler cd). I was also pretty close with my technology teacher back in freshman year and he was an old hippy so he suggested alot of music to me.

Answer 8

Live concerts, music festivals and CBC, PSR, and BBC radio. I also try other world stations and when I hear something I like I order it.

Answer 9

if i see the name of an artist and it sounds cool,i look them up.i read Kerrang! as well.i like to look at questions about new bands on here as well and i look at their myspaces. i've found some good bands that way.

Answer 10

i go on myspace
the radio
on a band's myspace profile, i'll litsen to other bands in their top friends
myspace profile songs
googling lyrcics
my sister