Music discovery is among my very favorite things.
The inspiration for this post came from an unusual source, unusual because it was The New York Times. Of course you can find plenty of writing about music in The Times as well as articles about music culture like Ken Micallef’s excellent recent piece “A Sacred Space Where 90-Year-Old Jazz Records Reign” where he writes about the Hot Club of New York, a place where only 78s spin.
But the article that got me thinking about where I find new music was the punny and attention grabbingly titled “Sound System” by Melissa Kirsch.
The gist:
…So for the past year and a half, I’ve been trying to figure out the easiest way to uncover new music. Not new releases, not new songs like the ones I already like, but music that’s new to me, by artists I haven’t encountered before.
Kirsch goes on to share some of her sources for music that’s new to her and that list includes one match to my list—listen to the radio.
I was inspired! Without further ado, here’s my list of Five Favorite Ways To Find New Music.
1. Listen to the radio
While Internet Radio offers a near endless list of stations from around the globe, I prefer to mostly stay local when I tune into one of two stations on the FM dial. Seeing as I’ve been working from home for nearly 15 years, I don’t put a lot of miles on my 2006 wagon but when I’m out and about running errands I tune into 103.3, WPRB, which first aired in 1940 on AM and then in 1964 as the first college station on FM, broadcasting from Princeton University or WFMU at 91.1 which first signed onto the air in April 1958 (the station was only loosely associated with Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey).
Both are independent freeform stations which means real people thinking for themselves playing music they choose to play and they allow the DJs to explore their particular focus and areas of interest which makes for a wide variety of genres and usually some great story-telling related to the music in play. I also enjoy these relatively indeterminant encounters due to the nature of listening to music in between stops.
On a more personal note, my ride also has a CD player and I keep a Springsteen disc in there at all time for when my wife and I go for a drive where we’ve been known to sing along.
2. Friends
Sharing music is one of life’s great joys. Growing up in the late 1960s and ‘70s, friends listened to music together mainly on LPs or through mix tapes (on cassette) and ‘turning someone on’ to new music was an essential ingredient of life. Music was part of our identity and a way to share personal pieces of ourselves while keeping that necessary protective shell in tact. Kids can be cruel.
Back in grade school, I think it was 7th grade, word spread on the paved lot we called a playground during recess that a new kid showed up that morning. And the news about him that spread like wild fire wasn’t where he was from or what sport(s) he played, the big news that had kids laughing and running from group to group to spread was—he liked Beethoven! Many years later, after college, I ran into Gary at a gallery in NYC at a small show that included a number of works by Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Beuys among others (and I like Beethoven, too).
3. Newsletters
I receive two newsletters every Friday morning that list new and recommended releases from online retailers Boomkat and Bleep. I recommend signing up for both as these emails include mini descriptions by staff that help with the introduction. You can also browse through their respective recommended new releases on the websites.
Boomkat Recommended New Releases
Bleep Weekly Roundup
4. Reviews
I mostly look at The Quietus for reviews of new music because their picks almost always introduce me to something unknown and I always find something I like.
Of course Stephen Mejias’ #NewMusicFriday posts do a great job of highlighting at least 15 new releases each week and are always a source of music that hits my playlist soon thereafter.
Stephen Mejias’ #NewMusicFriday
Last but not least, I (still) enjoy Pitchfork’s Best New Music picks which occasionally hit on new music I’ve missed from other sources.
5. Roon Radio
It’s no exaggeration to say that Roon Radio introduces me to more music that’s new to me than any other source. What’s more, and as you’d imagine, the music Roon Radio introduces me to on a near daily basis has proven to be right up my alley, even when I’m not aware that particular alley exists.
You probably know that music plays in the Barn 24/7 and when I’m typing or working on a drawing or doing something other than just listening, Roon Radio is more than likely picking the music and I can count the number of times, in all these years, I’ve skipped a track because I didn’t like listening to it. I’m not saying I love everything equally but what I am saying is it’s damn near uncanny (more human than human?) how often Roon Radio plays music a) I have never heard by a band I don’t know, and b) how often I go back to listen to the entire album.
And we’re not talking some insipid “If you like this, you’ll like this” kind of recommendation that never wanders beyond the confines of a specific genre during a specific decade, with Roon Radio mining both locally stored and streaming sources for what to play next, things get wild and interesting real fast. The last thing I need is an obvious and boring algorithm.
People who follow TM on Instagram and have a peak at the Stories I post every day will get more than a glimpse of what I’m talking about as I post a screenshot of Roon playing a track that in many cases has been selected by Roon Radio. I also collect these tracks on a weekly basis and share them as playlists for Patrons along with words and thoughts about each selection.