Every now and then, I go on a music-finding binge, just to see what happens. I've done this with YouTube mixes, and have found many bands I've wanted to hear more of. I've also done it by searching for songs featured on particular compilation series, most notably the Music from Time and Space series (which is up to volume 40-something, though I have only explored volumes 1-10, as well as a particular volume I managed to download years ago which is later in the series).
But one of my favourite sources of new music has, for years, been Last.fm. And this week I've been finally getting around to doing something I've wanted to do for ages - checking out my Last.fm friends' charts, and listening to bands on those charts that I've never heard, or heard of, before.
My Top Artists chart for the last 7 days looks very different to how it usually would, right now, featuring many artists that are new, or relatively new, to me in the last week:
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As you can tell, the artists I enjoyed most out of the new listens were Young Guns (gonna definitely buy their two albums available at my local hi-fi store ASAP) and Boards of Canada, though I definitely want to explore Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin (which have previously been recommended by a good friend of mine) as well. But there was quite a mix of sounds in this new lot of listening - doom/gothic metal, skate punk, and more generic indie/alt. rock, as well as ambient/chillout.
I've been locating all these artists on YouTube and listening from there. Listening via YouTube scrobbles to Last.fm, and if a song isn't scrobbling, I skip it and find an alternate video for the same song, or just move on to a new song.
I love finding new music, and since I have 443 friends on Last.fm and have only explored about 6 of their charts so far, I know I have a lot more awesomeness to uncover!
That's a cool way to discover new music. (And Lacuna Coil is really good.) I usually find it through Pandora or Spotify. I started with Spotify when they first came out and get all the perks of paying customers. Which is nice!
ReplyDeleteI used to use Pandora, but then it stopped being available in Australia. And when I first tried Spotify, it wasn't available here either. But for all I know, both are available now. :) Need to investigate again.
DeleteAnd yes, I love Lacuna Coil - they've been my 2nd fave artist since 2010.
The current information age is so amazing where music is concerned. You really had to work hard to find new stuff in the old days. Now, with a tap on the screen, you can open whole new worlds. Who would have thought I'd love Quebecois folk music?
ReplyDeleteI used to go to second-hand CD stores whenever I could, to look for CD singles & albums on sale. It was one of my favourite pastimes. I sort of miss it a lot. Things just aren't the same nowadays. But it's definitely easier to find new music now! And I totally love that!
DeleteHi Trisha .. I am so unmusical .. but this is so interesting .. I'd never heard of the word" scrobbling" and have checked out Last.fm in Wiki .. Spotify I have on here but rarely use .. Well I'm glad you posted this .. I'll be doing more with my ipad soon .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure the creators of Last.fm invented the concept of "scrobbling", but I'm not sure. :)
DeleteTechnology is so cool! And I'm SUCH a music person, so I love this!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is cool isn't it? And music is pretty much my equal 1st passion along with writing. :)
DeleteI used to love to hunt up new music. Now I give my iPod to my kids and have them load me up.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a very trouble-free way of hearing new music! I bet you hear some interesting mixes :)
DeleteI love last.fm, I've always found the selection greater than Pandora's which is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I don't really know how Pandora works, but I do know I've found a lot of music by 'amateur' musicians on Last.fm that I love. Not sure if that's possible on Pandora. And artists put music on Last.fm for free download as well, which is very kind of them :D Plus I get to promote my own music on there, and meet people from all around the world who listen to my songs.
DeleteI'm always up for hearing new music but wish I had more time for Spotify etc. However, I definitely want to use the word "scrobbling" a lot!
ReplyDeleteI tend to listen to music (via YouTube or on my iPod) while at work, so that's where I get my listening done.
Deletelast.fm sounds pretty cool! i love discovering new music - i wish i had more time to explore! thanks for sharing your list!
ReplyDeleteLast.fm is definitely awesome. I know there are lots of music sites to choose from out there, but I love that Last.fm has so much free music put up there by the artists themselves. :)
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