how are we discovering new music?
When I was a kid, music was given to me by my parents. This meant "dad rock" on cassettes when my dad was driving and K-Earth 101 oldies rock and pop music with my mom. The latter definitely left a bigger lasting impression on me (though I can't unhear Weird Al's lyrics when listening to the original songs he parodies thanks to many road trips.) As a teenager, a lot of my music came from my older brother (who was at the peak of his music special interest era with tons of CDs to lend out), close friends, and watching trending music videos on Yahoo of all places. I wasn't an MTV kid and this was still pre-YouTube. Most music was gifted to me from people I directly knew whether friends from message boards (thank you to the kind soul who introduced me to Do As Infinity and Utada Hikaru) or math class. I downloaded individual songs rather than albums and listened to them on repeat or shuffle. Things were loose, free, and fun.
College was when my relationship to music started to change. I started seeking out music on my own more often: a song from a movie or TV show's soundtrack (Nick Drake, DeVotchKa), a singer referenced in an interview (Ben Whishaw described P.J. Harvey's voice as sounding 'like sex,' which hooked me pretty fast haha), stuff I missed out when I was younger (No Doubt, White Stripes.) It wasn't until grad school that I started using Spotify and discovering music through playlists that were made by other music lovers (awesome!) but as algorithms and AI took over, those became increasingly buried and harder to find. Discovering new music felt more awkward and cumbersome than before despite theoretically being more accessible.
How is everyone else discovering new (to them) music these days? Recently, I've been looking through what's trending on Bandcamp under genres that I tend to gravitate toward, as well as their spotlight editorials. I occasionally peek at Pitchfork's reviews. I used to see a lot of cool upcoming releases on TikTok from larger and smaller creatives, but I deleted my account a couple months ago for a variety of reasons and would prefer not to be tethered to another social media platform if possible.
In the meantime, Bandcamp Friday is coming up tomorrow and I have a few selections in my shopping cart and a growing wishlist.
Perseids by Maddie Lim - a gorgeous two-track release featuring piano and strings to whisk you away to the stargazing in the desert.
Frente al Mar by Girls Go Ska - I've been missing this album since leaving streaming, which is a sign that it's time to purchase a copy! I still come across a lot of people who dunk on ska, but if you haven't given the genre an earnest listen recently try this band out. Their songs are full of rhythmic yearning - beautiful, devastating, but fun.
Samara Joy by Samara Joy. I have the record for Linger Awhile in a separate shopping cart, but I thought it would also be nice to get her self-titled album since I really love listening to her voice while writing. She's smooth, emotive, and nostalgic.
Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood. Such a great album from start to finish with "Something to Believe" and "Picture Me Better" as personal highlights. I've heard reviews that the vinyl pressings aren't great, so I'm happy to purchase a digital copy so that I can listen to it again.
That's it for this month! I have a lot sitting on my wishlist, but I need to keep a tighter budget since there are a few records that I plan to buy/preorder. The next Bandcamp Friday won't be until May, so I'll likely turn to qobuz for digital purchases while I sort out which indies I want to support in spring.
Thank you for reading! Źįµį“„įµŹ
Got any music recommendations for me? Reach out to me via email!