In the pre-Shazam days, I insisted on sitting in the movie palace, watching the end credits until near the end. That is when the song credits would finally scroll up the screen. Also, don’t use your bright-ass phone in a dark theatre.
Teenage days, we would read the liner notes of CDs to see what other bands were in the "thank you" section. I guess, today, that would be seeing who is touring with bands you like.
I've discovered quite a few songs via radio: PJ Harvey's "Dress", Magnetic Fields' "I Don't Need You", Womack and Womack's "Teardrops", Nanci Griffith's "Drive In Movies and Dashboard Lights", and Cootie Catcher's "Friend of a Friend" being the highlights. (Plus a belated recognition that Evanescence's "My Immortal" is really good!) It feels a bit like cheating, but a friend's internet radio show also introduced me to Paper Jam's "Skyscraper", which might be my favorite of them all.
What a fantastic article! As much as I love to keep up with everything, I also need to maintain a connection to my GUT, that instinctual feeling that draws you to the music that feeds you. Here are my answers to your three questions:
What’s the best song you found in the real world? Just the other day, I was listening to Come Into Knowledge by Ramp and thinking I really need to listen to more Roy Ayers. Then I was at IndiePlaza (free festival put on by Rough Trade in Rockefeller Center every year), and one of the DJs played a DEEP groove that I loved instantly, so I whipped out my phone and Shazamed it, only to find out it was a rework of Love Will Bring Us Back Together by Roy Ayers! I told the universe I needed to listen to more Roy Ayers, and it provided. https://youtu.be/_SoouRjO2z4?si=oLTwB94Ejk9wH8SH
Any unexpectedly excellent record store finds that you had no idea about beforehand? I was in New Orleans last year, and found the first, self-titled record by a band called Womb. It came out in 1969, had a cool cover, and a quick preview on the turntable compelled me to buy it. It's an amazing album of psych-folk-prog (one of my favorite hybrids, LOL), and I recommend tracking it down!
What are other ways to discover new music outside of the internet? Go to shows where you only know one of the bands. Sometimes, I research the bands beforehand; other times, I let it happen in the moment, trusting the headliner to have picked someone I would vibe with to open their show. A recent example was when I went to see Mutual Benefit at Cassette in Ridgewood. He was playing with three artists I had never heard of (Alice Does Computer Music, Jadelain, and Joan Kelsey), and I ended up loving them all.
i think not knowing that something is a cover might be one of the most delightful way of discovering another artist. not exactly what you were saying but you reminded me of it.
Wonderful, nourishing read. I guess I should... get off the internet now 😅 we all need a system crashout on our phone that plays Les Tigres' song after 5 minutes of doom scrolling.
KEXP is a great radio station out of Seattle and San Francisco. They have so much diversity in their ranks of DJs. They really mix it up and I find a lot of new…and old music there. But once I fall for a band, they can be on repeat for a LONG time. Right now I’m stuck on Lady Blackbird’s Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled.
This is great advice, and I find that the older I get the harder it is to follow. If left to my own devices and reactions I am at great risk of becoming Old, or maybe more to the point, of appearing to others like I’m Old. But I do try to create specific non-internet-influenced time, and the bit about letting an actual record store visit guide you to new things is something I’ve stumbled upon and loved a lot. I had to learn that the guy at the record store could give a fuck what I choose to buy, and even to enjoy the fact that he knows I will take home every piece of Windham Hill vinyl I find there.
fantastic article!! I loved reading it. Your note about "Let yourself use an imperfect system" really resonated with me. As a music collector (digital, ~1+ terabytes), one of the biggest pain points is the need to make sure everything is properly "organized". I always feel a little angst about the inconsistent foldering, incomplete albums, incomplete discographies, "when I have time I'll clean up the folder/labeling," But its sisyphean. It's like, thousands of folders, it'll never be properly organized. As long as my music player app can read em, whooo cares.
NGL, one of my biggest live "discoveries" was MacArthur Park by Donna Summer at a coffee shop lol. I felt dumb when the shazam showed up but hey, reminded me Donna Summer rips.
haha that’s how i felt when i shazam’d celine dion in the wine bar bathroom…. like shouldn’t i have known it was the queen on the radio? but my parents didn’t really listen to The Divas when I was growing up, so I get to discover them now!
I have a niche music discovery method. I go to a weekly trivia night where each clue is accompanied by a musical hint. If something sounds good or interesting I’ll make a note of it when the host states the song/artist
Buying a totally unknown record at the record store is an incredible move. I should do it more often.
I saw an album from Alan Toussaint with a track "Everything I Do GonnaBe Funky (From Now On)". I regret it didn't buy the album, but I looked up the song when I got home. That motherfuckin joint is one of the best dammit songs I ever heard.
I love this so much!! When I’m in the car I listen to my local alternative radio station primarily.
My favorite was at a local brewery, I was trying to Shazam like every song because it was all right up my alley stuff that I’d never heard and I was so upset that out of 5-6 songs, Shazam only knew one! But that was mannequin pussy and I’m so happy about that. One of the bartenders had just put it on Spotify and let it go, so there was really no way to know what the songs were (not going to lie, I wanted to ask her for her phone! 😂) It led to a great conversation.
I’m in the record store talking to them all the time 😂 These days, when they recommend something to me, I go home and listen to it first because I’m poor lol
Even pre-internet, it was an effort to trust your gut. I remember getting overwhelmed in college when the radio station manager offered me an on-air shift (I was happy to put up flyers with the cool kids!). I was so scared I wouldn’t know enough to do a good show. And he was like, do you know what you like? Me - well, yeah, I guess I do! And if I don’t, I’ll find out!
I also have an intense relationship with Time Ain’t Accidental. My current most-played song of all time is “Chasing Spirits.” That is my song … I remember telling my ex-boyfriend when we started dating if he wanted to understand me he should just play that album.
I think you’re so right about ignoring the internet and playing around to figure out on your own what sets you off… I love having idiosyncratic taste I’d argue about to the death for fun and I’m a believer in Logging Off more than ever. I think people should fuck around and find out (their own taste) first always. That being said I would be lying if I didn’t admit to having my Trusted Sources, a handful of critics and curators here and there who feel likeminded or as kin, sensibility-wise, but also offer expansion or push against or out what I gravitate towards, widening the circle a bit more. I love having that friction & it can be kind of dreamy when it doesn’t rule you
My favorite song I’ve found in the wild lately is honestly “Choosin Texas,” which has been on loop for a full week now since I first heard it in an Uber. NTS radio and film needledrops are also clutch sources
I walked past this market stall one day in 1991 in Lome, Togo and liked the music they were playing, so I bought the cassette out of the player; it was a dub of a Sikilu Ayinde Barrister show. That's my best music discovery story.
In the pre-Shazam days, I insisted on sitting in the movie palace, watching the end credits until near the end. That is when the song credits would finally scroll up the screen. Also, don’t use your bright-ass phone in a dark theatre.
YES!!! I used to do this ALL the time.
Me too!!
i still do this sometimes, especially with tv shows
Teenage days, we would read the liner notes of CDs to see what other bands were in the "thank you" section. I guess, today, that would be seeing who is touring with bands you like.
i completely forgot about this
I've discovered quite a few songs via radio: PJ Harvey's "Dress", Magnetic Fields' "I Don't Need You", Womack and Womack's "Teardrops", Nanci Griffith's "Drive In Movies and Dashboard Lights", and Cootie Catcher's "Friend of a Friend" being the highlights. (Plus a belated recognition that Evanescence's "My Immortal" is really good!) It feels a bit like cheating, but a friend's internet radio show also introduced me to Paper Jam's "Skyscraper", which might be my favorite of them all.
the radio is so good! especially internet radio! i find a TON of music from NTS shows
I appreciate the Shazam-ing suggestion. Some of my favorite songs came from random places, films or radio shows.
believe it or not i discovered the weeknd like this
That would be a great topic for your music community chat… best/favortie music discover thru Shazam
Ha ha thanks for the idea
What a fantastic article! As much as I love to keep up with everything, I also need to maintain a connection to my GUT, that instinctual feeling that draws you to the music that feeds you. Here are my answers to your three questions:
What’s the best song you found in the real world? Just the other day, I was listening to Come Into Knowledge by Ramp and thinking I really need to listen to more Roy Ayers. Then I was at IndiePlaza (free festival put on by Rough Trade in Rockefeller Center every year), and one of the DJs played a DEEP groove that I loved instantly, so I whipped out my phone and Shazamed it, only to find out it was a rework of Love Will Bring Us Back Together by Roy Ayers! I told the universe I needed to listen to more Roy Ayers, and it provided. https://youtu.be/_SoouRjO2z4?si=oLTwB94Ejk9wH8SH
Any unexpectedly excellent record store finds that you had no idea about beforehand? I was in New Orleans last year, and found the first, self-titled record by a band called Womb. It came out in 1969, had a cool cover, and a quick preview on the turntable compelled me to buy it. It's an amazing album of psych-folk-prog (one of my favorite hybrids, LOL), and I recommend tracking it down!
What are other ways to discover new music outside of the internet? Go to shows where you only know one of the bands. Sometimes, I research the bands beforehand; other times, I let it happen in the moment, trusting the headliner to have picked someone I would vibe with to open their show. A recent example was when I went to see Mutual Benefit at Cassette in Ridgewood. He was playing with three artists I had never heard of (Alice Does Computer Music, Jadelain, and Joan Kelsey), and I ended up loving them all.
i think not knowing that something is a cover might be one of the most delightful way of discovering another artist. not exactly what you were saying but you reminded me of it.
Wonderful, nourishing read. I guess I should... get off the internet now 😅 we all need a system crashout on our phone that plays Les Tigres' song after 5 minutes of doom scrolling.
love this idea, sounds way more effective than apple’s screen time rules
KEXP is a great radio station out of Seattle and San Francisco. They have so much diversity in their ranks of DJs. They really mix it up and I find a lot of new…and old music there. But once I fall for a band, they can be on repeat for a LONG time. Right now I’m stuck on Lady Blackbird’s Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled.
This is great advice, and I find that the older I get the harder it is to follow. If left to my own devices and reactions I am at great risk of becoming Old, or maybe more to the point, of appearing to others like I’m Old. But I do try to create specific non-internet-influenced time, and the bit about letting an actual record store visit guide you to new things is something I’ve stumbled upon and loved a lot. I had to learn that the guy at the record store could give a fuck what I choose to buy, and even to enjoy the fact that he knows I will take home every piece of Windham Hill vinyl I find there.
fantastic article!! I loved reading it. Your note about "Let yourself use an imperfect system" really resonated with me. As a music collector (digital, ~1+ terabytes), one of the biggest pain points is the need to make sure everything is properly "organized". I always feel a little angst about the inconsistent foldering, incomplete albums, incomplete discographies, "when I have time I'll clean up the folder/labeling," But its sisyphean. It's like, thousands of folders, it'll never be properly organized. As long as my music player app can read em, whooo cares.
NGL, one of my biggest live "discoveries" was MacArthur Park by Donna Summer at a coffee shop lol. I felt dumb when the shazam showed up but hey, reminded me Donna Summer rips.
haha that’s how i felt when i shazam’d celine dion in the wine bar bathroom…. like shouldn’t i have known it was the queen on the radio? but my parents didn’t really listen to The Divas when I was growing up, so I get to discover them now!
I had "get off the internet!" inscribed on the back of my old iPod so this truly hits.
I have a niche music discovery method. I go to a weekly trivia night where each clue is accompanied by a musical hint. If something sounds good or interesting I’ll make a note of it when the host states the song/artist
that is so niche in the best way, i love it
Buying a totally unknown record at the record store is an incredible move. I should do it more often.
I saw an album from Alan Toussaint with a track "Everything I Do GonnaBe Funky (From Now On)". I regret it didn't buy the album, but I looked up the song when I got home. That motherfuckin joint is one of the best dammit songs I ever heard.
that song is SO good. buying an unknown record can totally be a bust sometimes, but usually it’s so incredible.
I love this so much!! When I’m in the car I listen to my local alternative radio station primarily.
My favorite was at a local brewery, I was trying to Shazam like every song because it was all right up my alley stuff that I’d never heard and I was so upset that out of 5-6 songs, Shazam only knew one! But that was mannequin pussy and I’m so happy about that. One of the bartenders had just put it on Spotify and let it go, so there was really no way to know what the songs were (not going to lie, I wanted to ask her for her phone! 😂) It led to a great conversation.
I’m in the record store talking to them all the time 😂 These days, when they recommend something to me, I go home and listen to it first because I’m poor lol
Even pre-internet, it was an effort to trust your gut. I remember getting overwhelmed in college when the radio station manager offered me an on-air shift (I was happy to put up flyers with the cool kids!). I was so scared I wouldn’t know enough to do a good show. And he was like, do you know what you like? Me - well, yeah, I guess I do! And if I don’t, I’ll find out!
I also have an intense relationship with Time Ain’t Accidental. My current most-played song of all time is “Chasing Spirits.” That is my song … I remember telling my ex-boyfriend when we started dating if he wanted to understand me he should just play that album.
I think you’re so right about ignoring the internet and playing around to figure out on your own what sets you off… I love having idiosyncratic taste I’d argue about to the death for fun and I’m a believer in Logging Off more than ever. I think people should fuck around and find out (their own taste) first always. That being said I would be lying if I didn’t admit to having my Trusted Sources, a handful of critics and curators here and there who feel likeminded or as kin, sensibility-wise, but also offer expansion or push against or out what I gravitate towards, widening the circle a bit more. I love having that friction & it can be kind of dreamy when it doesn’t rule you
My favorite song I’ve found in the wild lately is honestly “Choosin Texas,” which has been on loop for a full week now since I first heard it in an Uber. NTS radio and film needledrops are also clutch sources
I walked past this market stall one day in 1991 in Lome, Togo and liked the music they were playing, so I bought the cassette out of the player; it was a dub of a Sikilu Ayinde Barrister show. That's my best music discovery story.