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How do you expand your musical horizons?
#1
How do you expand your musical horizons?


I often find members posting this question, in one form or another, so I thought it is time to open a thread to share ideas …………

Here are some of mine :

v The good ole radio………….Often I will put the radio on in the background whilst I am doing things ( Easy in my world we run a terrace/B and B and so it is part of the job!) I have a pencil and paper to hand. As I listen I note down what interests me and then I follow up the leads.

v
Reading , I often read music biographies articles etc as I go through, I notice the influences of he artists I like and follow them up ………………..

v
My friends………..I am lucky many of my friends have connections to the music industry , so I notice what they are listening to, sometimes I’m lucky enough to be able to talk with artists so I ask “ What are you listening to at the moment” or “ What are your influences “ or “ Can you recommend something to listen to…………….”

v
Impulse buys out of the cheap racks………………..Often I will buy something I like the look of and is cheap…………..I have found some great things there……………………

v
Youtube roulette…………I type in the name of an artist or track and then follow up the recommendations ……………again a paper and pencil is useful.

v
I invented the MD Album Review ( With some help I have to be honest) it has helped me find and listen to some great new areas……………………………

v
Rock group family trees : I find these on the internet and use them to lead me to other groups and bands………….One I am doing at the moment is Steve Howe from Yes………..His solo work is wonderful and I get to find his session work ad his earlier groups such as Tomorrow.

v
Old TV show about music………..IN NL we have a great cable channel called 192 TV………it reruns the output of the pirate radio stations with videos………….great to find recommendations

v
TV Rockumenraries ……….Often from BBC 4 ,,,,,,,you get to se an old concert or a documentary about an area or an artist……………For me an interest in James Taylor came from here.

v
I am an avid record collector………….45s are the specialist area and here you can buy allsorts that will lead you on………………I have worked on collecting specific labels from the ears I am interested in ……….found some great unknown artists…………………….You can follow producers
Publishing companies etc

v
MD itself…….I look at the postings and follow them up………..Music Head is a great source!( Tiggi’s not bad either !!!!)
Nice to be able to go back to trust and friendship!!!!!!!!!

It's a mixed up sensation this being alive
Oh! it wears a man down into the ground
It's the strangest elation
I can't describe it
Oh it leaves a man weary
It makes a man frown.
.............................Chris Simpson ( "Mixed Up Sensations" 1975 Martin's Cafe )
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#2
I'd add:

- Magazine reviews. Current mag that I subscribe to is Mojo. Follow up on interesting sounding albums with some interweb research.

- AllMusic web site. Always end up on here to check out which of an artist's work is worth further investigation. They also provide links to their own sections on "Similar Artists", which often throw up something else of interest.

- Seeing support bands at live shows. Occasionally I've found some excellent artists playing support slots.

... and all of the above.
"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture"

Unknown
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#3
Our national radio station CBC has a few interesting music programmes I try to listen to as much as possible. The programmes feature artists in a concert setting and there's another show that continually streams music that you can cross reference on the net to find out the artist and song title if you know the approximate time it was playing.

All members at MD for their fabulous recommendations/reviews. ( This is my primary source for music info).

Sometimes I will go to AllMusic for new groups.

Visitng my favorite CD store - CD Heaven....I just ask the owner Candace...Holly or Gerry what's new or what have they discovered ??? It's a used CD store so the selection is very diverse !!!!
 The ultimate connection is between a performer and its' audience!
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#4
I will add to this list with online music discovery methods:

Music aggregators - Hype machine & Elbow are two of the bigger ones out there. <--- They collect information about the latest happenings in the music blog world.
Mailing lists to recording labels. I have found the smaller labels will send you regular updates to their catalog as well as recommendations of who to look for.
Online webzines. Tonnes of "zines" out there, find one that caters to your interests and follow it. (Punk - Maximum RockNRoll, Metal - BW & BK, CMJ - just about everything. Just type in your preferred style of music and zine and see what comes of the search)

I also enjoy radio blogs/sites:
WFMU - "Beware of the Blog" - many things you never imagined to find. Eclectic and crazy fun!
World Cafe - http://www.npr.org/programs/world-cafe/ - live music performaces
Morning Becomes Eclectic (KCRW) - http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb - Live music perfomances

Daytrotter.com - a website set-up to bring you free independent music - sessions much like the World Cafe & Morning Becomes Electric, offered for streaming &/or download.

There are so many radio stations doing these types of shows and posting them online se if your favourite station(s) have this too.
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#5
^ A good selection of sources, guys...
"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture"

Unknown
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#6
http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time
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#7
Music Forums Smile

Also That's where a lot of artists are trying to get their start. A lot of them are very good but just don't have a label.
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