I always grew up with music. My mother was a classically trained pianist, my grandmother was a piano teacher, my sisters played flute and cello, my aunt trained with the same teacher as Martha Argerich, and I was FAIL. Seriously, I am musically incapable of playing chopsticks or White Stripes on guitar, its pathetic. So when I review, I won't be using this foreign language like "staccato" and "syncopated", nor do I really know terms like (Source, GlassRock, etc.) but I will plain speak cause that's all I know. I'm coming from as much music training as the Average Joe, zilch, but I will try and be clear and concise.
My first source of music growing was my older sister, and she still is an awesome source. Her sources are online forums, soompi.com and Livejournals, which I do not approve, due to my intense dislike for any Korean Girl Pop Band, which is her current preference.
My second source of music was simply the schoolyard growing up, Blink 182(Take Off Your Pants and Jacket), Sum 41(Does This Look Infected?), Green Day (Dookie, Waiting, International Superhits), Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory, Meteora, Reanimation).
Then boarding school, it was usually all about 90's rock and Classic Rock with some Oldies: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Beach Boys, Billy Joel, Five For Fighting, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan, Rage Against the Machine, Lostprophets, U2, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Eat World, Dispatch, Incubus, Foo Fighters, O.A.R, Puddle Of Mudd, Queens of the Stone Age, etc. Still, little, to no variety at this point and all mainstream, not necessarily bad, but there is so much more out there. There was some metal with a bit of System of a Down, Staind, Slipknot, Breaking Benjamin, all mainstream. Also, some punk, with some Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, Cake, Weezer, White Stripes, Rancid, Smash Mouth, The Strokes, Sublime, and Beck. Also all mainstream And some weird techno music to be a stereotypical Asian. I suggest this remix of the Mama and Papa's song, "California Dreaming".
Then I got into Pandora and my horizons really opened. It's a website where you pick an artist or a song and it picks similar styles. I stopped using Limewire and P2P servers due to virus problems (and its illegal! Buy legally!) and due to the fact that the music was so obscure I couldn't find it on Limewire.
Then I went to college, and my friends got me hooked on some webcomics. I recommend Questionable Content for music. It really got me in to SO SO SO many amazing bands. Go to http://questionablecontent.net/rlblog/ for a blog that I model after and http://questionablecontent.net/rl.php for recommended listening, Jeph Jacques, the writer and artist has the funkiest taste ever.
Other Good Webcomics: XKCD, Dr. McNinja, A Softer World, Amazing Super Powers, Patches, Pictures for Sad Children. And if you are evil, Cyanide and Happiness.
QC got me into the Electronic scene, and the Indie rock scene. From then on, it was mostly just exploration. ITunes is surprisingly helpful. I look up an artist I find out about through word of mouth or through friends, then I look at artists similar or who other people bought.
Other good sources are Last FM, and in terms of music magazines, I have been recommended, but have not checked out Flavor Pill and Tiny Mix Tapes. I don't suggest Pitchfork, their reviews are imprecise and inconsequential. For example, an evaluation of Album Leaf, an Ambiance Electronic band who are fantastic (featured on the O.C. for you girls)- would sound like "This music sounds like clouds dancing in the air with bubbles singing to them." Sounds nice, fricking meaningless and useless to evaluate music with, and their playlists suck.
Good luck with your music searching! There is so much good stuff out there, don't just stick with the mainstream.
Remember, "Variety is the spice of life." - William Cowper
From www.flickr.com/photos/ john1954moi/3203397329/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment