How do you find new music?

Being into music is a choice. It is something that require time, effort and dedication. In my experience there are some people who have been actively interested in the music scene since they were young, whereas some people drift in and out, go through phases maybe. Of course some people simply don’t care for music, although I think we can agree these people shouldn’t be trusted.

So how do you find new music?

Friends’ recommendations? Browsing myspace? Gigs and festivals? Blogs? The radio? Podcasts? Daily emails like Track in the Box?

This question is interesting to me, as somebody who was very into finding new music in my teens, drifted away during my early twenties, content to listen to my current music collection and gigging only sporadically, but has become much more interested over the past couple of years.

At one time or another I have discovered music I love through all of these channels. I think most people would put friends’ recommendations near the top of their list. Our friends know us, know what we like, may like the same music, we may even be friends with them through shared musical taste.

I like listening to the radio, especially 6music, to hear new bands, whereas Mr Noggin doesn’t, and would much rather browse through myspace, linking through to friends of bands he likes to independently discover his new music. Interestingly he also claims that Amazon's "people who bought this also bought..." feature is one of his most reliable sources.

There is one place that has been a surprisingly rich vein from which to extract new musical passions: Blalock’s Indie Rock Playlist. Josh Blalock releases a block of around 100 new tracks each month that he has found or been sent, and he has clearly got a great ear for these things as I have found so many artists I now love through him. He places it on his website for free as a torrent or mega upload, but I doubt many would protest at the file sharing as it is a good way for new artists to reach the ears of a large and enthusiastic audience.

I’ll end the post with a couple of links to tracks I found through Blalock. The first is Willis by Sea of Bees, a female singer-songwriter from California called Jules, and the second is Cracks by Bristol-based Jane Taylor. Enjoy!