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Where do you go for new music?
It's been over a month since MTV2 chopped its heads off and got rid of the music shows as we knew them. Since then, where have you gone to learn about new music? Video blocks on TV, blogs, or other web sites?
There are tons of places to go to discover new music, but everything is so decentralized now. Post your favorite TV show, blog, or web site where you find out about new music, and if I get some good suggestions, I'll add them to the "essential links" on the altmusictv home page.
Because I clearly don't have the time or resources to do anything grand with altmusictv and make it any sort of destination for new music, I'd at least like to set up a pretty nice directory of places to go.
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I imagine most people are gonna say word-of-mouth through their friends but my friends don't have the same taste in music that I do. Some of you may argue they actually have _no_ taste. Anyway, for years Subterranean was the only way I got to hear about new indie music. Recently I started using Myspace.com as a tool. It allows the person to post a single song on their profile. Surprisingly, I've found a lot of good music that way, one profile and one track at a time. Just click around on some hipster-looking people and you'll find some good stuff.
Mp3s blogs and then using programs like Songbird or Peel to browse through them. The trouble is finding good blogs. Some of the ones I have recently found, other than Pitchfork and Stereogum, would be: myoldkyhome.blogspot.com/ and www.fluxblog.org.
Hype Machine (hypem.com) does the same thing as Songbird or Peel but without having to download anything.
When looking for recommendations, I have found Last.fm and Pandora.com to be quite helpful.
woxy.com
'nuff said.
Subterranean was displaced by the internet for finding new music for myself long ago. I only enjoyed it as a means of watching indie videos on TV instead of a little Youtube window. Anyway, my favorite internet sources (in no particular order) are:
-Stereogum
-WOXY.com (great net radio and good album suggestions)
-Pitchfork
-Stylus
-Cokemachineglow.com
-Filter Magazines' website
-Filter Store's New Release and Weekly Pick lists
-Subterranean Blog (of course)
-MTV Overdrive's Subterranean program (their playlist always has good picks)
-Junkmedia
-Myspace (to quickly hear some samples of a band I've read about)
I'm starting to add Last.fm and The Hype Machine as new sources as of late but not sure if I'll keep returning to them or not yet. But the list of sources is almost infinite. The internet has made discovering indie bands easier than ever, its no wonder MTV2 pulled the plug on Subterranean.
I get turned onto music through Jazz Tupelo's Excellent Mid Day Program "Late For Work"
on WNRN 91.9/103.1 FM Charlottesville/Richmond Va
I first heard Joseph Arthur, LCD Soundsystem, Brandi Carlile, Elf Power and Sigur Ros on her program.
Why are such musically hampered individuals programming most radio these days?
I swear, Jazz is one of the few PD's that has any true taste in music.. and she is running a low power "Community Radio Station"!!!
The 2007 SXSW broadcast on Direct TV 101 was excellent as well.. (After all, you know Subterranean will never be there again!)
Matt Pinfield co-hosted the 3 day broadcast.
It was like an echo of the mid 90's edition of 120 Minutes.
But, the difference here was actual live performances broadcast from the festival, rather than music videos.
We need more programming on TV like this, and less of the GARBAGE that makes up the MTV networks these days!
lasttv.net it uses your last.fm user name to stream music video after music to you using all the videos at youtube.com
I still discover bands trough the CD samplers I get with CMJ and Magnet Magazines.
Blogs that offers full albums. Internet radio shows like ones on Indie 103 or GTFU. Podcasts (including my own).
Sometimes I 'll discover a gem trough the crap that is band requesting trough My Space.
And here, we still get "The Wedge" on Muchmusic every week.
Which was always miles better than SubT. We barely get any repeats and
lots of plays from UK, US and Canadian bands.
I know since SubT as been unjustly taken off the air, some of you might be looking for a substitute, well you're in luck because I just started to encode and torrent the show as of last week's episode.
If you wanna sample it out:
03.30.07 episode
http://www.mininova.org/tor/661903
04.06.07 episode
http://www.mininova.org/tor/656788
04.13.07 episode
http://www.mininova.org/tor/661897
Too bad the MTV channels in the US are disgusting these days...
Over here in Europe, MTV still plays music and several of its themed channels play the stuff you'd get on Subterranean 24/7, with little or no commercial breaks.
MTV2 Europe, for instance, plays only indie / alternative music. Besides, more obscure and experimental videos (both old and new) can be found EVERY NIGHT on 120 Minutes.
You should get the European MTV channels, guys!
One of them is called QOOB, broadcasting from Italy. There you'll only get weird music videos and other clips. Check it out online:
http://it.qoob.tv/tv/
Absolutepunk.net - they do cover some good Indie music news, and have really great album reviews as well.
I still miss 120 Minutes.
I have been getting my new music dose from VH1's Noturnal State show that airs from 3 - 5 am everyday.
This week's Wedge episode is up:
04.20.2007
Muse (Invincible)
Travis (Closer)
Aqualung (Pressure Suit)
Kinky (Sister Twisted)
CSS (Off The Hook)
Jin By Jin (Letter From Somewhere)
Cursive (Big Bang)
Maxïmo Park (Our Velocity)
Katie Melua (I Cried For You)
Four Day Hombre (The First Word Is The Hardest)
Idlewild (No Emotion)
The Radical Dudez (The First Place)
Join the announcement list to know when
the next episode is online.
KEXP in Seattle, including its programming and its blog, are great ways to keep up with indie music.
http://www.kexp.org/
Where I live, there are no alternative radio stations.
I must be the last person in the world who subscribes to ordinary cable.