Once in a while, when I’m hyping a great new band or a generally unheard of musician to a friend, they’ll ask (to paraphrase): “Tyler, how do you find out about all this music I’ve never heard of?”
I used to get this question more often, when I was more active in seeking out strange or unknown artists. In the past couple years, I’ve fallen a little behind. Even so, every now and then I am granted the privilege of revealing to friends a singer or a band they’ll love that they probably wouldn’t have found otherwise. It’s a great feeling.
And it’s a feeling which mp3 blogs provide for their readers just about every day. In fact, I’d guess that the vast majority of the great artists I’ve discovered over the past few years have been found through reading mp3 blogs. (In other words, I can’t really take any of the credit!)
So how can you find some great music that you might not find otherwise? Here are just a few of the many great mp3 blogs out there, just to get you started.
AN AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
An Aquarium Drunkard (http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com), which takes its moniker from a Wilco song, is best suited for fans of more roots-y music: early rock ‘n roll, country, folk, or any cross-pollination thereof. This isn’t to say the Drunkard won’t challenge you: the rock is raw, the country ragged, the folk wild.
Though the Drunkard frequently covers new music, they spend just as much time uncovering forgotten gems; posts have been known to offer up entire bootlegged albums from such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Johnny Cash. And that’s just scratching at the surface. In short, the Drunkard is a true treasure trove.
Some bootlegs acquired via the Drunkard: Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin’ Session Outtakes, the Beach Boys’ Rehearsal 1967, David Crosby’s 1970 Studio Outtakes, and Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash – The Dylan/Cash Sessions (from the same sessions which produced Nashville Skyline).
GORILLA VS. BEAR
One of the hipper examples I’ll provide. Gorilla vs. Bear (http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/) is indie to the bone, the kind of blog that parallels Pitchfork’s POV just a little too closely. But they compensate for that with a keen focus toward new – and consistently excellent – music. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when they post, for instance, a song featuring the hip-hop stylings of NBA star Jason Kidd. (Hilariously terrible, or terribly hilarious? You be the judge!)
Some of the lovely artists Gorilla vs. Bear has hyped: J. Tillman, Birdmonster, St. Vincent, Sunset Rubdown, Bell.
FLUXBLOG
The almighty Fluxblog (http://www.fluxblog.org/) really gets it right. Here you have just about everything you could ask from an mp3 blog: thoughtful, vivid writing paired with genre-spanning music. Even stand-up comedy is shared, the recently posted bit “Fridge, Audience Member’s Tab, Best Celebrity Sighting” being a highlight. Best of all, whether the subject is Stephen Malkmus or Beyonce Knowles, both the writing and the tunes – most of the time, anyway – transcend the limitations of genre by sheer creative force.
Fluxblog hipped me to: BATTLES, The Clientele, rare Destroyer tracks, and the demo version of Feist’s “Mushaboom.”
SAID THE
GRAMOPHONE
Said the Gramophone (http://www.saidthegramophone.com) is far and away my favorite of the bunch. Partly this is due to the blog’s compatibility with my own tastes: rarely do the blog’s writers – Sean Michaels, Jordan Himelfarb and Dan Beirne – post a song I dislike. Sometimes their tastes are a little too precious, at others a little too self-conscious, but generally they’re impeccable. But mostly, what sets Said the Gramophone apart is the quality of the writing. It’s no exaggeration to say that, when they’re at their best, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more energetic, more original source of musical commentary. They’ve also got one of the more devoted readerships: their recent Funding Drive was fulfilled in less than a day.
Some excellent artists found through StG: Fionn Regan, Lykke Li, Vampire Weekend, Orillia Opry, and the Exploding Hearts
What’s your favorite mp3 blog? Let me know! [email protected]