Sharing and Discovery

To me, music is all about sharing and discovery, so I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite sites on the Internet for discovering new bands.

First up is Rolling Stone, the official website for the magazine of the same name. At least in the States, this magazine is pretty much the Bible for anything and everything pertaining to music news. They have interviews with artists, album reviews, and stream mp3s so you can hear a song before buying it. Plus the website has a section for blogs, where people frequently comment and express their views about bands and what's going on in the world of music.


The next site is one I've been using for awhile-- Last FM. On Last FM, you create a user profile and submit what kind of music you like to listen to, and a personalized radio station is created for you to listen to online. Last FM introduces you to new music because when they create your radio station, they take into account what other users with similar tastes listen to. It's a really great resource for finding new bands, and best of all, it's free-- so its perfect for college students with little disposable income.



Tuneage, powered by Tumblr, is a great blog I stumbled upon this summer. Ten contributors write for the blog, and each day they bring to you a free song to stream as they make recommendations about what music to listen to. And it's not all "I like this band, so listen to them!" either-- some of their recommendations are more like, "Kings of Convenience is a great band to listen to on a rainy day." Again, the best part of this site is that it's free, so it's a really easy and convenient way to discover new music without spending money or illegally downloading.


Another blog I discovered this summer is The OCMD, and like Tuneage most posts offer free music to stream. The difference is this blog is updated by one person, and it's more of her personal thoughts on sharing the music she loves (mostly indie and electronica). But it's still a good read, and still a great resource for discovering new bands-- especial ly since, as the title indicates, she is obsessive about music.


That's all for now. I highly recommend you check out these sites (at the very least, Last FM) to discover bands you'll love but didn't know existed. Enjoy!