The Hills Are Alive
Last night after turning on the computer, I went to my music storage and clicked for a random shuffle of songs. The following is the first six artists and their songs that played:
Brandi Carlile - Someday Never Comes
Kathleen Edwards - Pink Emerson Radio
Leona Naess - Weak Strong Heart
Rachael Yamagata - Collide
Aimee Mann - Humpty Dumpty
Shannon McNally - Down and Dirty
What amazes me about this list is that not only didn’t I have any of these songs a year ago, but I hadn’t even heard of the artists.
Access to music sure has changed in recent years. There was a time not so long ago when one relied on the radio to release a new song or to introduce a new artist or band. If you were lucky, a friend or sibling would buy a recent record or an entire album, and you would listen to it until the needle on the player wore out.
I remember on more than one occasion buying an album based entirely on one song I heard on the radio. It was a hit or miss proposition, sometimes the rest of the album turned out to be just as good, other times not so much.
I can’t recall the last time I turned on the radio to listen to music. It’s possible to hear an entire disc in the comfort of your home without commercials and without spending a dime for it. And with all the music sites on the web, and with every artist and band having their own websites, it’s entirely possible to discover new music every single day of the year. How cool is that?
What new music are you listening to?
January 17th, 2006 at 8:53 am
I am a big fan of NPR’s “This American Life,” so I went to their website and found a playlist. Then I found someone who had uploaded a playlist to their iMix in the iTunes Music Store. So I’ve been sort of grooving on some really mellow instrumental stuff: Wet Wet Wet by Badly Drawn Boy, Talisman by Air, Namaste by The Beastie Boys (yeah, yeah, I know - but it’s NOTHING like their regular stuff), Aidos by Bexar Bexar (LOVE this), Over Your Shoulder by Calexico, Building Steam with a Grain of Salt by DJ Shadow, Green Arrow by Yo La Tengo, and Nothing is Good Enough by Aimee Mann.
Friends introduced me to the following: Let Your Light Shine by Keb’ Mo’ and Down Slow by Moby.
January 17th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
i like Aimee Mann, or well, last time i checked.
i discovered - through the wonderful suggestions of iTunes - these new artists:
- Si*Se
- Jake Shimabukuro [i’m sure you know him:)]
- i thought i had a third one but i guess that’s just about it.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:32 am
I’ve been bad at listening to the radio, I get so tired of the commercials. The last new artist CD I bought was Kelly Clarkson after I heard a coworker listen to it.
Have a good day! *HUGS*
January 18th, 2006 at 11:37 am
do you still buy any CDs based on a song from the radio? i used to do that too, but often i found myself being disappointed w/ the CDs! i’d skip over everything w/ the exception of the 2-3 songs that i liked. it was like the popular songs were popular for a reason. i felt so ripped off. :p
January 18th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
Picturegirl, that’s a wide range of music. Thanks for sharing the songs.
Jo Anne, I know of Jake, but haven’t heard of Si*Se. I will investigate.
Karen, is Kelly Clarkson the girl that won that tv music contest?
Shirley, I no longer buy music based on hearing one song from the radio. Now I can go to Amazon to hear samples of an entire album, or go to the artists website. Also, I can usually download any song for free at Limewire.