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Music is an ever-changing art form, and so is the way we listen to it. Different ways to enjoy music pop up every day — CDs make way for MP3s; regular radio for Internet and satellite radio. There are tons of outlets for discovering new music and enjoying old music in fresh ways. Each method of listening and discovering has its pluses and minuses.
Most people enjoy music on a day-to-day basis by listening to their own collection of songs. These can come from CDs, iTunes downloads and even illegal file sharing. People often define themselves by what’s on their iPod or what CDs they have got stacked on their shelves. Looking at someone’s iTunes library is a great way to figure them out, even if there are a few curveballs, like that A-Teens album.
The only problem is this collection can get stale. Unless you are constantly buying or downloading music, you end up listening to the same bands and the same albums over and over. One way to keep your library fresh without branching out too much is box sets and special editions. Many artists will reward their superfans with special editions of their albums with rare demos, live tracks and DVDs.
Another in-trend is vinyl. Record players are relatively cheap — about $100 — and most incorporate MP3s as well. A lot of artists on the national and local level are releasing vinyl editions of their work to give listeners something special to hold on to.
But being too comfortable with certain bands will make your musical repetoire stagnant — no matter how many box sets you buy. Radio, in its many forms, is probably the best way to discover new music.
Internet radio stations such as Pandora.com let listeners discover new music based on the music they already know they like. If you train your Pandora stations right, you can enjoy whole new genres in ways you never thought imaginable. Last.fm works in a similar manner, but incorporates your own library and more social networking aspects into your stations.
Mainstream radio is always a great way to discover new pop music, while independent stations — such as WMEB at UMaine — play vast and eclectic mixes of music. They aren’t as geared toward your own interests but still fill a certain niche, especially when it comes to something to listen to on the go.
The obvious drawback of radio is that you can’t keep the songs you like and listen to them whenever you want. But if you discover an artist you really like, you can always add them to your personal collection.
One method of music discovery that often gets put down is gaming. There is nothing shameful about getting into an artist just because you like to play their song on Guitar Hero. Game designers include a wide range so that players will find bands they might not have heard of before. It may be kind of cheesy, but good music is good music, regardless of where you heard it first.
Perhaps the best way of discovering new music, though, is through your friends. When someone is going crazy over a certain band, they like to share them. Most of the time, if they are your good friends, you will enjoy what they are listening to as well. Certain friends are usually experts on certain genres as well, so you are going to talk to someone different depending on whether you want to hear a great new metal band or an electronica band.
Whatever the method, just go have fun and find some new music.
Bangor Daily News