Dec 8, 2022·edited Dec 8, 2022Liked by Sari Botton
I am a child of the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties, and I still get a pang of nostalgia every time "Do It Again" comes on the radio just like the next guy, but I have always felt that I owe it to myself to remain current with new music. The reason is simple: finding new joy. If, like Kevin Kline's character in The Big Chill, if I stopped listening to new music the moment I graduated from high school or college, my life would be far less joyful and, yes, meaningful. My key for staying current is to read Pitchfork's new music reviews every day of the year. I am an avid Spotify user, but I also buy vinyl records or digital downloads from my favorite local record shops or Bandcamp in order to support the artists I really love. Every year, I compile my own Top Eleven album list and share it with my friends on Instagram. I'll share mine for 2022 here, if that's OK. In no real order except that Classic Objects by Jenny Hval was my favorite album of 2022.
I discover new music by listening all the time to KEXP. I add any song I like to my big ongoing Tidal playlist. I also listen to lots of old familiar music.
Listen to 90.7 WFUV-FM, which you can stream: https://wfuv.org/ It's an NPR station (Fordham University) so no commercials. I've been a proud member since 1998! I can't even begin to articulate how much incredible new music I've been turned onto over the years, and now love, because of WFUV. Their tagline is literally "Music Discovery Starts Here." I'd call it indie/alt-folk-rock but check out their website to see the artists they play. Several DJs, like Dennis Elsas, have hailed from the late great WNEW-FM and WPLJ. In particular, I highly recommend listening to Paul Cavalconte's show "Cavalcade" (Sundays 6pm, formerly Vin Scelsa's Idiot's Delight), "Mixed Bag" with Don McGee (Saturdays 4pm, formerly the late Pete Fornatale's show), "The Whole Wide World" with Delphine Blue (Fridays 6pm, formerly the late Rita Houston's show), "The Alternate Side" with Russ Boris (Fridays 9pm) and of course their wonderful Monday-Friday DJs. Most of the shows are archived so you can listen whenever you want. They also have live music events, like their annual Holiday Cheer concert at The Beacon. There's an alternate WFUV-HD2 station, which plays music during weekend programming that I don't listen to, like their Fordham sports show. It's my daily soundtrack. No better source for great new music in my book!
I'm in my late 50's and worked in the music business for 30 years, so I have spent a great deal of my life looking for, seeing, buying and searching for new music. There are lots of "newer" artists that have been inspired by the artists you admire most from the past. The best of these artists take inspiration from them and create something new. Pitchfork is still a pretty great online source to discover new artist. You can also subscribe to indie record stores top 100 selling lists for the week. Indie stores still sell a ton of great newer, indie releases. Some female artists to check out from the last 5-10 years-Florence & the Machine , Katie Kim, First Aid Kit, Dry Cleaning, Shygirl, FKA Twigs, Wet Leg, Big Thief, Angel Olsen, Margo Price, Lucy Dacus, Soccer Mommy, Beth Orton, Cate Le Bon...the last 10 years has been a renaissance for female artists. So many incredibly talented artists. Happy hunting!
I still seek out new music, but at this point in my life, I’ve also found real joy in discovering older sounds. One by-product of the Internet and streaming is that they’ve opened up pretty much the entire history of recorded music. I’ve been able to dive into whole worlds of sound: old soul and R&B, British folk, delta blues, country & western, Brazilian and Cambodian psychedelia, minimal synth, Fela Kuti and other Afrobeat artists, classic rock I was too “cool” to like the first time around, and so much more. It’s the same sense of discovery I had rooting around my college radio station’s record library. I’m so glad so get to have that feeling at age 56!
I DIY-Shazam songs that catch my ear on my fave streaming shows, by hitting pause, typing in lyrics, finding a music video and hopefully remembering to add it to my collection in the morning.
Dec 8, 2022·edited Dec 8, 2022Liked by Sari Botton
I discover amazing music from film and tv soundtracks. (If I had a career do-over, I'd be a music supervisor for sure.) One new-to-me song, one obscure cut, one familiar song in a new context, and not only do I have that song, but the song becomes to doorway to the artist's catalog, and their live videos, and their collaborators, and an exploration of the genre.
Music has led the way for me my entire life. I am 68 (wtf) and have varying tastes. Brandi Carlile is a favorite of mine now. When I turned 60 I went on a “journey through song” cruise because Brandi headlined..Best vacation of my life! 40 concerts in 7 days. There while sailing and eating I enjoyed old and new artists. John Prine, Emmylou, Kasey Musgraves, Molly Tuttle, Lake Street Dive, Beach Boys, etc, etc.
Big fan of Joni Mitchell and now Brandi sings Joni.
I'm more than willing to listen to new music. But I still have an iPod, and recently my brother and I have started sharing music. It's an eclectic mix of Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop, even Classical and Country. I listen to it in the car. It has 9800 songs, so I never hear the same thing twice. In the house we tend to listen to an "oldies" station. I think what the problem today is, is that most of the music sucks. I don't know if it's a generational thing, but I like lyrics that make me think. I don't want to listen to Nikki Minaj telling me her pussie's wet and wanting it, when I can listen to Zep, Springsteen, the Stones or the Beatles. From what I understand, up here in Canada we have a lot more diversity. We hear a lot of Canadian music, as well as American, but also Australian, and European. And we have the CBC.
I love finding new music. I'm 61 (almost 62) and love 80's gangsta rap (Biggie, Tupac etc.) I love REM, Daughtry, The Wallflowers, Collective Soul, Blues Traveler and and so many other bands. I still go to concerts every chance I get. Ill be the old lady with a walker at the concerts some dsy.
I relate. I mostly listen to a small rotation, mine is John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell, Shostakovich, piano concepts, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Bach violin concertos, David Bowie, Talking Heads Brian Eno with some Thelonius Monk and other jazz sprinkled in. I discover new music via Jonathan Schafer's New Sounds show on WNYC. I don't necessarily then go and buy it but I listen to his show whenever I can. Because I like his eclectic taste that spans through time and is geared toward experimental music. I have Qobuz for streaming because left Spotify when Joni Mitchell did.
As a digital subscriber to the New York Times, I get the weekly newsletter Louder, put out by the music writers. It comes out every Friday, and it always includes a playlist of eight or nine new songs. I have discovered a lot of new artists from these weekly playlists
I’m a huge fan of the website Any Decent Music. They’re like a Rotten Tomatoes for music releases, aggregating reviews and giving you an idea of recently released albums that seem to be generating love in major publications.
Between that, my Discover Weekly and a general “ear to the ground” I’ve got a steady stream of new great albums every year.
I am a child of the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties, and I still get a pang of nostalgia every time "Do It Again" comes on the radio just like the next guy, but I have always felt that I owe it to myself to remain current with new music. The reason is simple: finding new joy. If, like Kevin Kline's character in The Big Chill, if I stopped listening to new music the moment I graduated from high school or college, my life would be far less joyful and, yes, meaningful. My key for staying current is to read Pitchfork's new music reviews every day of the year. I am an avid Spotify user, but I also buy vinyl records or digital downloads from my favorite local record shops or Bandcamp in order to support the artists I really love. Every year, I compile my own Top Eleven album list and share it with my friends on Instagram. I'll share mine for 2022 here, if that's OK. In no real order except that Classic Objects by Jenny Hval was my favorite album of 2022.
1. Classic Objects/Jenny Hval
2. Dawn FM/The Weeknd
3. Crash/Charlie XCX
4. LUZ/Axel Loman
5. Omnium Gatherum/KG&LW
6. Remember Your North Star/Yaya Bey
7. Estrela Acesa/Sessa
8. Household Name/Momma
9. Stumpwork/Dry Cleaning
10. Time Skiffs/Animal Collective
11. Sons Of/Sam Prekop and John McEntire
I discover new music by listening all the time to KEXP. I add any song I like to my big ongoing Tidal playlist. I also listen to lots of old familiar music.
Listen to 90.7 WFUV-FM, which you can stream: https://wfuv.org/ It's an NPR station (Fordham University) so no commercials. I've been a proud member since 1998! I can't even begin to articulate how much incredible new music I've been turned onto over the years, and now love, because of WFUV. Their tagline is literally "Music Discovery Starts Here." I'd call it indie/alt-folk-rock but check out their website to see the artists they play. Several DJs, like Dennis Elsas, have hailed from the late great WNEW-FM and WPLJ. In particular, I highly recommend listening to Paul Cavalconte's show "Cavalcade" (Sundays 6pm, formerly Vin Scelsa's Idiot's Delight), "Mixed Bag" with Don McGee (Saturdays 4pm, formerly the late Pete Fornatale's show), "The Whole Wide World" with Delphine Blue (Fridays 6pm, formerly the late Rita Houston's show), "The Alternate Side" with Russ Boris (Fridays 9pm) and of course their wonderful Monday-Friday DJs. Most of the shows are archived so you can listen whenever you want. They also have live music events, like their annual Holiday Cheer concert at The Beacon. There's an alternate WFUV-HD2 station, which plays music during weekend programming that I don't listen to, like their Fordham sports show. It's my daily soundtrack. No better source for great new music in my book!
I'm in my late 50's and worked in the music business for 30 years, so I have spent a great deal of my life looking for, seeing, buying and searching for new music. There are lots of "newer" artists that have been inspired by the artists you admire most from the past. The best of these artists take inspiration from them and create something new. Pitchfork is still a pretty great online source to discover new artist. You can also subscribe to indie record stores top 100 selling lists for the week. Indie stores still sell a ton of great newer, indie releases. Some female artists to check out from the last 5-10 years-Florence & the Machine , Katie Kim, First Aid Kit, Dry Cleaning, Shygirl, FKA Twigs, Wet Leg, Big Thief, Angel Olsen, Margo Price, Lucy Dacus, Soccer Mommy, Beth Orton, Cate Le Bon...the last 10 years has been a renaissance for female artists. So many incredibly talented artists. Happy hunting!
I still seek out new music, but at this point in my life, I’ve also found real joy in discovering older sounds. One by-product of the Internet and streaming is that they’ve opened up pretty much the entire history of recorded music. I’ve been able to dive into whole worlds of sound: old soul and R&B, British folk, delta blues, country & western, Brazilian and Cambodian psychedelia, minimal synth, Fela Kuti and other Afrobeat artists, classic rock I was too “cool” to like the first time around, and so much more. It’s the same sense of discovery I had rooting around my college radio station’s record library. I’m so glad so get to have that feeling at age 56!
I DIY-Shazam songs that catch my ear on my fave streaming shows, by hitting pause, typing in lyrics, finding a music video and hopefully remembering to add it to my collection in the morning.
I also listen to a fab website that recreates a radio listening experience across the decades and all around the world. Here's an article I wrote about it: https://www.openculture.com/2018/04/radiooooo-the-musical-time-machine.html
I discover amazing music from film and tv soundtracks. (If I had a career do-over, I'd be a music supervisor for sure.) One new-to-me song, one obscure cut, one familiar song in a new context, and not only do I have that song, but the song becomes to doorway to the artist's catalog, and their live videos, and their collaborators, and an exploration of the genre.
Music has led the way for me my entire life. I am 68 (wtf) and have varying tastes. Brandi Carlile is a favorite of mine now. When I turned 60 I went on a “journey through song” cruise because Brandi headlined..Best vacation of my life! 40 concerts in 7 days. There while sailing and eating I enjoyed old and new artists. John Prine, Emmylou, Kasey Musgraves, Molly Tuttle, Lake Street Dive, Beach Boys, etc, etc.
Big fan of Joni Mitchell and now Brandi sings Joni.
So many great suggestions, everyone! Thank you!!!
I'm more than willing to listen to new music. But I still have an iPod, and recently my brother and I have started sharing music. It's an eclectic mix of Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop, even Classical and Country. I listen to it in the car. It has 9800 songs, so I never hear the same thing twice. In the house we tend to listen to an "oldies" station. I think what the problem today is, is that most of the music sucks. I don't know if it's a generational thing, but I like lyrics that make me think. I don't want to listen to Nikki Minaj telling me her pussie's wet and wanting it, when I can listen to Zep, Springsteen, the Stones or the Beatles. From what I understand, up here in Canada we have a lot more diversity. We hear a lot of Canadian music, as well as American, but also Australian, and European. And we have the CBC.
I love finding new music. I'm 61 (almost 62) and love 80's gangsta rap (Biggie, Tupac etc.) I love REM, Daughtry, The Wallflowers, Collective Soul, Blues Traveler and and so many other bands. I still go to concerts every chance I get. Ill be the old lady with a walker at the concerts some dsy.
I relate. I mostly listen to a small rotation, mine is John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell, Shostakovich, piano concepts, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Bach violin concertos, David Bowie, Talking Heads Brian Eno with some Thelonius Monk and other jazz sprinkled in. I discover new music via Jonathan Schafer's New Sounds show on WNYC. I don't necessarily then go and buy it but I listen to his show whenever I can. Because I like his eclectic taste that spans through time and is geared toward experimental music. I have Qobuz for streaming because left Spotify when Joni Mitchell did.
Tiny Desk Concerts on NPR is a good place.
As a digital subscriber to the New York Times, I get the weekly newsletter Louder, put out by the music writers. It comes out every Friday, and it always includes a playlist of eight or nine new songs. I have discovered a lot of new artists from these weekly playlists
I’m a huge fan of the website Any Decent Music. They’re like a Rotten Tomatoes for music releases, aggregating reviews and giving you an idea of recently released albums that seem to be generating love in major publications.
Between that, my Discover Weekly and a general “ear to the ground” I’ve got a steady stream of new great albums every year.
I stream college radio stations when I'm drawing and painting and look up bands I hear that I like.