100 ways to explore music

Let's collectively write a "beginner's guide" sorta thing, for the benefit of young people discovering music for the first time.
(and let's keep it free of our own personal tastes, everybody is different)

1. Listen to your older siblings' music tastes, then choose your favourites and read about them online. Take note of any other bands said to be similar, and then spend hours on Youtube or similar, watching at least ten different clips of each band. (because just one or two songs won't be truly representative of any band)

 

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Im not sure if I get this completely but I'll try...

2) check out the Rolling Stone greatest song/album lists of all time and also the book '1,001 albums to hear before you die'. These lists are obviously subjective but alot of worthwhile material can be found in them. There is also many similar lists found on the Internet as well.

 

3. dont always listen to what other people say

4. take into account if you hear something not something you usually listen to, think of it as is, not something you have to tap into to understand.

 

hmm...at some point a song is just going to come out and grab you. Listen to that song on repeat, preferably with some teenage angst mixed in. If its a sad song lay in your bed and listen to it in the dark. Its okay to cry.
Download more songs by that band. When I first started discovering music I had to go buy cds, so your generation is pretty lucky in that respect. that means you can spend your music money on drugs instead.
Find out if the musicians in that band play in another band. check that band out. Find out the influences of that band. Check them out. Then check out their influences. Go back as far as you can until youve pretty much hit the roots of it all. This could take years.
Then, starting at the roots of americana music, come back forward and find bands that have developed as a direct result of the music that came before it. Continue doing this until you arrive back at your generation.
When you're done, come back and listen to the original band that first grabbed you. They'll probably sound awful to you now, and you won't want to cry to them anymore.
Now, find new music. As much of it as you can. The internet is your friend.

Oh yeah, and that drug money you saved by downloading pirated music on the internet? You're going to want to buy weed with it, then you're going to want to smoke it while listening to all your new music.

edit: was i supposed to number that?

 

turn it up to 11.

 

Here's a list site that gathers and combines almost 1000 such lists
http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/
(click on "critics lists" for the list of lists, or just see the top 3000 albums, or search any year since 1950)

If you like live music, go to as many small gigs as possible, as well as big festivals

 

#6 : go to Amazon and look at the lists / so youd like to guides

 

go to your record store and buy random vinyl thats cheap. then keep the ones you like and burn the ones you hate.


i learned about music from my father's cd collection then i went a learned the history of those bands and who influenced them. or i'd just search a certain era or genre of music and listen to bands i like from that genre.

 

# 8 www.pandora.com is a great place to find new artists. You type in the name of a band and it will play songs from that band and similar ones. Its not always completely accurate but its very enjoyable nonetheless and constantly updated. You can also basically have some songs played more often or taken off your stations with a like or dislike function. Last fm is another online radio station I believe that is somewhat similar.

 

stop reading and start listening

 

#10 Listen to both Jimi Hendrix & Elliott Smith. Won't find anyone better.

 

Turn on MTV and prepare yourself to be amazed!!!!

 

:iagree:

 

make friends with foreigners and become a sponge.

 

#11. Find the type music that fits you; your personality; what is inside you. I played trumpet for years (couldn't write that type of music or sing while I played), but it wasn't until I picked up a guitar and let the music flow through my being and out my fingertips did I really understand what music was truely about. Music flows from within us out into the world we live in for the purpose of helping others who may be experiencing what we are going through and what drives the music.

 

I think this is a good way of looking at it.

 

#12 listening while really really baked
#13 listening while on shrooms
#14 listening while being really baked and on shrooms

 

Do not keep looking into the stuff you know when it doesn't really satisfy anymore. Keep an open mind, use genres as a guide not as a border. Personally I found Pandora not really useful, I like browsing Last.fm, especially useful when you scrobbled your own database together.

 

#16: The Listmania lists on Amazon are a great place to get started. Type in your favorite artist in the search option for it, and you'll end up finding a lot of similar cats, and their best albums.