Ask A Pittsburgh Expert: Best Ways To Discover New Music
We have all been there. A music rut. Listening to the same songs on the same stations or playlist over and over. It can get boring, but finding new music to love can be hard. Music subscription services such as Pandora have algorithms to help you find something new that you might like, but you can still be missing out something great. Aside from eavesdropping on the cool kids in the break room, how can you make sure that you aren't suffering from music FOMO? Blogger and musician Eric Carroll has some tips on easy ways to experience new music and hopefully find some new favorites to add to your commute playlist.
Eric Carroll
World (and Lunar) Domination Blog
aixelsyd13.wordpress.com
Eric Carroll is a husband, dad, guitar player with no current band, & local musician/songwriter/entertainer who has been paid for gigs, but he wouldn't consider himself to be quite a "professional." He was raised in the country, lived in the city, and is now enjoying life in the 'burbs. He likes all kinds of music, and loves the local scenes. Especially anything in the rock n' roll vein, be it punk, metal or everything in between. He blogs sometimes when life slows down enough.
Listen
Music pops up in commercials and TV these days as well as the radio or streaming services like Spotify, Jango, & Pandora. Your phone probably has an app like Shazam or Soundhound or something that can probably tell you what the song is. My old band opened a show for Locksley who were all over TV and sporting events with "The Whip" among others. You know the song even though you don't realize it. If something is stuck in your head (in a good way), you might want to look further into the artist for more good tunes.
Get Out
Find a bar, coffee shop, bowling alley or other venue that hosts local music and go! Musicians love an audience, and the chance to win over new fans. Be brave. I'll include going early to a show here too. If you're a music lover already going to see a band, there are most likely other bands playing that night as well. Check them all out! Check event calendars in the City Paper, Facebook, or a Venue's website.
Dig
I get that it's 2016 and you probably don't buy physical copies of music. You stream it or download it. This one is probably physical. Go to a music store and take a chance on the discount bin or an employee pick. Blow off some dust at The Exchange, Half Price Books or a cool local shop. I personally used to be in love with punk rock samplers picked up at Camelot Music or via 'zine catalogs.
Ask
Do you have friends? What do they listen to? Asking around is a great way to find something new. We all have something a little off the wall that we love to listen to. Your friends would love for you to experience their favorite zany music. You may hate it, but you may also love it. I just asked on Facebook for purposes of this article. Maybe we'll all find some new music.
Watch For It
I love rock docs, rock n' roll movies, and concerts on Netflix or Amazon. If you find yourself serfing aimlessly on a Sunday afternoon, why not watch a few to see if anything catches your ear? Palladia is also an incredible channel (Live From Daryl's House, anyone?). I have also personally been meaning to check out Qello.
Jennifer Stockdale is a native of the greater Pittsburgh, PA area. She is a restaurant marketer and wine enthusiast and one of the hosts of the East Coast Wine Geeks Podcast. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
