A New Sound

What's That Noise?

When was the last time you tried to find a new sound to listen to?

I don't mean the last time you clicked on an artists name because they came up as a "people also listen to this". I don't mean the band your best friend has been raving about. I don't mean the really obscure local band that plays house parties all your co-workers get drunk to.

When was the last time you wanted to find a new sound to listen to and you didn't even know where to start?

The music industry has tried to make this easy for us. Try to watch a music video without seeing a list of options with similar sounds. Buy a song online without without recommendations popping up. Even old school physical albums were placed in genre groups giving you the opportunity to spend your money on something else you should enjoy.

I've found plenty of music this way. Everyone has. 

What about the music that seemed to find you? The albums and songs that seeped into your life and never let go. Sometimes the world wants us to listen to something specific.  

It's hard to believe that my life existed without bands such as Interpol or Modest Mouse. Neither of these bands came from Internet searches or from friends. These bands gave me no choice. One day they didn't exist for me and then they were everywhere. I noticed them in movies, referenced in a book or being played on some one's radio. Their names and rhythms never left me and turned into downloads to my IPod.

The past few weeks, my subconscious has been telling me I need new music. I know this because I'm suddenly looking up three bands on Youtube and I have no idea where they came from. All I know is that I'm enjoying them so far and I wonder if there will come a time in my life where I wonder why it took me so long?

Dawes

I saw a tweet from a hockey writer saying people are crazy if they don't download this song from Dawes and spend the weekend listening to it. So I did...six months later. I'm not sure what reminded me that, "hey...I never looked up that band." What appeals to me are the raw sounding lyrics attached to an old school rock and roll beat.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Female rock stars should rule the Earth. Karen O is at ease while commanding your attention. This is never more evident than with her cover of Immigrant Song (see below). The intensity belongs on the world stage, but their songs lead you into a fantasy of being the one to discover this band at some unknown bar hidden away from the world.

The Pixies

I should be shot. The Pixies? Their music has been in my life for most of it and I was just ignorant. I apologize.