Ask Your Question today
I used to like some bands, but got tired of them and it's hard for me to find new songs I like for some reason.
With me, I just don't like most of the music of today. I like 80s and 90s music, that's what I listen to. I like Pearl Jam, Metallica, and Nirvana. I also like singers like Phil Colins, Elton John, Bryan Adams, and Paula Abdul. And I like the 80s stuff like Duran Duran, Prince, and Journey. And Mellencamp, and George Michael. I sorta still like Bon Jovi, and I did back then. Same with Whitney Houston. I know that some of the reason I love all that 80s and 90s music is that those were the days of my youth. The same way that my parents loved the Beatles, Elvis, Bobby Darin, and The four seasons, they're from the days of their youth. A couple things that both my mom and me loved is Chicago and Peter Cetera, and Elton John, since I like his older hits like Crocodile rock. And I do share my dad's love of the Beatles.
I'm gonna put all my usual stereotypical Italian jokes aside and answer this seriously. As both a music fan and a musician myself, finding new music that you might get fond of isn't so hard once you actually "know" how to start looking. Back in the day, you simply just had to turn on the radio. But nowadays, I don't think most of us could say the same. So here are four ways I personally "find the dope". (I'll be answering this from a Rock & Roll point of view).
1. One way is to actually listen to an entire album by a band you might potentially like. Nowadays, people wouldn't listen to a new artist unless they had a music video up on VEVO with millions of views. Drop the singles, and get the albums. It's actually how you find out if you truly like an artist or not. Their hit may be magic, but their album could be garbage. As a young millennial myself, we have Spotify to thank for that. No strings attached here. Go over there and listen to albums in its' entirety. I couldn't stress this enough. Some songs and fillers in an album could even sound better to you than the promoted single itself.
On another note, It's probably why modern Pop and Hip Hop music isn't as consistent, as they mostly rely on a hit single without anything in their record to back it up.
2. So let's say you actually do listen to full albums. Find an old band you like, and try to "rediscover" some of their material. Or more importantly, just try to find some songs you haven't heard from them. This could mean an older album, an EP, a side project, a bootleg, or old demos! Why do you think companies and labels keep reissuing greatest hits albums by bands like The Beatles?
3. Another good way is to find an artist that's somewhat affiliated with your favorite band. Affiliation could range from simply being from the same musical era/decade, same genre, being from the same label, being rivals, being an influence, having collaborations, or even having the same band member! Looking through a band's influences is part of what kept Rock alive for so long. Even something as small and bittersweet like a young person finding out about the Descendents through Blink 182, or finding about The Kinks through Oasis, or The Stooges through Nirvana, means a lot.
Alternatively, and quite obviously, the influence game could go in the opposite direction; instead, you can try to find a new band that's influenced by an old band you love. Like say, The Beatles. (God only knows how many good bands I found through the term "Beatlesque"). Ironically, it's how I broke my prejudice of bands like Blink 182 or Green Day. I hated them without even properly listening to their records. It was only after I found out that they dug the Descendents and the Ramones that I gave them a proper listen, and I actually liked'em! Since then, I hit musical puberty and stopped loathing any bands and artists that I haven't formally heard.
4. If you know how to play an instrument, try and take note what chords/notes your favorite songs mostly have. I only recently discovered that most of my favorite tunes have a C - G - F progression, which actually isn't all that uncommon. Just thinking about all the melodies people can write with just those 3 chords is amazing.
Those four are personally my most prominent ways of finding new and good material that would keep anyone busy for a while. I'm not a musical expert, just a bum of a musician and a fellow rock & roll fanatic with dreams to boot in an age where modern good music is hidden in obscurity.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write out this comment. This is really good advice. You make me hopeful because I know there's still a lot of music out there I have left to discover. I used to be a big fan of Green Day When I was 15 but I got sick of their music as I got older. Even though I am younger I prefer their older albums to the new stuff they have out. my friend is trying to teach me guitar and since I have so much time on my hands i decided to give it a go. I'll use your advice towards finding new albums via Spotify. There's also an online club I'm in for sharing albums that will probably help me find new music I like. One of the albums I'm thinking of trying is something by Iron Maiden because that's thats the band my roommate is trying to teach me on guitar. I hope I can get into some of their other music because I know there are some songs of theirs that I really like. Personally I would rather be a music snob like you used to than know Jack crap about music. I often have low self-esteem thinking that my tastes arent obscure enough and too poppy. It's hard for me to get into a lot of music but I'll give it another go.
No problem! And don't be afraid if the songs you like are too mainstream or pop-oriented. Always come at music with an open mind. Because at the end of the day, it's all about discovering new material that you would truly dig. Never force yourself to like something that you won't.
I prefer background noise over music. Like birds chirping or wind chimes.
Sometimes you can discover different music like that. However, you are getting a limited selection of whatever Spotify has to offer. I agree with what tonylasgna commented above. You should check out artists by their albums.
I started my music collection when I was still in high school. First I was just listening to the radio and writing down whatever artists I liked. This gave me a good start, but I quickly burned out on just listening to the 'hits.' Only when I started to check out other songs and albums did I discover that there was more to artist than just their hit singles you hear on the radio. I mostly just buy CD's now, and my music collection has grown quite a bit. I have almost 160 artists in my collection so far.
Methods I've used to discover new music:
-the back of an Ernie ball guitar strings package
-movie credits
-videogames
-bandcamp
-soundcloud
-youtube
-local artists
-ask friends what they listen to
Hope this helps some!
Yes, this is the best answer I got in a while. Can you please tell me which genres you like? Maybe we have some stuff in common and you can recommend me some music.
I like lots of different genres. Most of them usually have some kind of guitar in them. Some of these are self labeled, but I'll give you a list:
-Rock (many different types such as classic, alternative, indie, hard rock, etc.)
-grunge
-instrumental (lots of different types)
-electronic
-progressive funk instrumental
-metal (again, many different types such as metalcore, sci-fi, death, classic, progressive, alternative, etc.)
-chiptunes
-soul
-blues
I'm really more into bands than I am genres, lol.
Pandora will help you. Sometimes you can put in the name of an artist, and you hear good stuff by other singers you never knew about. Or, try a completely different style of music.
Same, what do the kids even listen to nowadays? I'm probably out of the loop but I haven't heard any new bands in ages.
Yeah. I keep finding new songs to listen to, but it just seems to get slower and slower each time I listen, until I'm just waiting for the song to end.