Slashdot Mirror

Stop listening to top 40 radio.

Buy stuff from independent record stores. If there isn't one around you (or the obnoxious music nerds[1] there put you off), try something like Neighborhoodies, who sell, in addition to the clothes their known for, a pretty decent selection of recent CDs that are pretty much all good.

Get a free subscription to eMusic. You get 50 free songs, in unencumbered, no bullshit MP3 format, all of it from independent record labels. Check the sales charts for your favorite genres to see what other people are listening to, and you can always listen to samples before you buy. eMusic are legit, they've been around for years, and I'm a member myself. I could probably add a referal link or something, but I'm too lazy.

Once you find some decent bands, look up their albums on Amazon (a good source for used CDs), and check the reccomendations from there, as well as any ListMania! lists or So You Want To... thingies. If you use iTunes, listen to samples there, and check the "Listeners also bought..." reccomendations for any music you like.

Also, pay attention to indie lables - many times bands on them will have a similar 'sound', so that liking one band will often lead to liking others (ie, Saddle Creek, a favorite of mine, or DFA). Many labels also have sampler or compilation CDs which are either free or very cheap.

So don't complain that there's no good new music. 2005 has been great for music. For MTV/Clear Channel pop garbage? No idea, but who really cares?

===
1. this is how normal people see Linux users.

Be careful with that assumption. I have found that, with the exception of very large volume items (top 50 CD's, new bestseller fiction in hardcover, etc.), this simply is not true. In the last several months I found that checking the websites of music publishers (small, indie labels), buying a CD direct from the publisher can save a couple of bucks over the Amazon price (I assume this applies to Borders and B&N as well). I recently bought three Bright Eyes CD's for my daughter, and the publisher (Saddle Creek Records) had them for a couple dollars less than Amazon. And because I bought three, they shipped them free, and I got them overnight. Net savings-- about $10.00 on a $30.00 order. Once this summer, I found a CD (Shpongle, an obscure import a few years old), which Amazon wanted to sell me for $36.00 plus shipping. I called the local warehouse of a small local chain of record stores, and lo and behold, they had the CD (used) for under $10.00 and less than 10 minutes drive away.

Amazon started out by selling everything cheaper than anyone else could. They didn't make a profit for years, and in that time put countless brick and mortar businesses out of business. They're not taking losses now-- hence the higher prices on non-volume items-- and it's often worthwhile to look for other sources.

oh yeah, I have also purchased a dozen or so random songs on iTMS. IIRC, legal digital downloads aren't counted are album sales, so they can bitch about how cd's don't sell, but millions of albums a week are selling on iTMS.

Its time for the record companies to stop fighting the future and adopt a new business model.

I have about 20 gigs of media that I've ripped. I have about 40 gigs of stuff that I have gotten from friends and downloaded. Of that I probably listen to about a gig of the media. I'm working on listening to some of the stuff I've downloaded so I can find new cds to buy. I specifically don't d/l anything I know/think is under an RIAA label because I don't want to buy any of their merchandise, so why bother to listen to it. I'm looking for independent stuff like Saddle Creek Records. I just bought $80 from Saddle Creek a week or two ago. The music is great and pure so I'll give the artist a reward, but I don't think the major labels really serve the need of the people so why give them more money?

Agreed.

I actually listen to many of the bands you gave as examples.

To add to your post, SubPop Records is putting out a lot of good stuff, as is SaddleCreek Records. If you're into tougher stuff, you could always check out Bridge Nine Records, but I doubt that many people on here would like those bands.

You can also find some pretty interesting music on college radio stations, and NPR plays a lot of really good folk music.

Now I feel like a character off of High Fidelity

"Artists need to pay their bills..."