I still listen to everything I did 10 years ago, but I’ve added a lot of new music too since then. The rate I’ve been finding new music at has skyrocketed since I discovered bandcamp a few years ago.
Not new bands but new to me. I managed to be a mild metalhead my whole life yet never listened to Iron Maiden. I started on their music a few months ago. I can't believe I waited until I was in my forties to pick them up. Amazing guitar work and great vocals.
I rented their Live After Death from Lovefilm about 15 years ago, and that's what got me into them. Could've believe I'd written them off as an 80s band I wouldn't like.
I'm a mix. I really enjoy finding new bands, even if they're not new bands. Recently I've gotten EXTREMELY into Lorna Shore (Deathcore/extreme metal band). I'd never heard them, they've been around about a decade, but they're new to me! Last year was the year of Bad Omens (Heavy Rock with some metal core tendencies). I've also been liking this synthy band The Midnight lately (like 80s electro pop complete with saxophone solos).
The way I find most of new bands is usually by either listening to bands I already like or have been into forever and using like "radio" feature on Spotify (Lorna) OR by searching out the openers for bands I like and checking out their music Bad Omens/The Midnight). It's so fun to come across an artist you've never heard and dog into their catalogue and realize they've got multiple albums filled with bangers.
I try to always listen to new stuff. 1001albumsgenerator.com is a great project for getting out of your comfort zone and discovering some missed gems. It can be a slog at times though.
I actively seek out new bands or releases in my favorite genres, but I still absolutely listen to the same things as I did 10, or even 20, years ago.
Of course! Both things are still compatible. The main point here is to keep enjoying music.
It's very hard for me to find new music these days. I can't pin it down to any one thing, lots of things have changed over the last 10 years that make it harder.
Adulting is hard, less time to explore new music. What do you like?
eh, various kinds of rock, jazz, some pop and singer/songwriters. you?
I can't pick one! From Black Sabbath to Bjork, adding names like Mark Lanegan, Ulver or The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
I actively seek new music (and discover older music that I previously didn't listen to, just like you described) but also have bands that I've been a fan of since I was a kid that I still listen to. I exclusively listened to 60s and 70s rock when I was growing up, Zeppelin and The Beatles are still two of my favorite bands, but I have definitely expanded my palette since then. I agree that the "music these days" take is a tired one; if your only source of new music is the hits radio, of course, it will all sound the same.
I have this beef with people who say new country music sucks (or any genre for that matter) - sure there are bro-country singers that only sing about trucks and beer, but there are also insanely talented country musicians and songwriters out there right now.
Yeah! So many music available that it's impossible to get bored. I am not the biggest Beatles fan, but I really cringe when somebody says they are not that good, they are still copied!
Both honestly. There are plenty of bands that I used to listen to as a teenager that I still listen to now, both their old stuff and new stuff. I also have found new bands making new music and old bands making new music with a great back catalogue.
I used to go out and purposefully look for new music from time to time. Lately I've just been playing Spotify radios of artists I like and finding new artists through that. They have a new feature on the mobile app that's kinda like TikTok. You click on tropicalia or norm core or whatever and it plays you similarly tagged songs. After 10-20 songs, it recommends new related hashtags to try out.
Ive struggled a lot with getting into new music. Its just too easy to be in a comfortable loop of what you know and are used to, I guess.
This year I've started a personal project where i listen to at least one unique album a day, normally 2 or 3. I've discovered so much music, both old stuff thats 'new to me', and recent releases. Its got me into a few genres that i never listened too, as well.
Plus, theres so many bands that I 'liked' but had actually really only known the hits, like AC/DC for example, and its fun to actually listen through an album for once and get to know them better!
So yeah thats for sure something I'd recommend if you have the time for it
I'm doing something similar following this project https://1001albumsgenerator.com you don't need to register with an email, although it helps. A new album is suggested everyday, and even if they are not they kind of music you usually like, I am sure you will be able to appreciate why it was included in the list.
Yooo thanks for posting that link, I'll be using that for sure!
Youtube has put me onto a lot of Australian stuff lately, such as Smoko (The Chats) and Hertz (Amyl and the Sniffers) as well as some more indie stuff like Wet Leg. I might just be old but these bands are all new to me and I love it.
@randomnick@beehaw.org @music@beehaw.org Why can't it be both? Classic albums are classic for a reason, and there is a ton of new music to get into. I hope I don't get into the rut of a fixed playlist, though most of my new music comes from online discovery, whereas it used to mates / social.
Also nothing wrong with exploring the long tail of music history.
Yeah both options are the best, I am not even able to pick one or the other. Actually, why would you do that? So many great music that's it's impossible to pick just one.
I was opening the question due to some people saying music "it's not the same anymore", when they actually mean "I still listen to the same music I used to". Nothing wrong with that either, but my point is there is still good music to be discovered.
Don't be too hard on your friends. This is actually scientifically proven. https://neurosciencenews.com/music-youth-17765/ You love the music that you "grew up with as you were forming an identity" You can always change but it is more work to create new memories and nostalgia based on different or "new" songs.
Of course not 😅 I'm not judging them at all, I finished years ago that phase where I thought my music taste what better than theirs ~~now I just know it is~~ /s
Every so often I'll put on some of the old jams. But man, I'm just not angry enough anymore to listen to the old hardcore punk stuff I used to be into. Every so often I'll put on a few albums though and think about those old times. Lately though I've gone down some crazy rabbit holes from jazz, ambient new age stuff, lots of lo-fi and lo-fi adjacent stuff. I recently discovered Macroblank and Monodrone, those two artists have taken up a lot of my time lately. I went through a pretty heavy vaporwave and futurefunk phase a few years back when I was trying to find more eletronic/funk style music like Breakbot. So all the stuff I listen to now is a far cry from the punk and metal I used to listen to back in the day!
Okay, the old saying "horses for courses" comes to mind...
Yes, I actively search out new and wonderful music, and listen to it, and like it. Problem is that a lot of current music just sounds bad, either over- or under-produced, and i'm going deaf.
Last new music I really loved was Christine and the Queens, and that's almost ten years ago!!!
But, and here's the rub, when I want to sit here on a lovely summers evening drinking some cider with my spouse, I'll mostly put on music from 30+ years ago. Frank and Walters, New Order, Biggie, The Cure, MC Solaar...
Mostly? its because I know it, and as sounds become ever more remote to me and my brain, I can rely on my memories to fill in the bits I can't hear any more.
Nah my tastes are all over the place, but finding new new bands is kinda hard, and I never make time to actually do it. My s.o. has impeccable taste luckily so she's always showing me new stuff, most of it is older, deep cuts etx, but like you said it's new to me. I'm just starting to cycle back into stuff I listened to 10 years ago though. It's nostalgic and still amazing.
I used to be that way, but recently I've been only listening to bands I'd never heard of before. I've had Spotify for about 10 years and only recently started using the Discovery Weekly playlist. It was only ok at first, but now I heart about 50% of the songs each week.
I am constantly on the lookout for new metal/metalcore/deathcore bands! As I have gotten older, I am enjoying more and more genres of music
I’ve always listened to new music. I still keep up with bands I’ve always liked and occasionally listen to my old favorites, but there’s SO MUCH GREAT MUSIC coming out all the time I suffer from major FOMO. So I’m always trying to check out new stuff.
Yes I definitely try and seek out new bands and sub-genres. Just the act of searching is fun.
Also, Reign in Blood on repeat for 35 years
I am super into consuming new and contemporary music (mainly pop and R&B). I traditionally used a subreddit to follow all of the new releases, so I'll have to see how to stay as current all things considered.
My listening habits usually revolve around rotating the new stuff ad nauseam until all meaning and emotion is gone, then accepting more new music as it releases.
I love looking at my yearly top 100 song playlists and shuffling them for some spice.
KEXP and BBC Radio 6 are great for pop/indie music. Have you tried them?
I mostly still listen to the same stuff I used to. Most of my favorite bands are still coming out with albums, so every time something new drops I get to add that into the mix. Occasionally I'll add in a new song, whether I hear it in a videogame (my husband loves videogame music, so I've added some great tracks as a result) or the radio or with a friend, but I haven't had a new artist grab me the way my favorites did once upon a time. In that way, I might just be resistant to change.
I definitely don't necessarily have the time to look for new stuff, so I usually stumble upon it. I don't agree that all music today sounds the same - at least, not anymore "the same" than what was coming out ten years ago. Sure, some things within a genre might be similar, but I don't think it's any more "same-y" now than it used to be. If you're finding new stuff you enjoy, past or present, I think that's awesome.
I also started making an effort to discover new music to me, no necessarily new music, simply because my tastes shifted quite a bit and I realised it by noticing I almost stopped listening to music. I just started following some very nice YouTube music album channels that introduced me to some great music that I'd never learn about otherwise.
Another thing I didn't realise I was doing was that I wasn't keeping up with the artists I enjoyed, I kept listening to the old stuff, but I didn't listen to the new material to see if liked where they were going.
I try to find new music, and have found some cool new groups. And some old favourites have fallen out of favour. I feel like my tastes evolve and change, so I'll try to find new music that speaks to me at this current point in my life.
A year from now I could be into a totaöly new style of music.
Honestly, I'm stuck with the same bands I listened to in high school 10 years later..
And there is nothing wrong with that!
I’d say my music listening hasn’t changed in the past ~5 years, but that’s mostly due to changes in my life. In college, I’d listen to music walking between classes and while working in the library; college friends also exposed me to new stuff (largely prog / metal). In my early twenties, I worked in a small retail store where I often chose what music played, so I’d put on a local indie radio station and learn about new music that way. Since music played all day in the store, I’d seek out new stuff to play fairly often too.
Now that I’m in an office job where I’m doing stuff that requires more focus, I basically just listen to lo-fi and soundtracks. I also only listen to music I’ve loaded to my phone, which I haven’t bothered to add new stuff to in… over a year. I think adding more diversity to my listening will improve when I get around to tackling self-hosting my whole music library, haha.
Is it just me or is the process of finding new music also succumbing to the forces of enshitification? Like for me the sources went like this:
- Old forum-style/niche internet sources (userbase died out)
- Internet radio (ate by Pandora)
- Pandora (ate by other music streaming sites, enshitification of algorithm)
- Spotify (enshitification of algorithm, bad treatment of music industry creators)
- Google music (rip... But tbh wasn't ever really good at finding new music)
- Music publications?? (Pitchfork is the best I guess??? Npr maaaybe? That's sad, and also all of these are prone to enshitification)
- Local underground music scenes (lots died with covid, hope they come back, but now I live in a more rural place)
Like... How do we find new music now? If it's up to an algorithm, it's enshitified. If it's up to people's suggestions, idk where a userbase would even exist.
I literally used to run charting for a radio station and I STILL don't know where to find new tunes. I'm still a baby, too, so some of you that think it's harder just because you're older... I have bad news lol
I've been finding most of my new music on rateyourmusic.com. Basically I rate/review stuff I like, then I spot some other users that like stuff I like, and I go through their other ratings looking for things I don't know. It's an algorithm free, 100% human process!
KEXP.org is free streaming and has a huge variety of music. It's indy, run by human DJs, and has an app. They play just about every music type and publish their playlist live. Try that for new music. I find new stuff to listen to every week ( I find stuff to like in every genre, but if you're more particular, then you might have to scope out the schedule to see when the genres you like get play)
Props for the nod to enshitification though personally I've found a lot of bands from Spotify recommendations. I also like to just go find random bands on Bandcamp by genre and have found a few gems that way.
Well until yesterday my answer would have been "use reddit".
But there's still plenty of online forums (we're in one right now) where I've found amazing suggestions. I also share a lot of music with my friends in real life which helps me expand my taste.
Also I'd argue that Spotify's enshitification hasn't really affected the ability to find new music on there. I still ocassionaly throw on the "radio" for an artist I like and I usually find some great new stuff
We probably need soemthing like r/listentothis here too.
I hade some success by using youtube in private browsing (avoid your bubble), and click on obscure music recommendations. 90% will be crap, but i found a few nice artists through that. To share a bit:
Music
Discussion about all things music, music production, and the music industry. Your own music is also acceptable here.
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.