How to find music.
When Spotify radio is just not cutting it.
One of my favorite pastimes as an adolescent was getting dropped off at Borders Books and Music (RIP) at Preston & Royal and spending the whole afternoon perusing the new releases and staff selections on the communal headphones in their music section.
I found a lot of really, really delightful stuff there. The White Stripes, Spoon, Ben Kweller, Sigur Rós, Bjork… just exploring and listening to new names or names I knew but didn’t know much about. And no one bothered me ever.
Sometimes if I found albums that looked interesting to me but they weren’t available on headphones, I’d write it down and then find it at home on the internet (after dialing into AOL, lol) on Amazon Music, where they sometimes had previews of songs available. And then if I liked it I’d eventually go back and buy it and begin the experience all over again. For context, the iTunes digital music store wouldn’t open until 2003, and this was around 1998-99. It was a delightful little journey that I loved getting to do every few weeks. I realize now that nothing has ever quite replaced that experience, and I wonder why.
I have a lot of thoughts about Spotify (Apple Music too), which I’m not going to get into right now but will eventually. To be clear, I do pay for Spotify premium (I don’t use Apple Music) and I do listen to a lot of my digital music there. I have some thoughts on ways to more ethically use of Spotify which I’ll go into later. It’s also why I probably won’t be posting Spotify playlists on here. I don’t really create Spotify playlists anymore, which says a lot if you know me.
Today I just want to focus on where I’m finding new music right now that I think is way better than any of Spotify’s radio stations or playlists (though at the end I will mention where I’ve found some good stuff on Spotify :).
Worldwide FM
Worldwide FM is an online music collective and platform for independent DJs and music artists. They broadcast from all over the world, featuring mixes from DJs and artists in London, New York, Mumbai, Seoul, Johannesburg, Brussels, Kyoto, Berlin, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Paris, Rio, Detroit, Tokyo, Istanbul, Chicago and beyond. I’ve found SO many great tracks from these broadcasts. And DJs that I love. My current favorites are Coco Maria, Colleen Cosmo Murphy, Toshio Matsuura, and Christine Mai Nguyen. Take a journey through their mixes and see where it takes you!
Mixcloud
Mixcloud is my preferred platform for uploading my own mixes and finding and listening to other DJs. You can find my profile here as well as my Birthday Vinyl Mix that I uploaded last week. Here’s a link to that post, if you missed it ;) I love perusing Mixcloud and seeing who my favorite DJs follow or are reposting. I learned what the word Balearic means from Mixcloud. Search your favorite genres and see what comes up!
My Analog Journal
Switching up mediums here. My Analog Journal is a YouTube channel that curates vinyl-only mixes on a weekly basis. Every mix focuses on a certain genre, country, or region, era, or simply an idea or a theme. The channel was created and produced by Zag Erlat, Istanbul-born, London-based music producer, filmmaker, and record collector. It’s such a beautiful setting (just look at that retro hi-fi setup and those gorgeous plants!) and I love watching and listening to their videos.
NTS Radio
I’m honestly pretty late to the game with NTS Radio and only heard about it earlier this year when I saw one of my faves Raji Rags linked his profile on the site. I just listened to this episode with James Blake and really enjoyed it. In the episode they talk about DJing and the limitations of vinyl and their experience with finding new music, as well as James Blake’s career development. NTS is ultimately an elevated Worldwide FM experience. It’s great.
Discogs
Discogs is my jam, my realm, my wonderland. If you’re into vinyl at all then you obviously know of Discogs, but this is the closest I’ve found to my adolescent Borders experience. No shade to the modern record store- I feel for y’all. But why does it always feel TENSE in record stores? Maybe I’m too socially anxious or not cultured enough but the vibes are unpredictable at any record store at a given day. While I do love perusing the inventory of 45s at Josey Records in Dallas, inhaling estate sale dust for hours while my fingers start to bleed, Discogs is my delightful music wanderings safe space from the comfort from my own bed. I’ve connected with some awesome local DJs and vinyl collectors on the site, and you can ultimately stalk people’s want lists and get inspiration or insight into what they think is going to increase in value in the next year. It also keeps a digital database of your collection and updates the value of your collection over time, which is awesome. Discogs.
TikTok
TikTok is my KISS FM. It is today’s pop music radio. Truth be told though, any music that becomes popular on TikTok will find you, you don’t necessarily have to use the app to go finding music.
Spotify
On the off chance that my Discover Weekly comes through, I can usually find a handful of new tracks on Spotify every month. The artist playlists though are where it’s at. You can find these on the artist’s Spotify profile under “Artist’s Playlists”. Ostensibly, these are playlists the artists have created themselves, though I’m not sure if I can really trust any list on Spotify. Suki Waterhouse for example published this “mixtape” of nostalgic tracks that she listens to while walking around NYC. I really like that kind of stuff. Not every artist posts their own playlist though so you just have too look around.
I Heart Radio
I haven’t used this site in a while, but it used to be my go-to for classical music. I love KUSC and WQXR. My husband and I used to have a weeknight ritual we called “turn down service” where we’d turn on classical music and bake fresh cookies and pretend we were receiving VIP treatment at a very fancy hotel. I think it’s time to start this up again.
That’s all for now. Any unique ways that you all like to find new music? Leave a comment or send me a message! I’ll be sending out another vinyl mix in the next couple of weeks so stay tuned.
