Help introduce me to new indie music.

March 25, 2008 7:00 PM

Help introduce me to new indie music and any blogs that cover them.

I really enjoy Canadian rock - works by The Weakerthan, Stars, Metric, the Most Serene Republic are constantly on my playlist. CBC Radio 3 is my online radio of choice. Could any one introduce me to blogs/sites that talk about this type of music elsewhere in the US or Europe? Pitchfork is a decent site, but it doesn't seem too accessible for quick browsing.

Additionally - my only source of learning about American indie/college rock was from the OC. Now that show is over, are there any good sources to expose oneself to bands like those or similar soundtracks? Last.fm's referral seems too vauge.

*This isn't a discussion about the quality of Schwartz's work, he picked upbeat and decent music that I could study to.

posted by phyrewerx to media & arts (24 answers total)

Oh my, what a task.

For the scene around Dallas and Austin Gorilla vs. Bear does an awesome job of covering. There is also have a lot of links to sites they like, which are all good.

No-Datta is good because it lets you sample an album, assuming you delete it after 24 hours.

Same with:
SadSongsForDirtyLovers
DeekMedia

and if that fails use trusty old Music Search


And from there just branch out, find what you like, look them up on All Music or Discogs and have fun!
posted by Wanderlust88 at 7:09 PM on March 25, 2008

err.... They also have a lot of links*
posted by Wanderlust88 at 7:10 PM on March 25, 2008

There are tons of AskMe questions about this.

I know you don't like Pitchfork, but this regularly updated list seems pretty accessible.

Take the bands you like (Stars, Metric, etc.) and plug them into Pandora. (Actually, I like last.fm better, but you apparently don't like that either.)

eMusic is a pay site where you can buy albums for maybe 25-30% of what you'd pay on iTunes. They have a huge selection of indie label music -- no major labels. They have lots of features that are conducive to discovering indie music: (1) very nuanced genre breakdowns, e.g. not just "electronic" but "electroclash," "IDM," etc.; (2) tons of album lists created by the site and by users; (3) 30-second samples of each song. I usually start with the 30-second clips, then look for the band's MySpace page (google "myspace" and the band name) to hear samples of a few full songs. Of course, this is a lot like Amazon, but it's cheaper and more indie-friendly. I believe if you sign up you get a two-week trial with 25 free tracks (make sure to cancel within 2 weeks if you don't want the paid account to start up automatically).

Those are all sites I've actually used and found to be worthwhile, and I have no affiliation with any of them.

Also, the "top places to get free and legal music."
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:16 PM on March 25, 2008

Stereogum is replacing Pitchfork (which reached its social coolness expiration date recently). Also Largeheartedboy and Music (for robots) are kind of MP3-blog mainstays.
posted by tmcw at 7:18 PM on March 25, 2008

The Hype Machine aggregates a lot of good ones, you can browse around an make a note of which blogs seem to be turning you on to good music consistently.
posted by phrontist at 7:18 PM on March 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

(also branching out to the Broken Social Scene spinoffs/projects is an easy jump. off the top of my head...

Jason Collett
Feist (and from Feist, Peaches)
Do Make Say Think
Stars
Kevin Drew's solo CD
Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton
Apostle of Hustle (only comes into its own on the second CD)
Weakerthans
hHead
posted by tmcw at 7:20 PM on March 25, 2008

Pandora's referral system seems to be superior to Lastfm's.

I also enjoy:

Stereogum

Three Imaginary Girls

KEXP's streaming archive is a good source for indie, especially John in the Morning's show and the Mid-day show.

Tiny Mix Tapes
posted by nikksioux at 7:22 PM on March 25, 2008

cokemachineglow is my personal favorite. I also like Stylus.
posted by pilibeen at 7:36 PM on March 25, 2008

My favorite music blog is Can You See The Sunset From the South Side?

I recommend it highly.
posted by emd3737 at 7:42 PM on March 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

maybe you could check out some playlists on imeem.com?
posted by lxs at 7:45 PM on March 25, 2008

I second cokemachineglow, and I occasionally check out Metacritic's music page for second opinions (not just apart from cmg but in general) because they source lots of different critics, as the name implies.
posted by Dr. Send at 7:57 PM on March 25, 2008

KEXP also does a live shows podcast and a song of the day. and kcrw podcasts it's morning becomes eclectic shows. Both great.
posted by Large Marge at 8:03 PM on March 25, 2008

my two favorite Canadian music blogs are Chromewaves and Said The Gramophone.

you mentioned CBC Radio 3, so I assume you must listen to their podcasts - if not, the weekly podcast with Grant Lawrence is a fantastic resource (I've discovered quite a few favorite bands through it), and the R3-30 podcast is also pretty good.
posted by dropkick queen at 8:07 PM on March 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

My Old Kentucky Blog was pretty interesting and I've enjoyed some of the music I found on it.

And one of my favorite Indie Bands are a group called Tally Hall.
posted by Del Far at 8:12 PM on March 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's not the band I hate, it's their fans

Skatterbrain

Insound has a free MP3 section which is good for trying new obscure bands out. It also has a weekly newsletter. At the bottom is a place to sign up for it's free MP3 of the week.
posted by Bunglegirl at 8:17 PM on March 25, 2008

In addition to Stereogum, My Old Kentucky Blog, Largehearted Boy, Gorilla Vs. Bear, Tiny Mixtapes, Stylus, cokemachineglow, Chromewaves, Said the Gramophone, and Skatterbrain:

You Ain't No Picasso, mp3hugger, Daytrotter, I Guess I'm Floating and Quick Before it Melts.

Elbo.ws is another aggregator in addition to the hype machine.

And of course you simply must watch the Takeaway Shows on La Blogotheque.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:34 PM on March 25, 2008

And Fluxblog. Also ILM sometimes, if you're in the right thread. Here's the Rolling Indie Thread 2008. Also I agree with Morning Becomes Eclectic, although the Takeaway Shows are usually cooler.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:44 PM on March 25, 2008

Not quite a blog, but a guy called Shankly does a monthly mixtape, available via bittorrent. Highly recommend.

http://thepiratebay.org/search/shankly/0/99/0
posted by spongeboy at 9:00 PM on March 25, 2008

NPR has some music shows that they podcast.

I second eMusic. The community and editorial staff there has helped me find a lot of good stuff.

I also second the KEXP podcasts.
posted by keith0718 at 12:04 AM on March 26, 2008

Growing up in New Jersey, I thought Princeton's WPRB radio was the quintessential college/indie sound - some pretty smart kids with truly amateur on-air personas, mostly sticking to the new records bin, 'discovering' the music of their hipster predecessors. As a bonus, a lot of significant people seem to pass through for live performances.

Most of the (elite) schools with significant student populations of affluent white kids play host to similar stations: WNYU, WVKR.
posted by unmake at 12:20 AM on March 26, 2008

Most of my favourites (Said The Gramophone, Fluxblog, You Ain't No Picasso, Largehearted Boy) have been mentioned above.

I really like 3hive too.
posted by hellopanda at 2:04 AM on March 26, 2008

The NPR show/podcast is called All Songs Considered.
posted by keith0718 at 8:48 AM on March 26, 2008

Y'know, I've had really good luck with the music section at Cnet/download.com. It's kinda cool you can pick your genre then sub genre (click 'browse all artists of this genre') and then sort it by the number of listens last week. Like this.
posted by Craig at 9:46 AM on March 26, 2008

Wow. Thanks everybody! I will spend my weekend checking out these sites.
posted by phyrewerx at 1:10 AM on March 27, 2008