Discovering New Music

Learning in college happens many ways. Unlike what I initially thought it wasn't just from my professors. I learned perhaps just as much from the other students outside the classroom. Each student with different backgrounds, from different states and in some cases other countries brought their own unique fashion, food, music, interests, knowledge and habits. It really opened my eyes to what else life had to offer beyond what I had learned or was exposed to in a small town in RI. I of course made my own little cultural contribution to the small community of college friends. They all discovered what it meant to be "Portuguese-American".

I discovered new bands and music from the other students. The bands included: Elvis Costello, The Smiths, psychedelic Furs, The Ramones, Squeeze, Violent femmes. These were all bands that I had never heard played on the radio in my home town. I couldn't and still don't know how all of these students discovered these bands. It is easier to discovery new bands now with the web. One pretty effective way is to search for an artist that you already know and like on www.dogpile.com. The site provides searches several search engines and can search on audio files. Often the search results are to a blog that lists out similar genera of music from other artists. The songs are usually listed on someone's personal blog. Usually you discover one song and artist that you hadn't heard of before that is pretty good. I also have discovered some new bands on VH1.com. I recently discovered a couple of new bands this way. The first one is an Indie Band. Hope you enjoy them. Let me know if you know of any other Indie Band.

Band - Song
Guided by Voices - The Best of Jill Hives
Guided by Voices - Everywhere With Helicopter
Fountains of Wayne - Radition Vibe