New technologies abound for music lovers who want to sample exotic new genres or bands they have always heard about but never obtained. Here are some web tools that have changed how I access music over the last two years of my musical re-awakening.
eMusic
I never liked Napster or its variations. I was late to the iTunes/iPod/iHaveStuffYouDon'tHave party, so I just avoided it. However, in 2007, when I was given 50 music credits on eMusic to start an account, I was immediately impressed. The music is less popular (eMusic can only get the rights to distribute music that is not major label), experimental, wickedly diverse, and wrapped in tons of great text. eMusic's reviewers recommend things that I really like, they evaluate music honestly (unlike most commercial venues), and the fans write prescient text about albums as well. Also, songs work out being about half as expensive as iTunes. When I buy music from iTunes, I feel like I am buying a coffee at Starbucks, even if it's really good. When I use my subscription credits every month at eMusic, I have the feeling that I am buying music closer to the source because of the independent ethic of the site. If you want me to send you some free credits to try it out, let me know!
My favorite new music from eMusic in the last two years: the Rural Alberta Advantage and Thao.
iTunes - the program not the store
Yes, it took me years after iTunes existed to learn that I did not have to have a Mac to use it. However, those darling Apple program developers -- it was less than a year between my first of iTunes and my first purchase of a Mac. The ability to analyze, collect, and store music in the iTunes program is fantastic. Mostly everyone knows this already, but iTunes is free to download and to use in playing and organizing digitally stored music, you can go here to grab it for free.
My favorite use of iTunes: the ability to make a getting-ready-for-school-in-the-morning playlist for each one of my kids.
Mojo
I keep wondering how Mojo is legal. When I try to log in to the server and it's down (rare), I always think, well, the music police must have gotten to them. But it always comes back. Mojo is a free program that one user downloads onto his computer, creates a profile, and then logs into the Mojo server where she can find other listeners. If you download Mojo and download it too, then we can both log onto the server at the same time, friend each other, and listen to AND download each other's music straight out of iTunes. Mojo tests my digial music ethics statement, which is becoming rather puritanical, because I am not sure how I feel about getting something I really like for free.
N.B.: The main Mojo site is currently unavailable this morning as I write, but it will be back up at some point. You can download the software here.
Music blogs
Since starting my blog a month ago, I have come across hundreds of music blogs and only a handful that I enjoy. Most of them are listed to the right as links, but primarily I like JP's blog, HearYa, Radio Exile, 17dots, and Daytrotter. These hubs are great for learning about albums that have just released (so I can turn around and download them on eMusic), artist-team ups that happen (Monsters of Folk), freshly announced tours, new bands worth sampling, and making connections with similar music palates.
Most recent knowledge gained on a music blog: one of the reviewers on HearYa just moved cross country from somewhere in California to Atlanta, my hood.
Recently I have been using another site called LaLa. I will have more to say about it in a couple of weeks when I have really worked it out, but the concept seems pretty fresh. If you give it a peep, let me know what you think.
Happy music digestion!
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