How do you keep up with new music?

[troyguitar]

I keep seeing people talk about things like "X is in my top 10 cd's of 2011" or whatever and it makes me wonder... I haven't even heard 10 cd's from 2011. Come to think of it I haven't even heard 1. I'm still picking stuff up from 20 and 30 years ago that I've never heard

Do you just only listen to an album once or twice then put it away and move on to new stuff? or just listen to a tiny tiny sub-subgenre and that's it? I don't understand how it's even possible to keep up with something even as narrow as "melodic metal" - thoughts?

sub-question: How the hell do you afford to buy dozens (or more) of CD's each year plus concert tickets and merch plus gear and other expenses related to your own bands? I make an OK salary and still hardly make it out to any shows or buy much of any merch.

 

[Valennic]

I guess I don't really. Every now and again when I'm bored of my music I'll hunt down a couple new bands. Happens every half a year or so. I don't actively seek out new music though, just bands I've never heard of.

 

[brutalwizard]

i have listened to so many albums from this year i cant even list

its old bands that i find hard to keep up with.

the only band i really listen to pre 2000 consistently is 70's era yes


but i listen to basically a few sub genres, and mostly those "Leading" that sound.

everything else i am just aware of, and can vaguely describe them to you

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

I havent really hunted for new music for almost 2 years now. Occasionally something cool like Leprous or Corelia will pop up here and I'll nab that.

 

[DLG]

I kind of know what albums I expect to be good in the coming year and check them out.

message boards help a lot though. you find a couple people on message boards that really share your taste and you check out the stuff they recommend.

 

[Edika]

It is hard to keep up with all the new music coming out each year and that is without mentioning the underground. If you are in your teens or in university you have time to search and go in depths for some genres and sub-genres unless your job is to be a music critic or a full time musician.

And I think all these people don't actually buy the CD's if you know what I mean. Personally I check some sites that have some reviews in bands and whatever I find interesting, I listen their songs online (myspace or wherever else). If I like one band I listen to it for two or three days and if I still like them I make a mental list of what CD's I want to buy. When I have money and find them in good prices I buy said CD's. I don't care for a bands merch unless I really really like them and that includes only t-shirts (I don't wear hats, patches etc etc).

 

[mgh]

buying mags (for me Zero Tolerance, Terrorizer and Classic Rock presents Prog), going on forums, blogs, recommendations from mates etc...

 

[s4tch]

Forums, webmags, last.fm

 

[Ikiharmaa]

Blogs ->listen on youtube.. and then keeping a list of bands I need to check out more deeply. I don't really have THAT narrrow subgenres that I like, but since there's a lot of music I don't like in those subgenres also, it's pretty easy to say after first 30 secs of a song whether I like the artist or not.

Unfortunately I can't find time for just listening to whole albums. There's always something that needs to be done so the music remains too much as a background music.

 

[CrownofWorms]

Idk. I get the feeling that I discover new bands every day just by being on this site, youtube, browsing record stores, Metal Archives, Blabbermouth....etc. Theres always something that comes to me. If it is worth my attention I go check it out if it is worth a buy. Thats not the case all the time, (cough,Liturgy,cough).

 

[celticelk]

Lately I've been getting some recommendations from posters here (Eagle Twin just yesterday, in fact), but this is pretty much the only forum I read consistently. I find other music by checking out what NPR Music has on their First Listen streaming every Monday, by checking the new reviews on allmusic.com every week to see what's just come out (and sometimes browsing their database of forthcoming releases to see what looks good), by looking at Guitar Player online via my library's subscription, and by reading interviews with musicians online. My tastes are so eclectic that I don't try to keep up with any particular subgenre - I just trawl for stuff that sounds good.

 

[x360rampagex]

I use websites, which say of lastest stuff in the pro-metal genre and give it a listen, if I like I download.

 

[Scar Symmetry]

There's been so many great albums this year it's insane. I could list you about 50.

 

[ZXIIIT]

Social media helps immensely, most bands have updates on what they are doing or coming out with.

I try to go to shows every time I can, met some amazing local bands this year (and even played shows together)

 

[7StringedBeast]

FB, youtube and last.fm...I favourite everything I think I might like, what sounds similar to stuff I like, recommendations, related bands, ect. When I am in the mood of listening to new stuff I just browse through those favourites and sometimes end up surprising myself with very good stuff.

The problem is that the list keeps growing at a fast rate (probably 200+ bands/artists atm) and I will never catch up to it lol!

 

[cwhitey2]

Im always finding new bands (does not mean they are actually new, i just never heard of them before).

I usually only listen to tech death/death/post rock/anything diff/obscure. What i listen to is kind of limited but not really through my eyes lol because i will listen to an album for 4-6 months straight or until i know every little detail by heart. But i do this with like 6 albums at a time.

I'm only one and done if the album sucks.

as for being able to afford cds and shows.

a) i only buy cds i have been anticipating for a long time (the new TBDM cd)
b) playing in a band means i get to see shows for free
c) also for shows....i dont care i will support music no matter what the cost

 

[guitareben]

Dunno, my fav artists i am always on the lookout for new CD's etc, but otherwise i just hear about stuff. Anyway, there is plenty of old music to check out too, so im kinda not too fussed about being up to date This site helps too .

As for paying for loads of stuff... I use Spotify (and buy the albums i really like )

 

[Repner]

I usually discover new bands at festivals, or on forums like this

 

[TimothyLeary]

There's been so many great albums this year it's insane. I could list you about 50.

name a few if you don't mind.

 

[mithologian]

name a few if you don't mind.

Corelia - Nostalgia
Last chance to reason - Level 2
Born of Osiris- the discovery
Protest the hero - Scurrilous
Devin townsend (deconstruction and Ghost)
Between the buried and me - Parallax hyper sleep dialogues
Animals as leaders - Weightless
Tesseract - One
Mastodon - The hunter
Decapitated - Carnival is forever
The black Dahlia Murder - Ritual
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Agony
Hope for the Dying - Dissimialation
Sylosis - egdge of earth
Dream theater - a dramatic turn of events
Beyond creation - The aura
Fit for an autopsy - The process of human creation
Ana kefr - The burial tree
Becoming the archetype- Celestial completion
The human abstract - Digital veil
Scale the summit - the collective
Paul Wardingham - Assimilate Recreate
The odious - That night the forest grew

Pretty sure I missed a few but those are some of the ones I really enjoyed this year. Some much more than others, obv.

EDIT: Gorod - Transcendence
Substructures - monolith