bad diary days

Before the days of music blogs, RIYL and Last.fm, I relied on the artist recommendations of a very choice collection of friends. This assortment of acquaintances was infinitely cooler than me (at least when it came to their taste in music) and always had the best and most eager music recommendations for me, customized to the kind of stuff that I liked and didn’t already know about. They were always wary of overwhelming me with new picks, and carefully guided me when it came to opening my eyes to a new musical genre or record label. I’m going to chronicle my time with each of these special people in another post as a special thanks to paving the way for my current obsession with music, but for now, a few words about the ‘work’ that goes into discovering new music.

Finding new music was both harder AND easier back then (I’d say “back then” refers to any time before ~2002). Here’s how.

Ways that it was harder…
Most of the time, discovering new bands meant you had to read obscure music rags, hang out in record stores and eavesdrop on conversations a la High Fidelity, listen to late-night college radio or subscribe to indie label newsgroups that were often painful to sift through. Or you’d watch Citylimits, The Wedge or The NewMusic. Back when it a) actually showcased NEW music and b) existed.

There was also the ambitious mixtape or CD “tree”, which was a well-meaning physical mailing list round robin that usually got derailed almost immediately after it began - a dozen or more people around the globe would sign up via a message board and someone would curate the list - they’d collect everyone’s name and address, decide on a logical sending order and send it out to the group. Each person would spend days or weeks creating the most perfect mix of songs with which to impress the group - I mean, sometimes you’d end up with a dud tape from someone who only listened to speed metal or Bob Dylan, but for the most part every tape had completely different music on it. Shit you never would have heard of or listened to if you weren’t part of the mailing list. It only took one person to fuck up the entire process by not mailing their tape on time, but thankfully most people in my group were unwavering in their passion for seeking out new music. Every two weeks, you’d part with whatever tape was in your hands and send it to the next person on the list - but not before taping it for yourself and copying down the song list.

Ways that it was easier…
Your musical discoveries were essentially your own because you worked for them and because of that, you were fiercely proud and protective of your finds. This wasn’t a case of music snobbery - it was a case of music mentorship. When you told someone about a new band you’d discovered, there was a story behind how you found them. And often the next sentence was “I’ll make you a mixtape”, whereas now it’s “you should listen to this band” plus a link to the band’s MySpace page and a prompt closing of the MSN window. The experience has been completely depersonalized and not at all customized to the way you want the other person to first experience an artist. No wonder people are overwhelmed. It’s too easy to herd someone off to a MySpace page.

When you really love a band, you remember the very first moment that you heard their music - where you were, what the song was and who introduced you to it. Those memories are so special that I sometimes WISH I could go back to the first moment that I heard an artist, just to experience the awe of the discovery all over again.

Today when you read about a new band, it’s often because EVERY music blog has picked up the tip and they’re all just cannibalizing one another, or because Urban Outfitters or American Eagle has a shilled out mix CD of “hand picked” artists playing in their store while you shop, with each album carefully displayed at the front of the store for you to casually notice.

I miss the days of hand-held music discovery. If you’re lucky, you still have some of these special people in your life - the real tastemakers - who have an actual passion for music and the way it’s discovered.