Beth’s Music Moment: The Joy of Discovery

I’ve been going a little crazy with finding new music (well, new to ME, anyway) lately. I remember how much fun Shane and I always had when we’d “discover” a new group. The mid to late ‘70s and early ‘80s was prime time when it came to new acts, with the explosion of New Wave and punk rock. Shane mentioned just this week that I introduced him to early Journey and the Ramones. I didn’t remember that (I would have thought it was the other way around), but hey, that’s pretty cool! We still talk about the B-52’s appearance on SNL, as well as Devo’s...it started our lifelong love of those bands.

I kind of got out of that mode for a while. I went through a jazz phase, then got back into rock but tended to stick with the known, and just didn’t explore new sounds like I used to. I’m not sure what changed for me several months ago, but my search for the new is back with a vengeance, and I’m having a blast! It might stem back to last year when my CD club (yes, they used to have those) closed down and was clearing out their stock. I got thirty-some CDs for really low prices and had a lot of fun listening to snippets to see if I liked them or not before I ordered them.

I’ve mentioned that I’ve been using the “artists similar to” feature on my phone, and on LastFM. This isn’t the kind of music that’s played on the radio around here, so I’ve had to seek it out. I’ve found some of the coolest music lately! Sometimes it will be so-so, but other times something will hit me over the head like a two-by-four. Here are a few of my recent favorites. Some of these aren’t all that new, but great music doesn’t mind if you’re a little late to the scene!

With my daily workouts, I’ve really been enjoying the energy of beat-heavy electronic music, and Fenech-Soler fits the bill. I like to listen to this when I’m on the elliptical, because it makes me go faster and work harder!



In the same vein, but a bit heavier on the synthesizers, is Grafton Primary. The music reminds me a little of Devo, and Shane and I were racking our brains to try and figure out whose voice the lead singer reminded us of. Shane finally came up with it: Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs!


I saved the best for last. I listened to this for the first time a couple of days ago, and I was just about blown away. Babyshambles reminds me a little of the Kinks, and when I posted the video on Facebook, Shane was blown away, too. He said he sensed a little Chocolate Watchband in there. I knew he’d love it as much as I did, and I was right!

 

Other recent favorites have been Jamaica, Pony Pony Run Run, Bag Raiders, Cut Copy, Friendly Fires, Holy Ghost!, and Kids of 88. I’ve still got lots more new stuff to enjoy, too. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I’ve been having with all of this, and sharing some of them with my music buddy, Shane. It’s a great feeling to find something that you know others will love (if they don’t already), and to share it with them. It’s one of my little pleasures in life to break out of the confines of the ordinary, whether it’s music, books, food, or movies, and encounter something I haven’t encountered before. Like the motto of this blog says, “Boredom is not an option!”