We live in unique times. There has never been such a diversity of music accessible and so many different ways to listen
to it. There are few obstacles to prevent an average person from listening to any song they want to hear, or pursue any
musical genre that attracts their interest. Although this situation is ideal for music lovers (and, I would argue, for
musicians as well) it also presents us with a dilemma of surplus - given these aural riches, how do we choose? Taste
will lead the way, but for those who want to explore further and farther than their own taste might carry them, these
links offer many interesting paths - both well explored, and lesser known. (Note: Strikethroughs below represent updates as of 4.2012)
WFMU is, to my knowledge, the best radio station in the world. An array of DJ’s for every taste and genre playing truly unique, rare, and fantastic music. I can’t turn the station on without hearing something that I have never heard before that I love. Here are a few shows I try not to miss each week:
Ambient, chanteuse, country, and vintage pop rarities.
All over the map. The super interesting awesome map.
Mysterious music by mysterious artists. Plus comics.
Rarities, specialties, and good tips on the blog.
Hard Rock.
UNC at Chapel Hill college radio. Solid.
MIT's student radio station proves that E=MC Kick Ass.
Specifically the block of night shows that they label "No Commercial Potential", and specifically within that, the "Rare Frequency" show.
Incredible resources for artist related sound, music, film, and video recordings. Amazing spoken word collection.
High quality music that is both amazing to listen to, and may be freely used in that indie film you are making.
A very eclectic collection of music, sounds and spoken word recordings.
A little hard to navigate, but great stuff.
Field recordings and phonography from around the world. Fantastic resource.
Found home recordings and other cassette deck oddities.
An early casualty of anti-piracy efforts. Ultimate music blog search engine. Will find whatever you seek. Highly recommended.
As of April 1, 2012, another casualty of anti-piracy legal actions.
Not as comprehensive as Chewbone, but will find some things Chewbone won't.
Search results are heavily weighted towards returning files / mp3's.
Mainstream, song oriented searching of music blogs. Find out what the hipsters are listening to now.
Joshua Zucker’s phenomenal mixes of ambient, found sounds, field recordings, experimental music, dark metal, vintage soundtrack, classical, and the outer limits of musical possibilities and potentials. A hero and musical soulmate. Yes, yes, yes, yes!
Quirky indie pop set to the theme of a quirky indie movie.
Musical Mixes and Miscellany by DJ CPI (Caitlyn Pascal)
Sadly dead. An off shoot of now defunct Fat Planet, these mixes feature eclectic free and legal music curated by a music lover.
WFMU's blog featuring info and music on the rare, obscure, old, and quirky.
A collaborative blog of crate diggers and beat worshippers.
Melancholy sounds from all over.
Sadly dead. Their tagline says it best - Fragile Girls. Singing in French. Making Me Sigh. Any Questions?
Rarities, OOP, world sounds.
Devoted to posting traditional ethnic ritual music, or its modern incarnationsuch as Ambient, Tribal, Drone, and Field Recordings... Particular attention paid to music of this sort that was inspired by Nature and its cycles.
Vintage psychedelic rarities.
Old records you've never heard of and why you should listen to them..
Well chosen picks from the indie rock palette.
Sadly Dead. Eclectic, but with a focus on the dark, ambient, hard, doom, noise, industrial, and experimental.
Best site for seeing what bands are coming through town, what's playing today, and checking out pix from shows you missed. Plus free mp3's. High value!
They are big and they are the best. I would say that easily about 70% of the bands that come through town that I have any interest in seeing are playing at one of the Bowery venues. Overall, I have no complaints - most venues are good, the ticket prices are reasonable, and the beer is as over priced at Bowery joints as it is anywhere else.
I like the location. The venue, not so much. However, if you are interested in electronic, experimental, and modern classical, you will definitely end up here one time or another..
John Zorn's joint in the far East Village for experimental and avante garde music. It's just music, no drinks.
Reviews and features of interesting and worthwhile music.
Comprehensive listing of music blogs. (Right sidebar, scroll)
The coolest online music store out there. For real records, CDs and tangible copies of the music you love.
Weird and experimental music.
They dig the crates so you don't have to.
This is an amazing and ever increasing archive of user generated sounds/loops/noises/samples that are free to be used in your own mashups or sound creations. Comprehensive and utterly addicting. Thanks Jeff D. for the tip on this great site.
You are the music box. The music box is you.
Another tone loop music box. via mike j.