When it comes to listening to the radio and discovering music, for my money I'm choosing subscription, on demand and online. This is not just because I've had two stereos stolen out of my sad little car. It's because it's the only way to hear music that's programmed by people who love music, and not essentially by advertisers who need to sell Axe Body Spray to 16 year old dudes. Or whatever they advertise on commercial radio these days, I wouldn't actually know.
Live from the archives
Anyone who has read this blog before knows that, while I love discovering new music, lately I'm as much or more interested in discovering older stuff. Music blogging and online radio stations are generally associated with breaking new bands and starting trends, but I'm glad to see there are some sources to rediscover older music online as well.
For instance, Sippey clued me in to another good thing happening in the world of internet radio: New York's legendary WNEW is broadcasting on HD2 at 102.7 and streaming online.
This station isn't going to help you discover new music, but you can hear pretty
amazing interviews and live performances from their decades of archives. I just heard The Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" (yay!) sandwiched between two of the more annoying songs by good bands - "The Weight" by The Band and "Elevation" by U2 (a mole in a hole, really?). But then I heard a snippet of an interview with Billy Joel from over 20 years ago, followed by a live performance. Since I've been listening they've run a clip of Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull talking about smoked salmon and also a fantastic live performance of "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads from '83. See, I find that interesting. They're also doing a good job of updating their blog, talking about new and older bands from Billy Bragg to Tokyo Police Club.
Hot off the presses
Looking for a fun way to discover new music? Add new_music on Twitter. It's a feed of Pitchfork and Metacritic reviews rated 7 or higher, courtesy of Michael Young. He was inspired by an old New York Magazine article that talked about people who only “Listen To Anything rated over 8.0 on Pitchforkmedia.com.” Michael Young, I like the way you think.