My guess is that most people find new pop the same way I do: you hear about things from friends, you find a few critics you trust, and you keep your ears open.
But each of these approaches puts you in a room of a certain size. Your friends might have great taste, but they can only, in the end, recommend what they like. Pandora, the Web radio service that suggests songs and artists based on your input, is a neat bit of technical wizardry, but it’ll only steer you toward things that are already at least somewhat familiar.
And no matter what you do, you, the listener, are still at the center of all this: your friends, your trusted critics
…
So my vote goes to the Hype Machine randomizer. Short of printing out the Allmusic database and throwing darts at it, I can’t really think of a better way to go about exploring new fiefdoms of pop.
Great new series on music discovery in the Atlantic. This is a topic that needed to get written about, and its great to see a real music fan pointing out the pitfalls of Pandora, and recommendations from friends.
More than anything, its good to see some recognition for the Hype Machine. Pretty much every track on this blog comes from hypem, and like the author, I believe it is extends the boundaries of music discovery almost infinitesimally.
