Seven Simple Steps to Successful Song Searching?
   by Michael Morris, Senior Editor Lobetoxy.com

People often ask me “Dave, how do you find all this great music?” And I usually reply, “well, first of all, my name is Mike, and second, it is sent to me in a magical letter from my personalized fairy, Columbine Icefly.” Nine times out of ten, the person that asked the question will simply shrug their shoulders, look away confused, and forget what their question was. I've adopted this strategic response because the question is rather complicated to answer, but every once in a while that one person won't let it go. So here I am, finally taking the time to write it all down.

I'll start by saying there is no comprehensive, sure-fire technique to finding music that you will like to listen to. And sorry to disappoint even more, but it’s a somewhat time consuming endeavor that takes a lot of patience, a little courage, and tons of wall storage space. To simplify things somewhat I will lay out some tips that have worked for me over the years. First, however, there are some questions I need to ask you before continuing.

Is listening to music simply a passive activity that keeps you from succumbing to your road rage instincts while driving to work? If it is, you may stop here. I say this because you really don't need the information that follows. For you, I recommend MIX 107 (any town will work). If the answer is NO, then be grateful that you’ve been able to tap into music’s ability to feed your mind and soul. For those rare few of us, music is a gift. We treat it with respect and fervor.

Are you the kind of person that would never buy a CD without hearing a song on it first? If so, see ya. You won’t last. You have to have a little courage and spirit for discovery in this business. But I have to ask this: Why would you go see a $9 movie that you’ve never seen and can only entertain you for two and half hours, but not buy a $12 CD that you’ve never heard, when it may have the potential of entertaining you for years to come? Think about that the next time you see a Kevin Costner movie.

If you have answered NO to the above questions, then congratulations. You have the potential to be at peace with your music, and it will reward you for it. I hope you find the following information helpful. So let’s begin.

1) Pay attention, duh:::When you hear something you like, find out what it is. If you are in the car with a friend and they play something that catches your ear, ask them about it. Write it down. I keep an ongoing list in my wallet of artists and discs I want to check out. Spend some time in a record store cruising the listening stations. Pick up something you’ve never heard of just for the hell of it - try it, it's very liberating. Talk to the people that work there. Most record store clerks are music nerds and will be more than willing to help you out. You can start out each conversation with "man, did you see that Yo La Tengo show last week... Wow... that's the best I've seen them since Sing With Me!" If you can keep them from committing suicide right there on the spot because they missed it, then they'll be primed to talk for the next three hours.

2) Listen to alternative music sources:::Online radio has come a long way in just a few years. Listen to www.woxy.com or visit Live 365 for an unending source of freeform radio stations that play everything but what corporate radio wants you to hear. Do this at work as much as possible. When your boss asks you where your status report is, tell him you'll finish it as soon as you are done listening to TV On the Radio. He'll say, "oh yeah, I used to love that Marquee Moon song." If you have digital cable, try listening to the audio channels. They play some interesting, non-mainstream music. Again, when you hear something you like, write it down!

3) Subscribe to a music magazine:::Unfortunately, most music media is still pretty corporately controlled but there are a few diamonds in the rough. Read Spin and Rolling Stone for fun while you’re riding on the subway, but read Magnet and CMJ (College Music Journal) if you are looking for some serious musical discoveries. These latter magazines focus more on music, rather than on pop culture in general. For example, this week (03/31/04) Rolling Stone is giving away Kylie Minogue's underwear (and that is not a joke, people). Good music magazines don’t follow trends, they start them. Both Magnet and CMJ include tons of reviews of artists from all genres. They also both include sampler CDs with each issue.

4) Trust other people’s taste:::I spend a lot of time on Amazon.com poking around to see what other people are buying. Amazon is a behemoth that, yes, may indeed be killing the local record shops, but simply put, they are offering an invaluable service to the music listening community. When browsing for your next CD, pay attention to the “Customers who bought this title also bought...” and “Explore similar items” stuff. Those links are established based on the buying habits of actual customers. Reading the reviews can also be an entertaining way to see what other people are in to. You'll quickly figure out which reviews to take seriously. Like this one of the new Walkmen record: "I like this record. You don't have to. If you like it too, that is gnarly." As a two-pronged attack, I’ll usually read one or two “professional” reviews and then a handful of “mo-mo casual listener” reviews before I buy a disc.

5) Trust a label’s “sound”:::One thing I do is find record labels that have more than one band that I like. Indie labels tend to settle into a particular sound for their artists. So it’s likely that if there are one or two bands you like on the same label, there may be one or two more on that label that you haven’t heard yet. Some labels that put out consistently good music are Matador, Merge, Barsuk, and Sub Pop. There are hundreds of other small to mid-sized labels, of course, but those four are good examples of ones that tend to gravitate towards a certain sound of music. So, if you like Death Cab For Cutie on Barsuk, you might want to check out label mates The Long Winters. And then that might lead you to Nada Surf’s latest release on Barsuk, and so on and so forth. Spend some time on a label’s website. See who’s touring together. As a bonus, labels usually offer free downloads of their artists’ music. Most also offer direct sales of their catalog, usually at prices cheaper than other online stores, and sometimes they’ll throw CD samplers, stickers, and other fun stuff into your order.

6) Take advantage of the digital age:::Yes, I was one of those people that actually bought more CD's because of Napster. But now, after the fall of Napster, there are plenty of resources out there for listening to music online... legally! Most online music stores have clips of songs available for free. Listen to them. If you like the clips, chances are pretty good you will like the whole record. And if you don't want the whole CD, try going to iTunes and just buy the song for $0.99.

7) Surround yourself with music friends:::This is definitely the quickest and laziest way to discover new music. Let your friends bring it to you. Some of my favorite listening pleasures have simply been put right in front of my face by other people. You still have to sift through what you like and don’t like, but at least there isn’t much work on your part. The catch? Be prepared to disappoint your friends if you don’t like the same music that they like. If you hate something, don’t be lukewarm about it in order to not hurt their feelings. So the next time your buddy plays you that White Stripes b-side from '98, feel free to say, “nah, I think this sucks,” or else you will be faced with multiple ill-advised follow-ups. Let this be their way of learning what your tastes really are. Then, in the future, their efforts will be more on target. And no this story is not based on an actual event (yes it is) - hey Pat!

If this seems like a lot of work, it's because it is. I'm worn out just typing it all in. But I can vouch for its success. Follow these Seven Simple Steps to Successful Song Searching, and your new iPod will be snapping and popping with a renewed enthusiasm.