Early February marked the one year anniversary of my sign-up with the online independant music retailer eMusic - and I couldn't be happier with my subscription so far!
Each month I have constantly discovered music by artists I would have had little chance in discovering otherwise - certainly since my radio listening has decreased dramatically over the last few years. It's fair to say that prior to February 2007, my musical awareness was decreasing fast.
My music downloads started off with a hunt for something familiar. I was aware that this was an independant music retailer and as such would not contain music from the major labels (little top 40 music), but I needed somewhere to start. Browsing through the collection I came across songs by Eddy Grant, The Raconteurs, Keane, The White Stripes, Badly Drawn Boy, Presidents of the United States of America, America and Steeleye Span - not bad for a site where I expected to find little I knew.
Before long however, I started to browse the site not only based on my favourite musical genres, but based on ratings and this is when I started to discover artists I'd not heard of previously. I also came across the eMusic message board and although I rarely post, I did find many recommendations there.
So I thought it would be good to look back over the past year and list some of the artists and albums that I have either discovered thanks to this service, or would not otherwise have bought:
That's a list of nearly 40 albums covering Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Pop, Rock, English Folk, Ambient and Electronic music. It's not everything I've downloaded but that is most of the complete albums I have bought.
If I was to name favourites from that list, I would definately say Beirut, Blitzen Trapper, Nada Surf, Pernice Brothers, Spoon, The Bluetones and The National would qualify.
So now I just wonder - what music will I be exposed to over the next 12 months. It's very exciting!
Each month I have constantly discovered music by artists I would have had little chance in discovering otherwise - certainly since my radio listening has decreased dramatically over the last few years. It's fair to say that prior to February 2007, my musical awareness was decreasing fast.
My music downloads started off with a hunt for something familiar. I was aware that this was an independant music retailer and as such would not contain music from the major labels (little top 40 music), but I needed somewhere to start. Browsing through the collection I came across songs by Eddy Grant, The Raconteurs, Keane, The White Stripes, Badly Drawn Boy, Presidents of the United States of America, America and Steeleye Span - not bad for a site where I expected to find little I knew.
Before long however, I started to browse the site not only based on my favourite musical genres, but based on ratings and this is when I started to discover artists I'd not heard of previously. I also came across the eMusic message board and although I rarely post, I did find many recommendations there.
So I thought it would be good to look back over the past year and list some of the artists and albums that I have either discovered thanks to this service, or would not otherwise have bought:
- AC Newman - The Slow Wonder
- Apartment - The Dreamer Evasive
- Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
- Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
- Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
- Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly
- Breathe Owl Breathe - Ghost Glacier EP
- British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
- Eliza Carthy - Rice
- Fauxliage - Fauxliage
- Feeder - Echo Park
- Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies
- Frightened Rabbit - Sing The Greys
- Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat
- June Panic - A Child's Treasury Of June Panic
- Lemon Jelly - '64 - '95
- Loreena McKennit - The Visit
- Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift
- New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom
- Modern Skirts - Catalogue Of Generous Men
- Mofro - Blackwater
- North Mississippi Allstars - Shake Hands With Shorty
- Office - A Night At The Ritz
- Pernice Brothers - Live A Little
- Rusted Root - Cruel Sun
- Sia - Some People Have Real Problems
- Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are A Dark Horse
- The Bluetones - Luxembourg
- The Bluetones - The Bluetones
- The Levellers - Truth & Lies
- The National - Boxer
- The New Amsterdams - At The Foot Of My Rival
- The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
- The Rakes - Ten New Messages
- The White Stripes - Icky Thump
- Trembling Blue Stars - Alive To Every Smile
- Victory At Sea - All Your Things Are Gone
- Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
That's a list of nearly 40 albums covering Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Pop, Rock, English Folk, Ambient and Electronic music. It's not everything I've downloaded but that is most of the complete albums I have bought.
If I was to name favourites from that list, I would definately say Beirut, Blitzen Trapper, Nada Surf, Pernice Brothers, Spoon, The Bluetones and The National would qualify.
So now I just wonder - what music will I be exposed to over the next 12 months. It's very exciting!