Saturday, July 09, 2011
Hidden Orchestra - Strange
While listening to Jaga Jazzist last.fm radio I came across this. It is somewhat of a rarity to come across something where I, very audibly, go "WOW" and frantically start searching for a way to purchase. There have been enough impulse buys like this that I can count on one hand. This one, however, has to be one of my favourite impulse buy.
If I had to describe these guys I would have to say they're like The American Dollar, Tomáš Dvořák, and Contemporary Noise Quintet put together.
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website] [Label]
(Albums available for purchase on iTunes and their Label's page. The song, Footsteps, is available for free download on Bandcamp.)
Friday, July 08, 2011
Ramblings: Spotify coming to the US and Blog Views
Part 1: Spotify
So, I see a message from a friend on Facebook informing everyone that Spotify will soon be accessible to the US. This would normally be exciting news, but to be honest, after all the rave reviews I've seen of the site my skepticism just continues to raise.
I live and die by last.fm. I get people that try to convince me that Pandora is better, but I have yet to find any other internet radio site that can direct me to artists such as Képzelt Város, //orangenoise, Последние Каникулы, 花伦, et cetera. I also use the Combo Station system (I actually use the manual method because the program runs slow, and the manual method can be used on the iPod Touch) which turns last.fm's normally average radio system into something far more customizable thus one of the most powerful tools for discovering new artists and, in my opinion, the best way to listen to internet radio.
Then to add to my skepticism, I see the quote "Those that have tried Spotify know it's like a magical version of iTunes in which you've bought every song in the world" from WIRED. I can't help but doubt the validity of their definition of "every song." Not even last.fm has kept track of every song. I could name one song that, at this moment, is in no other database except SoundCloud... the Corny - It Was. That might not even be fair to mention that song since it's from a brand new band that hasn't released an album yet, but it is a song, and this is the world, and it is on the internet. So, WIRED, you may want to rephrase that. (If you haven't noticed, I get super anal retentive when someone uses the word "always.")
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting Spotify to replace my usage of last.fm entirely. Last.fm still has a massive events page, their scrobbling feature will always keep them ahead of the curve for being a music database, and it has a large social community (also useful for discovering new artists through other's listening habits). I'm just skeptical about it replacing my usage of last.fm radio.
I still signed up for Spotify out of sheer curiosity.
http://www.spotify.com/int/coming-to-the-us/
Part 2: Blog Views
In April, if you told me that I'd reach over 1000 views on this blog I'd laugh. April had my all-time low visitor count at 200, but understandably so because I didn't update my blog other than some occasional crap about my trip. I thought I had inadvertently killed my blog but I still continued because this blog isn't about me, it's about the little-known artists. So I started updating again in May. Then something happened... it got slammed. I have no clue where everyone came from but by the end of the month it was 44 views shy from 1000. "I doubt June will even get close, but that was a nice spike in traffic," I thought. 1749 views in June. From 200 to 956 to 1749... that is a slight increase. In the prior months I'd feel fairly discouraged when the only views of the day were spam bots. I'm just glad that these artists are getting more opportunities of being heard.
So, I hope everyone is enjoying my little blog and I hope you've found an artist, or several artists, that you now like and want to follow. And please, send me a message on last.fm or facebook if there is a band that you like. I'm always up for suggestions (especially in genres that I am sparse in, like hip-hop).
Part 3: Click BEJEGYZÉS KÖZZÉTÉTELE button.
So, I see a message from a friend on Facebook informing everyone that Spotify will soon be accessible to the US. This would normally be exciting news, but to be honest, after all the rave reviews I've seen of the site my skepticism just continues to raise.
I live and die by last.fm. I get people that try to convince me that Pandora is better, but I have yet to find any other internet radio site that can direct me to artists such as Képzelt Város, //orangenoise, Последние Каникулы, 花伦, et cetera. I also use the Combo Station system (I actually use the manual method because the program runs slow, and the manual method can be used on the iPod Touch) which turns last.fm's normally average radio system into something far more customizable thus one of the most powerful tools for discovering new artists and, in my opinion, the best way to listen to internet radio.
Then to add to my skepticism, I see the quote "Those that have tried Spotify know it's like a magical version of iTunes in which you've bought every song in the world" from WIRED. I can't help but doubt the validity of their definition of "every song." Not even last.fm has kept track of every song. I could name one song that, at this moment, is in no other database except SoundCloud... the Corny - It Was. That might not even be fair to mention that song since it's from a brand new band that hasn't released an album yet, but it is a song, and this is the world, and it is on the internet. So, WIRED, you may want to rephrase that. (If you haven't noticed, I get super anal retentive when someone uses the word "always.")
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting Spotify to replace my usage of last.fm entirely. Last.fm still has a massive events page, their scrobbling feature will always keep them ahead of the curve for being a music database, and it has a large social community (also useful for discovering new artists through other's listening habits). I'm just skeptical about it replacing my usage of last.fm radio.
I still signed up for Spotify out of sheer curiosity.
http://www.spotify.com/int/coming-to-the-us/
Part 2: Blog Views
In April, if you told me that I'd reach over 1000 views on this blog I'd laugh. April had my all-time low visitor count at 200, but understandably so because I didn't update my blog other than some occasional crap about my trip. I thought I had inadvertently killed my blog but I still continued because this blog isn't about me, it's about the little-known artists. So I started updating again in May. Then something happened... it got slammed. I have no clue where everyone came from but by the end of the month it was 44 views shy from 1000. "I doubt June will even get close, but that was a nice spike in traffic," I thought. 1749 views in June. From 200 to 956 to 1749... that is a slight increase. In the prior months I'd feel fairly discouraged when the only views of the day were spam bots. I'm just glad that these artists are getting more opportunities of being heard.
So, I hope everyone is enjoying my little blog and I hope you've found an artist, or several artists, that you now like and want to follow. And please, send me a message on last.fm or facebook if there is a band that you like. I'm always up for suggestions (especially in genres that I am sparse in, like hip-hop).
Part 3: Click BEJEGYZÉS KÖZZÉTÉTELE button.
Pie Are Squared - They Wobble In Anger
Hailing from Egypt, these guys provide a mix of ambience, from devastatingly intense to meditative and chill, and some nice post-rock elements with tons of experimentalism.
I discovered these guys on the New Post Rock facebook page. New Post Rock is definitely one of my favourite facebook pages. I don't know who runs it, but whoever it is major kudos for supporting the small artists. It is easily one of the best places for discovering little-known Post-Rock bands.
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [SoundCloud] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums are available for free download on their Bandcamp page.)
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