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A couple of buddies and I have been doing this for 8ish months for the purpose of consistently exposing ourselves to new music. We rotate picks each week, and the key point is that no one is yet familiar with the chosen album. To pick an alb, the picker usually listens to one song or a couple of snippets to get a vibe, but that’s it. Most of our picks end up being artists that we’ve never/barely heard of. Because we want to focus on new music, we keep the release window to between now and 24 months prior.
We’ve developed a bespoke scoring rubric and an elaborate and beautiful google sheet that archives all our picks and calculates various statistics based on our alb ratings. We all have overlapping yet distinct tastes so sometimes our ratings converge and sometimes we have major disagreements - either way, fun to discuss.Â
It’s been a great way to keep my ears open to discovering new stuff as well as just a very fun activity to do with friends!
Feb 18, 2024
Related Recs
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Please check my top pinned rec: STARTING A WEEKLY ALBUM REVIEW CLUB WITH YOUR FRIENDS
I was absolutely in a rut with music listening for years. I’d throw on some algorithmic playlists, and almost always felt bored by the vast majority of stuff that popped up. Plus, algorithms in streaming have actually gotten worse: on Spotify, they’re essentially funnels that keep leading you down the same path.
So, we started this little club for listening to and reviewing albums. Now, personally I’m always and forever going to find a lot of music lackluster – I’ll try just about anything but the stuff that really grabs me is still in the minority. But when you’re discovering stuff together, even a bad album is part of the experience that’s worth something. Maybe you all hate it and can just vent to each other about why. Maybe someone likes it and you don’t and you can have a spirited little back-and-forth about that. Either way, there’s a new album getting picked next week for you all to try. And eventually you’re gonna land on some stuff that you really like!
Feb 29, 2024
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These aren't curated playlists, they're just a collection of any new songs I discover and really like, or old songs I re-fall in love with. I then give each playlist a name that references how I feel or an event that happened that month. I was in a similar place to you a couple of years ago, but I've found doing this really helps me track my tastes and experiences every month, which I find is quite helpful in our streaming-dominated musicscape.
When I used to actually download songs, it was easy to scroll through my library and be reminded of artists I'd forgotten about or had only listened to a couple of times. I've found that with streaming its really easy to lose track of who you listen to and enjoy, so it really flattens everything and causes you to either rely on the algorithm or your go-to past artists.
As far as discovering new artists goes, there are still a few reliable sites and publications that review new albums (paste, gorilla vs. bear, pitchfork (sort of), etc.). I also like following or signing up for email newsletters (gasp!) from specific indie record labels that I enjoy. If you like several artists on the label, then chances are you'll like more, and they always notify you when something new is being released. Same goes for local venues. Check out the small stage acts coming through or various openers, even if you don't actually make it to the show. This is also a great way to get plugged into the local scene and it keeps you young, sort of.
Feb 29, 2024
very cool little social media platform currently in beta. think letterboxd for music, but so far it’s people earnestly reviewing their faves instead of trying to score likes with pithy reviews, which can be fun, but ya can’t live on cake alone! sometimes you need the hearty stuff!!
there’s a spot to request access on their homepage. hope it takes off.
Apr 7, 2024
Top Recs from @solomonki
Recently passed a couple license plates with these dealership names on them.
Lexus of Glendale
Nissan of Orange
Beautiful!
Apr 18, 2024
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to reveal a new bird. looks like we have a beautiful osprey for July!
Jul 1, 2024
Mar 21, 2024