I listen to radio stations (KALX/KEXP), internet radio (Bagel Radio/Radio Box), read music sites (Brooklyn Vegan/Pitchfork), and peruse Bandcamp and Soundcloud. I like all kinds of music, but definitely have genres that I listen to more than others.
I keep a list of bands/artists that I hear that I want to explore more in-depth on my phone.
Here are just a few. Seriously, I think that I had about 65 artists on my list about 2 months ago.
SunnO))
Burning Witch
Dry Cleaning
Parquet Court
Idles
Japanese Breakfast
Bad Fruit
Bully
Goat Girl
Run the Jewels
Anthony Phillips
In the old'n days, I kept a list in my notebook which I kept in my bag. When I would get to the record store I would pull out my list and start scouring the CDs and LPs.
When we moved from the south to the north of California I paid a friend in records (punk records mostly) to haul away a bunch of our stuff and donated a bunch of records to my hairdresser's DJ booth.
I think when we moved we were about 100 records lighter. For the past 10 years, I have been much more selective of the music that I purchase. Except for a few artists (X, John Doe, Residents, and a few others) who I will pre-order their materials I only buy records or CDs that I come across when I am at a record store/swap/garage sale/thrift store/etc.
I find going through records (index finger, middle finger, index finger middle finger) very meditative.
Today I went to the record store by our house and picked up "Tonight" by David Bowie. His birthday is in a few days and it was in the discount bin.
It is always fun for me to pick out something that I didn't expect. I know one can purchase basically anything on the internet, but the surprise of discovery looking through inventory at the record store is really fun for me.
I was actually looking for ABC "Lexington of Love" and "In Outer Space" by Sparks.
Maybe next time.
