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How do you ...


MaxFaust

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... come about new things? New sounds, new stuff, new bands, whatever? 

I get all my news online these days. The problem isn't as much finding stuff as filtering off all the slag material, to get to the gold. Also, both production quality and technical competence is at a higher level of "normal" than it has ever been before. I mean ... back when the Van Halen debut album arrived, I think it was 1978, everybody was positively stunned. OMG! That guy may actually be better on guitar than Richie Blackmore! How is that even possible? (And so on. We were very young.) But nowadays, you will find 8 year old Chinese children on YouTube, performing "Eruption" to a very high standard, on their Hello Kitty toy guitar. It's fucking ridiculous.

However, things don't becessarily have to be "great" that way. Back in 1982 I said bye-bye to Iron Maiden because I didn't like the new road they were taking because of their new singer. On its own merit, Paul Di'Anno doesn't reach Bruce Dickinson to the knees, as a singer, properly speaking, but that's not what it's all about. You can be like the best technician ever, but still not be able to feel it the right sort of way, at least as far as my own taste goes. I speak for nobody else. Which is why I went with Venom and that sort of thing back in the day. Iron Maiden was the "better band" from a music analyst perspective, but Venom had the right attitude.

Needless to say, things have changed a little since 1982. 

Also, shit is piling up. I keep buying stuff on a whim, in thrift and charity shops, because ... how could I not? This is why, for instance, I have close to everything Metallica has ever released, even though I don't particularly like anything Metallica has done after Cliff Burton died. Except for those "garage" things they have made. They are fun. But it's not like I'm looking for "the band that ate Metallica" or anything like that. I just like the Motorhead and Venom attitude ... some, far from all, of the black metal boys, that sort of thing. 

Blah blah whatever ... the question is, what's your favourite source for "inspiration" in this regard?

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I have to give the edge to YouTube. It's great for new(er) music as well as exploring stuff I haven't gotten around to yet, but the real value is in the recommendations on the sidebar. Even if I like one unknown album out of ten that I click on, I feel like I'm ahead of the game, and whatever or whoever generates their recommendations actually does a great job of finding common threads. There's a lot to wade through, and I find that I have to be in the right mood or I'll get burned out quickly, but I seem to have more frequent success with that (for metal) than any other conduit, even personal recommendations. If it's an area I don't know as well, like jazz, fusion, classical, or hip-hop, I prefer getting starting points from my friends.

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I enjoy YouTube for new music. Also Bandcamp recently and I have a couple of friends who send me music in the mail which I am always grateful for or I probably wouldn't have the pleasure otherwise. The decline of the old record shop saddens me, just buying something for the artwork and trawling through everything, so whenever I find such a shop I always make sure to buy. Saying that I saw a load of LPs in Morrisons, surprisingly, the other day including 'Bat out of Hell', I have my mothers original though. 

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@True Belief says "Oi". And I say "Yo". 

Also, youtube recommendations like @FatherAlabaster says. I've discovered amazing bands like Saor and Eldamar through that method. 

It used to be from reading magazines in the 90s and wondering what the bands sounded like, then mustering up the courage to order an album or two. Seeing an advertisement for Saturnus' 'For the Loveless Lonely Nights' was one such successful example. As I don't read metal magazines anymore this is no longer an avenue. 

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My familiars bring me music from all corners of this land you humans call home.  Occasionally I slum it and use the internet when my glands are inflamed and my demonic psychic skills don’t tap into the minds of talented artists around the world to steal their thunder.

I am still a little old school in that I still have a subscription to a genuine printed metal magazine coz I am fooking truuuuuuuuuuuuuu!  So I pick up a lot from that and then sample digitally before buying a physical copy.

 

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On 1/17/2019 at 12:48 AM, FatherAlabaster said:

the real value is in the recommendations on the sidebar

That's my observation as well. Lots of strange (and seemingly random, often) things pop up there. Right at this very moment, I can't think of anything "sensational" that I've discovered that way ... but the normal way this works is that I get clues, and when I start following the lead, I often wind up with some interesting "insight" about who did what, and when ... related to sideprojects, other bands, and so forth.

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 1/16/2019 at 5:48 PM, FatherAlabaster said:

I have to give the edge to YouTube. It's great for new(er) music as well as exploring stuff I haven't gotten around to yet, but the real value is in the recommendations on the sidebar. Even if I like one unknown album out of ten that I click on, I feel like I'm ahead of the game, and whatever or whoever generates their recommendations actually does a great job of finding common threads. There's a lot to wade through, and I find that I have to be in the right mood or I'll get burned out quickly, but I seem to have more frequent success with that (for metal) than any other conduit, even personal recommendations. If it's an area I don't know as well, like jazz, fusion, classical, or hip-hop, I prefer getting starting points from my friends.

I agree as a content creator Youtube and Bandcamp are pretty much king. Youtube and Bandcamp both have a very good underground/Independent metal scene. I use channels like Black Metal Promotion & Atmospheric Black Metal, etc. You can pretty much find a channel on Youtube that has your preferred genres. Bandcamp is great if you like supporting artist and labels, plus following Youtube and Bandcamp recommendations can be a delightful rabbit hole to get lost in.

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