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Are you looking for your next favourite artist? Are all your friends lame and listening like lambs to the latest offerings from James Blunt or the Canadian Idols? Maybe your homies are all stuck listening to bands from when they were 19. Sound familiar? So where do the cool kids go to find the best new music? Fire up that shiny new computer and follow me down the rabbit hole, Alice.
PITCHFORK www.pitchforkmedia.com Okay, this is the über cool site for all things hip and happening. Pitchfork’s staff and contributors lead all others in breaking acts like Montreal’s Arcade Fire. Here you’ll find dense reviews of such darlings as Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, Cat Power, Yo La Tango, The Shins, Mastodon, and Sonic Youth. PITCHFORK’S TOP 5 IN 2006: 1. The Knife Silent Shout 2. TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain 3. Joanna Newsom Ys 4. Ghostface Killah Fishscale 5. The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in Americall METACRITIC www.metacritic.com The elves at Metacritic pull reviews from all over and assemble them in a big pile for you to thumb through. There is a lot more here than just music as they critique films, DVDs, TV, books and games. Check out their collection of music reviews and then write your own.. METACRITIC’S TOP 5 IN 2006: 1. Savane by Ali Farka Toure 2. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards by Tom Waits 3. Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse 4. Modern Times by Bob Dylan 5. Ys by Joanna Newsom SPUTNIK MUSIC www.sputnikmusic.com/forums Punk, alternative, rock, indie, metal and pop—these folks orbit the globe looking for the best new music to beam your way. Check out their online forums and find out who else misses The Carpenters as much as you do. Check out: 1. The Waking Eyes 2. Comeback Kid 3. Romi Mayes 4. Dan Frechette 5. Tele iTUNES www.itunes.com Ok, you’ve been here, I know. But have you checked out the celebrity playlists? Musicians from Jerry Lee Lewis to The Trews and Jim Cuddy to Ziggy Marley have all contributed their favourite tracks and this is a great place to pick up on what your favourite artists are listening to. LOCAL www.manitobamusic.com This is one of the best new music sites period and it is home grown. The good folks at MARIA have put a site together that celebrates all of Manitoba’s talented musicians. From bios to online radio databases to who’s playing where tonight, this site delivers. ROOTS www.nodepression.net This American site delivers folk, alt-country, blues, Americana, and roots music tips to the folk festival lovers among us. Son Volt, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case and Solomon Burke are all regulars. JAZZ www.allaboutjazz.com Here is a database of over 18,000 reviews, all jazz, all the time. Dive in; we’ll be back in about three years to pick you up.
CLASSICAL www.gramophone.co.uk This magazine has been around forever and it’s here that you need to look to find that elusive 3rd movement from the second symphony in E minor conducted by that short balding guy from Spain.
CANADIAN www.exclaim.ca A monster of a site with more genres than I thought existed. www.chartattack.com Right from the magazine to your mouse.
MORE LOCAL www.uptownmag.com Local heroes digging through the dreck to uncover the gold. |