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Cover image for Music Monday β€” What are you listening to? (How-do-you-find-your-music? Edition πŸ”Ž)
Michael Tharrington Subscriber for The DEV Team

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Music Monday β€” What are you listening to? (How-do-you-find-your-music? Edition πŸ”Ž)

cover image source: Giphy

Well, we've found a lotta ways to slice the musical pie... by genre, by vibe, by holiday (Christmas is coming up btw), by time of day, etc. But this time around, I'm less interested in limiting us and more eager to start a conversation... I want to hear about how you find your music! What online radio stations, podcasts, websites, email lists, and services do you use to curate your personal music collection? Or, are you more of an in-person kinda person, going to local shows, talking to friends, traveling to music festivals? As someone who loves to explore different genres and search around for new tunes, I find it super interesting how people discover whatever music they're into. So let's hear it! Where do you go to source your music? Feel free to drop links to websites, YouTube channels, or anywhere else that you go to listen to tunage... and of course, feel free to drop a link to anything you've been listening to recently!

Steve Jobs holds up an iPod on stage. He is wearing his classic black turtle neck with thin metal round glasses.


How we do

In this weekly series, folks can chime in and drop links to whatever it is they've been listening to recently + browse others' suggestions. You can follow the suggested genre if you'd like, but don't feel confined to it; you're free to suggest whatever you wanna. πŸ™Œ

If you're interested in having other discussions about music, consider following the aptly named #music discussions organization.


What would you add to your sunset playlist? Note: you can embed a link to your song using the following syntax {% embed https://... %}. This should work for most common platforms!

Looking forward to listening to y'all's suggestions! 🎢

Top comments (42)

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

A few go-to Youtube channels of mine for watching cool performances and discovering music:

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jd2r profile image
DR

I'm a big Spotify guy, so most of my current music is found there in the mixes it curates for me based on the stuff I already like.

Currently, I'm listening to AJR's new(ish) album.

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thomasbnt profile image
Thomas Bnt

Same for me, with Spotify and the radio system!
AJR is cool, liked the musics!

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jd2r profile image
DR

This is a really great one too, The Click as a whole is probably my #2 album from them behind TMM!

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Nice!! Spotify really nailed the whole curation algorithm thing. I have plenty of friends who are frequently finding new good tunes and sharing awesome playlists with me.

I never fully got into Spotify myself. I'm paying for YouTube's subscription so I always go there for my music. Part of the reasoning is that I play guitar and I like to watch lotsa guitar tutorials and live performances by my favorite artists and try to figure out what folks are doing.

AJR is such a cool group! I saw them about 5 years ago at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans. I didn't actually know them then but my friend was a fan so I ventured over to their stage and had a freaking blast. I didn't need to know'em haha, their energy was awesome right from the start β€” it was a party. I remember they introduced a song called "Don't Throw Out My Legos" and that deeply resonated with me lol.

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jd2r profile image
DR

I totally agree about the curation bit. I found the platform a while ago and the only real competition in my life as to music streaming is YT music because I like the functionality better in some aspects (there's more to do without a premium plan).

All love to YT music though! I also use YouTube for videos as well as music quite a bit and so one subscription for the entire platform seems like a good offer.

That's so cool! I'm hoping to see them in person one day, unfortunately can't make it to the Maybe Man tour but hopefully I'll get to another concert in the future.

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dendihandian profile image
Dendi Handian • Edited

I only knew AJR's world smallest violin, maybe I will listen to them more.

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dendihandian profile image
Dendi Handian • Edited

Spotify did a great job of recommending new music based on my preference. I keep finding new musics after I finished my playlist and ended up adding them to the list.

In Indie music, I keep them in this playlist:

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Wait a minute, can you pleas re-link that playlist, Dendi? I can't see it.

I'm super curious about how you source your finds cause you frequently drop stuff that jives with my interests. I'd love to follow your playlist so you can keep me apprised of the indie scene.

By the way, I'm listening to Parcels this AM thanks to you. πŸ™Œ

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dendihandian profile image
Dendi Handian • Edited

how to add Spotify playlist here? πŸ˜…
seems the iframe script isn't working... I'm sure my playlist is also public.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Awww damn, hmmm... I wonder what's happening here.

I know I've seen folks do it before, for instance, take a look here β€” this a great playlist btw! β€” but I'm not actually sure what the syntax is to make it happen. πŸ€”

Lemme see if I can figure it out...

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Alrighty, I think I got it!

The playlist I mentioned above uses the following syntax:

{% embed https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5qPPEffLiMtAQboyyQKGKR %}

... which creates:

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dendihandian profile image
Dendi Handian

got it, i've updated my comment

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Ya rock, Dendi! πŸ™Œ

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ksolomon profile image
Keith Solomon

A little bit of Spotify’s magic, a little bit suggestions from folks who’s opinions I trust on such matters…

That said, one of my oldest friends lost some points this weekend by pointing me to the new Skid Row release… πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Sounds like a good healthy mix of algorithm and human suggestions to me.

Though to your point, I don't know if the new Skid Row release is a healthy suggestion, haha!

To be honest, I had to look up Skid Row and what I came upon was pretty dang enjoyable.

Their look instantly reminds me of Extreme's "More Than Words":

And, in turn that reminds me of this excellent spoof by Jimmy Fallon and Jack Black:

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thecheapaudiophile profile image
Griff Polk

So… I was watching a tribute to a video game I like, and I heard the song We’re Finally Landing - by Home. Yes, the Summoning Salt song. I kept listening to Home’s music, and it’s really good. I really like We’re Finally Landing, though.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Video games are such a great place to source music! I had a friend at my last job that was constantly playing different old school video game beats. It really grew on me!

On that note, I was watching a video that shows of the new Teenage Engineering EP-133 KO-II sampler/groovebox and the track that came on feels like video game music to me. Actually, @balagmadhu you might dig this too cause the sequencer sounds make me think a bit of Helvetica. Anyway, check it out!

But, getting back to your suggestion, Giff. I found it here and it's so dope!

Feels very celebratory and I love it when the beat kicks in!

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stefanmoore profile image
Stefan Moore

Kendrick Lamar. No particular album today. I find mine by ear. If it sounds good...I'll put an ear to it.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Can't go wrong with Kendrick Lamar.

And I definitely feel you on finding by ear. I do think the sound kinda catches me before anything else... before the lyrics for instance. If it's a brand new artist or sound I'm not accustomed to, sometimes I can't understand the lyrics until I adjust. And even after I adjust, for some artists I don't even really care about the lyrics, whereas for others' it's the main event.

It is interesting how musical tastes evolve though β€” how your opinion of a sound can change. When I was little I remember I couldn't stand the Beach Boys. They sounded way too cheesy to me. Now that I'm older I can better appreciate what they created sonically. But they're one that the lyrics never mattered all that much to me. To their credit, they got more interesting when they stopped signing solely about surfing, cars, and girls, haha!

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stefanmoore profile image
Stefan Moore

Agreed as you get older or the music "ages" you hear it differently. Or music that you thought you wouldn't lend an ear to winds up in your play list.

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dendihandian profile image
Dendi Handian

Try listen to this:

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Wooooaaa, this is a pretty badass combo.

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ivanzanev profile image
Ivan Zanev

YouTube and YouTube music replaced Spotify for me.

Here's something I listened to in the past week.

youtu.be/3kDaigQ_waA

The narrative of this piece of music might be a Greek myth about Hero and Leander. But who's to say that it were?

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Good stuff, Ivan! Happy to meet another person who prefers YouTube > Spotify. We do exist, haha. πŸ™Œ

Good piece of music btw. Been a long long time since I've listened to Liszt. I worked alongside a classical music historian at one point β€” he owned a bookshop that I frequently helped run β€” and he played a good bit of Liszt. He was a really fun, easy-going guy but the one requirement he had for me while I ran the shop was that I play only classical music β€” maybe not explicitly "Classical" because "Baroque" and "Romantic" were fair game too, but you know what I mean.

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ivanzanev profile image
Ivan Zanev

Hi, Michael. That is great to hear that there are people in the community that accept classical music. Most people think it's archaic and I wouldn't argue about it. But it still exists.
I have gradually come to terms with classical music starting with Beethoven's Tempest Sonata back when I was 17 years old. Then Chopin, Debussy and on a later point - Liszt and Ravel. I can now listen to a 30 minutes Sonata and I would appreciate it. Years ago I would make a face and turn it off. And I have bought an acoustic piano because it sounds better than digital pianos. Things change.

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ilizette profile image
Elizabeth • Edited

I explore old music, but lately, some Instagram reels have exposed me to a different music scene. Currently, I'm listening to Asa.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Woooaaa! This is freaking awesome, Elizabeth.

I just listened to Jailer and wow, I really dig it. Great video here too.

I'm gonna have to listen to this album now. Thanks for sharing! πŸ˜€

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ilizette profile image
Elizabeth

Glad you like it 😁

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dendihandian profile image
Dendi Handian

Mellow Works 4 is out!!

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Wow, DJ SHOTA is always on point. I love how the tempo of "Happy" is generally so much faster but this version slows it down and makes it so chill. I bet Pharell would approve.

Then you get just a little hint of Nelly's Dilemma before going into the original then bouncing back to Dilemma. I love how old-school SHOTA gets both with the hip and the old soul tunes.

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Dendi Handian • Edited

slowed "Happy" giving us an irony feeling for happiness itself and then "Dillema" hits. the first two songs will surely drawing listener's attention, and the classic SHOTA definitely makes me repeat this over the week.

I'm curious about the happy & dillema sample tho. Did he remix it or it's someone else remix?

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slika profile image
Simi Lika

For this week I am in the classic genre. I have started with Bethoven - Moonlight Sonata & Fur Elise.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Very nice! I'm tuning into "Moonlight Sonata" now and this is wonderful. I'm sure I must've heard this in the past. I'll move to "Fur Elise" next!

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slika profile image
Simi Lika

Glad you like it 😁! It is December now and it is good to relax the mind sometimes.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Agreed! And this is quite relaxing. πŸ™‚