Two Slashes

I don’t typically enjoy Facebook/MySpace/blog memes, but this one is more or less related to something else I wanted to discuss, so I figured I would give it a shot anyway.  And I hope I’m not going to be penalized for being a little late with the post; I just finished helping someone put together a computer science project at the last minute.

Meet Poppendorf, an alternative rock band from Chicago, recently noted for releasing their debut album, To Speak In Public.  Known for their witty lyrics (hence the name), Poppendorf has already released two singles off the album and is gearing up for a nationwide tour this coming summer…

Alright, so perhaps I suck at coming up with descriptions for bands you’ve never heard of (seeing as they don’t exist).  It’s hard enough for me to come up with a description for bands that do.

One of my interests outside of the technology world is music.  I don’t compose it – I don’t have that kind of creativity – but I do enjoy a little background noise while I’m doing whatever.  There’s the widget in my sidebar attached to my Last.fm account (that needs fixing at some point…) to prove my point.

Of course, I like a little variety in my music, and my moderately-sized collection shows it.  But getting to that point has taken some time and trial-and-error, and I don’t always find some of the stuff I like on any sites people have ever heard of.  Because of this, I figured some people might be interested in some of the out-of-the-way sites I use to find music I like.

• Magnatune – I think I’ve mentioned this site before, and even if I haven’t, it’s not a bad place to look.  While a lot of the offerings are not up to snuff, I’ve found the occasional buried treasure hidden deep within the track listings.  Magnatune even lets you listen to the entire track before you decide whether the music is worth your money, a fitting feature considering their slogan is “We are not evil.”  (Some of you might know what a full-length track preview might be good for, but I do not condone stealing.  Especially from independent artists.)
• Jamendo – Jamendo is another great hole-in-the-wall for independent music.  Originally shown to me by friend and co-host Steve from TechCentric (or at least, I think it was), Jamendo has some interesting content to offer no matter what genre you like.
• Seeqpod – Seeqpod is intended more as a search engine/playlisting site than anything, but the live search viewer is a cool way to see what music other site users are into.
• Harmonize – I probably shouldn’t be mentioning this one since it’s in private beta right now, but Harmonize is a cool way to check out some of the music your friends have an interest in.  It’s tied to Facebook, too, so any friends from the social networking site who use Harmonize are automatically attached to you.  (For those wondering, I have no idea when it goes public, though, and I can’t help you get an invite either.  Sorry.)
• Hype Machine – Hype Machine is a music blog aggregator.  What could make it easier to find something you like than a site that slaps you in the face with it?

…and for the usual (shameless) plug:

• Sweet Cinnamon Wontons – Described by my friend Don (the author) as “satisfaction for your earhole,” the music posted is definitely worthy of checking out.  Of course, I have the majority of the stuff that’s been posted already, so I wonder if he’s been leafing through my catalog…but that’s a story for a different day.

Of course, all of this discussion has left me with a single question:  Where do you get your music (and/or suggestions)?  Indulge me.  (Please?)

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Alright, so maybe I didn’t follow the directions for that mock album exactly as written.  It’s not like you can do anything about it.    Oh, and the image source might be a good thing to credit.