Find your gatekeeper (but be true to your style)

Now i'm no music expert and i was just making this point in my music class today. So far we've looked at everything from opera and concert to motown and broadway musicals. What i realized is that it is almost impossible to stay on top of all the awesome stuff that is out there. Someone brought up a good point about the artist M.I.A. who is now first hitting the popular American scene and yet, in England, she was an indie hit for years. When we read magazines like Rolling Stone or Blender (i've subscribed to both in the past) it does the best job it can on the comprehensive music circuit but the best job just doesn't cut it.

So is the blogosphere a better source for finding gold nuggets? well, after a little bit of research i decided the answer was decidely no. There is a lot of crappy music out there. Now i'm no critic and I know there is a market for everyone but my suggestion is to feel around for a music blog that offers some sample songs and if you like the guys/gals taste then you can make that blog your official "Gatekeeper". A gatekeeper is any review that consistently recommends music you can get behind.

Personally i'm a little backwards in my tastes. I love folk/protest music of the 60's but i don't just stay tuned to the Bob Dylan station. Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin and my personal Favorite - Phil Ochs! I recommend checking some of these guys out on youtube.com or pandora.com (two great resources for sampling music - the former to sample individual songs and the latter for getting a feel for a certain style).

My other suggestions is to listen to a great show on National Public Radio at noon every weekday called "Soundcheck" where they have an open and intelligible conversation about music for an hour. It can span from discussions with hip/hop executives to discussions with authentic Malaysian throat singers. It's perfect for all you self-proclaimed renaissance people out there who want to stay informed about music (one of the necessary knowledges to be considered a renaissance man/woman) without boring the socks off of you if you don't have much educational background on the topic.

And last but not least - my suggestion for anyone who wants to break out of the Billboard hits mold and try some good, original music out I have a great blog for you. http://runbpm.blogspot.com/