Last week, as I scanned the live music listings in The Weekly Dig, genuine panic struck when I didn’t recognize any of the bands playing at the music venues that I used to frequent, like the Paradise, the Middle East, and the Avalon. I can’t believe it. I stop paying attention to the popular music scene for five years, and everything changes!
Either I could obstinately huddle in my hovel and groove on the glory days with Jane’s Addiction, NOFX, and Aphex Twin (“Kids, don’t you know that music will never be better than the music of the 1990s?”) or I could make myself vulnerable by attempting to condition these old ears to appreciate new music.
Last week I joined Last.fm. These days, it’s not as difficult to keep up with what the kids are listening to as it is to keep up with how they are listening to it. Last.fm bills itself as a “social music platform… Show off your taste, see what your friends are listening to, hear new music, get personal radio, recommendations…” The Last.fm website is slick and vast, with bios, pics, videos and samples of thousands of artists.
After I created an account and downloaded the Last.fm “scrobbling” radio widget, I felt poised for musical discovery. Last.fm’s recommendations are based on the songs that you listen to and proclaim “love” for, so I eagerly searched for and played my beloved “golden oldie” music like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Fugazi. To my chagrain, Last.fm spat out recommendations for artists like Foo Fighters, Superchunk, and Minor Threat. I guess there’s no algorithm that computes modern-day equivalent of the Lunachicks.
On Last.fm’s Groups page, I found a Group called “New Music for Old People.” Ah, here are people like me who have already grappled with my dilemma! Unfortunately, the Group’s culmative Playlist is topped by Joy Division, the Clash and Radiohead, indicating that it’s impossible for even well-intentioned old people to dig new music.
Obviously, there was no quick and dirty way to discover new music except to actually listen to it. After more than a few hours of listening to Last.fm radio and resisting the temptation to scrobble comforting bands like the Misfits and Babes in Toyland, I’ve discovered a Canadian electronic musician named Caribou who, while not exactly new, is still recording and touring. In fact, Caribou is playing at the Paradise next month, and I’ve already bought tickets. Army surplus, flannel shirts, and Doc Martens are still cool, right?
