Expand your musical horizons!

NuMetalManiak Time and time again, I and many others will hear about how awesome a certain artist, song, or musical genre is. And who else says such awesomeness to us people than a fan of that music? They want us to check out this music that they like. But what do we know? We have our own musical tastes! Should we listen to the supposed fanatic that wants us to check out whatever their favorite artist, song, or genre is?

First of all, let's talk about our musical tastes. What would you like and what would you hate? Is there a certain genre of music that you like so much you refuse to listen to anything else? I certainly hope not, because this post is all about expanding your musical horizons. You can be a devoted fan of something, but you gotta like other things too. I know that there's some shining songs, artists, and what not in just about every genre of music. Heck, even country, a genre I honestly despise, has some songs and artists that do sound good to me. My personal favorite things to listen to are electronic and metal, but I'm fine with rock, rap, classical and even alternative and shoegazing songs. All in all though, every genre has to have something likeable.

The most popular songs are always played on the radio and in public places. The artists of the popular songs get lots of attention, money, and what not because those songs are always being played. Everyone on this site likes at least one music artist or song that has gained some sort of popularity. But should you always be listening to those popular songs and artists all the time? Or should you check out other similar artists that have a similar music style but are not in the same popularity demographic?

There's a reason why my profile shows all those artists. I like all of them, popular or unpopular, nu metal or not nu metal. And there's so many other musical composers I like, but I won't list for reasons I cannot say. You've probably seen them while drunkedly stumbling on my profile (I'm gonna assume you weren't drunk though). How did I stumble upon so many bands at once? Who are some of those bands you've probably never heard of, like Volumes?

See this list I made. There are quite a lot of good sites to go on to find artists you never heard before, but in all honesty, Youtube tops that list. You can search for certain artists and songs, and find suggestions in the sidebar as well as other recommended stuff. The mixes aren't my favorite feature but they help in listening to songs of a certain artist or other ones. This isn't to say that you shouldn't see the other ones either. Pandora allows you to personalize a station, and get similar artists at leisure, if it is a bit repetitive and bad quality for a free account. Playlist.com has a better selection of artists but has a really buggy interface. Still, if you can afford some randomness go for it.

So yeah, don't just be listening to what you always hear on conventional media like radio. Go out and broaden your horizons by checking out other similar artists on the Internet. You will find much more over there. You may not like song that a certain artist has in stock but I'm sure you can find something really noteworthy in any artist you can find.

Comments

I'm mostly a metalhead. But I also like rock. Hard rock and progressive rock. (Big fan of Opeth, Porcupine Tree, etc).

I'm gonna come clean. I once liked Abba. - IronSabbathPriest

So did I... - visitor

ABBA is awesome. Their harmonies are always right on. Come at me. - PetSounds

Never in my dreams could I have pictured you liking ABBA, Pet. - PositronWildhawk

I like the Carpenters too. And all of Phil Spector's '60s girl groups. And the Ditty Bops. And Indigo Girls. They're a nice change. - PetSounds

I like a lot of stuff, and there are very few genres I don't like. - Pony

There are so many Youtube-based independent artists who deserve our attention. Electus is first to come to mind. Incredible musician. - PositronWildhawk

Bandcamp is worth checking out too. - PetSounds

I'll be honest, ill listen to literally anything as long as it's got deeper meanings. Which expands to select pop, Ra and hip hop songs as well. But I admit that I never expand much at all. I listen to TAN, Phildel, and one or two songs of other miscellaneous artists. So far, I'm content just playing those songs a bajillion times. I'll search more when I'm sick of them! - keycha1n

I think that the deeper meanings in many electronic songs are criminally underappreciated, which, unlike pop and rap, don't have any strings attached. The fact that rappers are so deceptive and hypocritical with their songs that they can build an entire fanbase on their lies is one thing I thoroughly dislike about hip-hop. So I'd say the media gives a poor outlook on how to expand, which makes me sad. However you, like I, have a more eclectic and analytical outlook, and I think others should follow in those footsteps in order to give support to those artists who are really dedicated to making music that has a good purpose. - PositronWildhawk

I suppose you have a point. Like how can Macklemore release a song like Thrift Shop, while still having ones like Same Love and Otherside? In the end though, I'm artist and genre-blind. If its got meaning, I'll probably like it. All that really matters in music, is the message a song sends. If it's a good message, strings attached or whatnot, I like it. - keycha1n

You can't hate on a genre entirely because there will always be an artist performing that music genre decently. It's a shame that there is a user here complaining about metal being "the devil's music", "random noise" and "screaming" just to complain about people here hating certain pop artists and using the excuse of it being "her opinion". - visitor

I find my musical taste evolving rapidly. Just a year ago my main genres were Hard Rock and Nu Metal. It wasn't because I wanted to just listen to those. It was just because my music taste was growing and in the summer of 2015, my knowledge of music boomed. Now I listen to Grunge, like Soundgarden. I listen to Progressive Metal, like Tool. I've fallen in love for Punk and Post-Punk. Lately I have been listening to this extremely unique band, Swans. The Doors have become one of my favorite bands. And it's not just Rock and Metal. I recently got hooked with Smashing Pumpkins and Frank Zappa. Weezer has become one of my favorite alternative bands, and probably one of my Top bands of all-time. Rappers like Immortal Technique and Kendrick Lamar are catching me eye. Indie bands like Death Cab For Cutie and legendary Metal bands like Metallica are countless in plays on my phone. In one year, my music boomed.

The reason that is, is simply, curiousity. I here a musician name somewhere, I remember to look them up. I pursued myself to find new music and I still do. I ask friends for suggestions. One clever thing is, I buy CD's and lots of them. Whenever I feel like it I would randomly pick a CD by a band whom I barely know and buy it. Then to only be either surprised or bamboozled. That's how I found out about Adema and Jars Of Clay. I agree with you NMM, expand your musical horizons, it could be very fun and interesting. You could relate to more people with it. - cjWriter1997

If I could only get today's metalheads to look at this post. - NuMetalManiak

It's 2019 and I still think this post is relevant. - NuMetalManiak

M e h - visitor