In the world of music blogs, there are thousands of sites one could stumble upon. As difficult as it is to find a good tune, it’s easily as difficult to find a good blog that can offer great recommendations time and time again. I spend countless hours on the Internet looking for a great new gem of a song that will brighten up my day. It’s a pleasure to be able to go on a site, read a tiny blurb, and be able to check out a few songs right then and there. Here are three great sites that have consistently pointed me toward great music.
UNKITSCH.COM (@ unkitsch.com)
UNKITSCH.COM is a site created for four friends to share “Music, Dreams, Ideas, and Thoughts”. These guys have a solid website. It’s sexy, sleek, and easy to navigate, and the writers have got talent. If you go to their “About” page, you can find some hilarious introductions to the four contributors, including a description of one as his “own panty-remover”. The great thing about Unkitsch is that you get a global view from the four writers since they reside in four different countries. We get points of view and recommendations from Hamburg, Hong Kong (although we have yet to see the likes of Canto-pop hitting UNKITSCH.COM), Toronto, and London.
UNKITSCH.COM offers up recommendations from various indie, alternative, and electro-dance artists.
No two recommendations are the same. Now, you might notice a theme of artists on the site. These guys definitely have a list of favourites, but they manage to find songs and remixes you’ve never even heard of, and bring them to your attention. I dare you to go onto this site and not find at least one hip-shaking, foot-tapping tune that you will end up loving.
Music isn’t all they have to offer. Not only do you get solid music recommendations, along with an easy-to-use download link, but you get great info and advice into the worlds of art and technology. Not to mention you get hilarious photos of one of the guys eating cookies.
Genres: indie, alternative, electro, dance
Artists you’ll be sure to see: The Twelves, Miami Horror, Breakbot, Aeroplane, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
Earmilk (@ earmilk.com)
Earmilk is possibly one of the most musically diverse websites out there. These guys offer their insights into seven of the main categories of music: electro, hip hop, indie, experimental, rap, reggae, and house.
Earmilk is straightforward and really holds true to their website’s name. Everything they post is milk to the ears! (Okay, I know it’s really “music to the ears”.) It’s easy to find a great tune here; just pop over to the site, choose a section, and browse through some of their posts. You’ll find artists that you already know of, and artists that after reading the post, you’ll be glad to know about.
What’s great about Earmilk is not that they offer a different array of music genres, but the amount of artists that you can be exposed to after just a few minutes of browsing their site. They include a segment called “The Cream of…” which is a listing of the five most popular songs on their site from the last few days. This is great for the average reader who wants to know the happenings in the world of a particular genre of music.
Best part of Earmilk? Their extensive rap and hip hop selection. I have yet to find another site that includes as many artists as they do in these two genres. What’s great is that not only do they introduce you to new tunes by artists like Kanye and Cudi, but they also offer you insight into new and emerging hip hop and rap artists like Hoodie Allen.
Genres: electro pop, hip hop, indie, experimental, rap, reggae, and house
Artists you’ll be sure to see: Kanye West, Kid Cudi, The Knocks, Hoodie Allen, Mice Parade
Chromewaves (@ chromewaves.net)
Why should you love Chromewaves? Well, as residents of Toronto and the GTA, they will keep you up to date on the haps of the city musically. Chromewaves offers information on music, films, books, and art in the city. It’s a great place to go to if you want to find something to do over the weekend without having to read about a lot of other crap.
Chromewaves’ authors have a way of writing great concert and CD reviews that make you want to get the artist’s CD and see them live the next time they’re in town. They offer up easily accessible listening links and an MP3 of the week, which in my opinion has been great every week thus far.
One downside to Chromewaves is that it doesn’t have much else to offer outside the realm of indie-alternative music. Nevertheless, it is a solid site to find a great new and emerging indie artist you’ll end up loving.
Genres: indie-alternative
Artists you’ll be sure to see: Mystery Jets, Tame Impala, Sufjan Stevens, Two Door Cinema Club
