Music Habits

I used to listen to CDs. Well, actually first it was Alanis Morissette and Celine Dion cassettes. But then it was Dixie Chicks, Norah Jones, Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton, Play, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and assorted mix CDs.

The end of my sophomore year of high school, 2005, I got my first iPod. After a few days straight of ripping all of the CDs I could find, it was iTunes, entire library on shuffle. For about 5 years. At some point I switched to Rhythmbox and would download my music instead of buying CDs.

In 2010, I joined last.fm. I discovered scrobbling. POINTS! I was also super curious about my listening habits. I was already watching playcounts in Rhythmbox, but this was way better. I started not wanting to listen to music that couldn't be scrobbled.

Around the same time, I became more interested in discovering new music. I was already hearing lots of new music from friends and other people I was living around. I started listening to Pandora. And last.fm radio. I had a good bout of "Your Mix Radio," for some full-library-shuffle nostalgia.

With all this new music, I wanted an easy way to listen to whatever I wanted, whenever (doesn't everybody?). Enter: Grooveshark. And recently(ish), they came out with their own version of internet radio. Which is just the best thing ever. Well, the best internet radio that I've encountered. In terms of recommending songs, learning playlists/stations, etc.

The best way that I've found to discover music that I like is turntable.fm, which I've already talked about a bit. My three favorite rooms are DJ Woo, ACTH, and Boomswing Cabaret. I also really enjoy sharing music with my friends in my own personal room (linked above).

Finally, there's thisismyjam.com, recommended by my cousin Nate. Would be kinda cool if it caught on. And sometimes I definitely have a "jam" for about 3-4 days. And occasionally I catch a good one from the few friends who do use it.