Hi, here is me asking for some advice.

I currently have the Sennheiser CX True Wireless but I feel like they are too heavy, big, and uncomfortable for my ears to the point that I feel my earholes are being stretched.

I am looking at AirPods right now despite not being committed to the whole Apple eco-system. They seem to be light enough and good quality enough, but I fear getting them is too expensive for what I'm getting given that I would want to use them with my Ubuntu desktop and my Android phone.

What alternatives could you suggest? Or is AirPods the best bang-for-your-buck even if you are not really into the Apple eco-system?

I have been a metalhead for over 20 years but I seem to still mostly listen to the bands I found back then. So mostly bands that started in the 80s or 90s. By the mid 2000s metalcore and its various derivatives got very popular and that wasn't for me, so I kind of stopped paying much attention to new stuff for many years. The only newer band I have been really excited about is the Finnish black metal band Havukruunu, and to some extent Uada and Spectral Wound.

Would love to get some recommendations for new names that have appeared in the last 10 or so years.

We’re almost halfway through the 2020s (hard to believe it, I know!).

I’m interested in knowing which music newcomers we should be tuning into, instead of listening to all the same old stuff we always do from the last decade.

So, what have been your favorite debut albums of the 2020s so far? What makes them great?

It's Friday and I'm on a quest to discover new music. The algorithms have been letting me down lately. So let's just build a communal playlist!

Playlists links:

• Spotify
• Youtube (Thanks, @SloMoMonday)
• Apple Music (Thanks, @Weldawadyathink)

I'll start by adding my 5 song choices.

Leave a comment with the names of the songs you would like to have added to the playlist (let's limit it to no more than 5 per user) and I'll add them. There are no other rules -- you could choose your favorite songs of all time, what you're listening to at the moment, or anything in between.

(I guess the only other requirement is that it needs to be available on Spotify, unless somebody wants to mirror the playlist on other services)

PS. Deimos, mods, et al, I hope this isn't too gimmicky. I think Tildes is as tight-knit of a community as you can find on the internet these days and I see this as just another small way to further that communal experience.

My husband and I are ignorant out of touch Americans just now catching up on 2024’s competition (“Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is my personal winner).

I know a few highlights from previous years (“Euphoria”, “Discoteque”, “Think About Things”) but would love to know what highlights I’m missing from previous years and decades.

Let me know any and all recommendations you have, whether it’s just a good song, or whether the performance itself is worth looking into.

Hey peeps !
Having quite an Amy Winehouse phase right now :)
The vibe of Back to Black is just phenomenal!
Can y'all recommend similar songs? With similar I mean raw in their portrayal of pain, funky and enjoyable musically while at the same time remaining hopeful and powerful due to the sheer honesty and "few amount of fucks given" :D
Thanks !!

Sorry about the headline. (not really) I know it doesn't make all that much sense. The thing is, I bought a Dubreq Stylophone Beatbox (review here) and it's really quite fun to play around with. At its core, it lets you record and play your own rhythms in a loop. It sort of feels like an unholy mix between a musical instrument and an editor.

The problem is that I can't save as an editable format (midi or ... whatever) or import new instruments, so while its great fun and quite powerful (I composed this) I still feel the need for something more flexible. Also, I accidently borrowed it away, so while I still "own" it, I don't actually have it as such.

So, are there any other thingie which (gonna repeat the headline here) are fun and intuitive, yet still grants me some more power compared to what is offered by the Stylophone Beatbox? I don't mind if it is a program of a physical thing.

EDIT: Thanks all! I had expected one, maybe two suggestions, so, wow! This is pretty much a new world to me, and I'm floored that there's so much music stuff available. I'm slowly beginning to get some sort of overview of it all.

Okay, this is just for fun, what songs should go in an eclipse playlist? So far I have:

• Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
• Here Comes the Sun - Beatles
• Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden (and a nice cover by Norah Jones)
• Soak Up the Sun - Sheryl Crow
• Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• Steal My Sunshine - Len
• Eclipse - Pink Floyd
• Bishop's Death - Ladyhawke Soundtrack
• Sunglasses at Night - Corey Heart
• Bad Moon Rising - CCR

Send me a list of things to listen to for a day. Probably best if it's 4-8 hours, but if you want to recommend less (like an album or two) I'll listen and then use the "radio" feature to stream similar music afterwards.

Alternatively or additionally, feel free to get out of your comfort zone and join in on the listening.

Context:

I have a lot of time to listen to music while working. Recently I've been getting bored with my go-to catalog. About 5 years ago I posted out like this on a different platform and had a pretty good experience.

This doesn't need to be specific/catered to me, since that's part of the experience. But if it helps, I tend to listen to pop, electronic, alt rock, R&B, and funk. I also enjoy jazz and 40's music. Here's my last.fm if you want more specifics, though the all-time stats are skewed towards my heavy listening a decade ago.

Edit:

Feel free to post links to whatever you use to listen or no links at all. I don't mind doing some leg work to get it playing on my streaming service.

I am in the UK and would like a decent gig guide. I just Google artists I want to watch to see if they are on tour at the moment. I am not fused on the ticket master guide. Can anyone give me good recommendations?

I really like listening to video game music covers, some of my favorite artists are Freya Catherine, Jillian Aversa, Erutan, Malukah, Karliene. Does anyone else enjoy this kind of music, and do you have any recs for similar artists (especially if they are still actively posting music) (and bonus points if they have a bandcamp page)?

Just for a better example of what I'm talking about, Brett Favre by Slow Pulp is an intro song to their ep that has instrumentals playing over commentators from a football game. I'm curious if there are other songs out there that are similar.

Time Period: 2010 - 2014

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I like that music app algorithms are able to suggest similar songs to add to my playlist, but I wish there were a way to specify bpm for the song suggestions. I get extra motivation from a playlist with a specific and consistent bpm when I'm doing jump rope or using the treadmill.

Is there an easy way to search for songs based on both "vibes" and bpm?

Or alternatively, music playing app that can auto adjust songs in a playlist to all play at the same bpm.

Time Period: 2000-2004

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Time Period: 2005-2009

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Harmony does something to my brain than I can't explain but it's like a short cut to, well, I dunno, but something good.

I'd really like your suggestions for harmonies that create emotional response.

Sorry for dumping a huge number of links here. Here are two favourites:

Picforth, In Nomine a 5.

and

Cork Sacred Harp - "47b Idumea"

Here are some examples: (and now that I post them, I realise some of them aren't really harmony proper, so I'm not sure what I'm asking for)

Irish lilting in harmony

Beloe Zlato - "За тихой рекою" (beyond the calm river?), and a better but more noisy version Белое злато - "За тихой рекой" (Белое злато / Beloe Zlato / White Gold -- I don't know anything about this group and if I'm posting Russian propaganda please let me know because I don't want to be doing that)

Mamas and Papas - "California dreaming", "Here in my arms" (although Ella Fitzgerald's version is much much better), "Safe in my garden" (especially the bit around 1:50 building to 2:15)

Sacred Harp choirs. Sacred harp and "shaped singing" is how you teach people to sing if they can't read music. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_note](Wikipedia has a good explainer). They start with a verse of the soh, lah, ti, fah sounds so people know the tune and rhythm and then they launch into it. I'm not religious (in a quiet, polite, respecting other people's religions kind of way) but they turn out a great tune sometimes. Henderson, Texas - Sacred Harp 463: "Angel Band", Austin, Texas - Sacred Harp 463: "Angel Band", Unknown - scacred harp 463: "Angel band". Camp Doremi Europe 2015 - Sacred Harp 117 "Angel Band". I've dumped four of the same song so you get a feel for differences in pace, in size of congregation, and skill of singers. The acoustics of these rooms suck, and even skilled professional sound engineers are going to struggle to mic up these rooms and get good output, but I like the fact that every consumer grade mic and recording equipment is just OVERLOADED TO ALL HECK.

More sacred harp. Texas - Sacred Harp 505 "Cleansing Fountain". The lyrics are really something.

Irish sacred harp, and this is the one I really want to share because my word they mean it: Second Ireland Sacred Harp Convention - "47b Idumea" there's a woman really singing. I love love love this. There's also Cork Sacred Harp - "Come thou fount"

It's not just vocal harmony either. Lankum, NPR Tiny Desk Concert, "The Wild Rover" just builds and builds layer upon layer. (And "Bear Creek" does something similar, with more joy. The Mary Wallopers - "Frost is all over" have something going on underneath this romping joyful noise and I think it's the sneaky "Banish Misfortune", so here's a version of that Sorcha Ni Scolai - "Banish Misfortune" and it's all amazing but there's a tiny bit at 1:19-1:25 that gets right into my brain.

Sometimes it's just a big crowd. From a comment by @jgb I found this Welsh National Anthem just before Wales beat England. Here's a Welsh flash mob Cor Meibion Male Voice Choir - "Bread of Heaven"

And I think it's not just "harmony" proper that I'm thinking of. A bit of nice tune in the middle of near chaotic noise is nice. So, for an example, listen to all of this The Incredible String Band - "The Mad Hatter's Song" and stick with it, because at 3:40 they suddenly drop into this very short, but very sweet bit of nice tune. And that "I am the archer, the lover of laughter, and mine is the arrowed flight; I am the archer and my eyes yearn after the unsullied sight" is lovely.

I'm listening to a bunch of music from the 1500s, and especially In Nomine. The strings sliding all over the place is amazing to me. In Nomine À 5, "Seldome Sene" · Christopher Tye · Jordi Savall, In Nomine À 5, "Rachells Weepinge" · Christopher Tye · Jordi Savall, In Nomine IV A 6 (Strogers) · Hespèrion XX · Jordi Savall, Youtube have given this weird artwork Picforth, In Nomine a 5.

Inspiration came when I was listening to Busy Signal - One More Night, a half-cover of the Phil Collins original. Reggae and dancehall have a lot of examples like this but it's usually interpolating or covering the chorus rather than the entire song.

So, which do you know? If you could post links for both the cover and the original, that'd be ace. I'd say sampling in hip-hop usually doesn't qualify here, unless there's clear conceptual connection to the original song beyond just the beat.

Also, if anyone suggests the Chet Faker version of No Diggity, I will start a riot in here.

My whole life I have lived with the regret of not becoming proficient in a musical instrument. I grew up with a piano and acoustic guitar in my childhood home, and I actually took lessons for both but never committed to practicing or improving. As a result I grew up tinkering with both hit never learned how to read music or actually develop any fundamental techniques to play either.

I am an autodidact and have always felt that with the right resources, and a little discipline, I could at least learn enough to play a few songs on either instrument, and possibly with time become a sight reader.

To that end, I am curious, musicians of ~Tildes, what resources are the best to self-learn piano and guitar? Books, videos, apps, anything that you’ve used or know people have used and actually went from complete novice to reasonably proficient?

Thanks and happy new year!

I’m going insane from the bland ass Xmas music at my work and I’m looking to zhuzh up the playlist with some more interesting Xmas music. Think “Christmas at the Zoo” by the Flaming Lips or “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)” by The Ramones.

I would also like some non-Christmas holiday songs, so we can get some representation for holidays besides the Christian one, or even just “Winter Songs”

Thanks!

Time Period: 1995-1999

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So I've just been using basic earbuds my whole life, never felt like spending big bucks on good headphones. Recently though, I've been really interested in what I've been hearing about IEMs. Youtubers and forum users have been name dropping a few of them, such as Moondrop Chu/Chu II, Salnotes Zero, etc. So I looked them up, and was shocked to find how cheap they are. They're like $20, in the same price range as the crappy earbuds I buy anyways! These kind of headphones seem like a whole world I know nothing about, with pros and cons I don't fully understand, so what would be the best recommendation for a first set?

Time Period: 1990-1994

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So, I used to think I hated all love songs.
I disliked them because, in the ones that id heard were the type that found on the FM radio stations, and those tend to fall into a couple broad categories:

• I just met you, and I want to marry/stalk you
• You broke up with me, and I will do anything to get you back
• Your with someone else, and Im trying to win you over

My view on them changed when I found I'll Take Lonely Tonight, A song about the temptation of cheating in an established relationship.
While not a song I can exactly relate to, it still struck me, because its, well, respectful.
Its respectful towards the woman offering the one night stand, but still describes a deep, enduring love between Tim and his wife,
that he would rather spend the night on his own then break their trust.
(I guess it probably helps that I already like tim minchin, especially his newer, more subdued works.)

Since then, Ive only discovered one other song that scratches that same itch: Like my Father, a song about how the artist's parents relationship set the standard she strives for in her own relationship (My parents relationship was very much a role model for my marriage today, so this one hits me in the feels)

Im actively looking for other similar songs, and would appreciate any other suggestions.

Albums specifically, please! Not individual songs. I’m wanting something meant to be listened to from back to front.

I thought about listing some of the favorites I already have, but I don’t want to prime the recommendations. I might jump in with some in a comment later if other people are wanting to enjoy the recommendations too.

Anyway, give me any chiptune album favorites you have. If the music sounds like a game console is having a good, meaningful, moody, or interesting time, then that’s exactly what I’m looking for!

Also, game soundtracks are fine as long as they work as an album.

Can be any style, just something you like and think is interesting or fun or moving. Edit, classical music is fine if it is relatively unfamiliar.

I recently went to a random benefit concert and found Kendall Dean, who started with classical violin, added fiddle skills, vocals, guitar, modern tech.

Here is an instrumental track, but other songs are in a variety of styles and some are covers.
The Woods

I'm a huge fan of the Peter Paul and Mary version of Don't Think Twice It's All Right
Don't Think Twice It's All Right

But some people prefer the Bob Dylan version (love the harmonica)
Don't Think Twice It's All Right

For my lover left me songs, I really like Pink's version of Me and Bobbie McGee
Me and Bobbie McGee

Does anyone else want to share a favorite song about being the one leaving or the one being left?

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This was a challenge to summarise in a title, but what I am after is a discussion of songs or albums with sound detail and design with high complexity that is also enjoyable to listen to. Listening to songs that really push the speakers to their limit in terms of detail is a joy, one could argue that all music does this, but from my perspective some recordings really shine through when you listen to them with proper high-quality high fidelity speakers or headphones. Most classical music fall within this genres but there are plenty of other genres which are interesting.

Some examples:
CLARITY - Jacob Collier
Hand Covers Bruise - Trent Razor and Atticus Ross
Dream of Arrakis - Hans Zimmer
Eyjafjallajökull - Nordlight

I hope I managed to make myself understood, if not I will try again! Anyways, what are your favourite complex pieces of music?

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Ok bear with me. I like to joke that a significant portion of my music library is white women with guitars. I listen to a lot of art pop/indie, basically. Phoebe Bridgers, Boygenius, Fiona Apple, Weyes Blood, Angel Olsen, Aldous Harding, etc.

So where are the black women with guitars? I think that singer/songwriter trope of a woman with a guitar (or sometimes a piano) is traditionally pretty white, so what artists are you aware of that break this trend? Closest I've found so far is Kara Jackson, who I would highly recommend, by the way. Not too strict about genre here, so whatever you got is welcome.

I'm currently working on a research paper (low-threat undergrad coursework), and I keep alternating between Lofi hip-hop and gentle acoustic pop covers to keep me motivated and on task. I've tried to get into a variety of classical music for this purpose, but I always end up rolling back to my Samuel Barber playlist and end up burning out on it. What's your go-to for productivity enhancement?

I've recently started listening to Richie Hawtin and was wondering which albums are considered the best by people who've been enjoying his music for longer. There's a lot of stuff to choose from, so suggestions on where a new listener should start are always welcome.

For a couple of months I have been thinking of making an 80 minute playlist of music to listen to while I am driving. I want them to have that repetitive, can listen to mindlessly while driving feel. It's hard to describe. So far this is what I have. (20:22)

Bookmaker - Kobaryo 4:23
Red and blue - Silentroom 2:01
Smiiillleee - Tankbuster 3:01
Babarouqe - cYsmix 4:49
Keep moving on - Sukima Altera/SeiiYuumi 4:16
Dx Choseinou full metal shojo - IOSYS/uno w/ chiyoko 1:52

The order is not set in stone, and it can be rearranged as needed. What got me started with this was Bookmaker. It just feels like something I can listen to on repeat. I just kept adding, but just haven't added enough yet. Most of the songs I have added came from games, as that is how I find most of my new music.

I have a large music collection and I buy some vinyl, some CDs, but mostly MP3s. I've been using 7digital lately but I don't like how they have enlisted Paypal as their payment service. Is there any other sites out there to buy MP3s legitimately?

Hey I would love some new recommendations. I love all kinds of music without words, weather that be classical, ambient, postrock, whatever. (I also love music that has lyrics too :) But sometimes I just enjoy listening to instrumental tracks).

Are there any favorites you'd be willing to share? Right now I am listening to Brian Eno. Thanks in advance.

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I think this album might be a unicorn, but I'm gonna put this out there anyway. Please suggest more prog/avant black metal that is this good. I've done a few cursory google searches, but the only thing I've found that even comes close is The Sham Mirrors by Arcturus. Maybe Beneath the Lights by Enslaved too.

IS is just such a masterpiece. I love the keyboards, the clear but muddy sound, the guitar work. It's just so god damned good. Please give me some more good albums to check out in the same general space.

Hi folks. I am searching for songs that, for lack of a better word, build up via "layers" as the song progresses. For example, Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Second Movement, The Boxer Rebellion's "Soviets", or Dave Matthew's Band's "Dancing Nancies". Do you have any recommendations? Perhaps a musician would be able to tell me what this type of music/structure is called?

EDIT: Thank you so much to everyone who responded. There are some GREAT suggestions! I have a lot of listening to do!

I started the monumental task of tagging all my music for the purpose of organising but also autoplaylist generation. I decided to tag only by genre because it suits my listening behaviour (e.g. I feel like reggae, so I pull up my reggae category and scan through album art till I find something that fits my mood).

I've started tagging and retagging a few times now. I haven't quite figured out a method that works. I started off too specific (many subgenres with few artists in each), then too broad (hundreds of artists per genre). The sweet spot is elusive. I've been doing this work manually, but I've also had the idea of scrapping RYM because I've found this source to be fairly similar to my own judgment. The idea of automated tagging is appealing so I can "let the gods decide" and reduce the mental tax.

Anyways, please share your methods! Im sure someone has "solved" this delimma. TIA

I'm looking for weird or obscure music that few folks have given a listen. To keep things interesting, I'll try and post stuff I've stumbled upon and liked rather than cruising newly uploaded stuff. The 20K plays limit is a soft limit and is not cumulative, so just check the numbers one platform like Spotify, YouTube Music or whatever. If it's obscure on one platform, it's probably, though not necessarily, obscure elsewhere too. I'll just be using YT Music numbers.

• Depois do Escuro - Kalouv at 377 views. Brazilian post-rock band. Not well known at least in my music circles. This song just slaps hard. It deserves more attention.

• The Search - Dougie MacLean at 8.9K views. Scottish folk artist. Some of his stuff is much better known: one of his tracks for the inspiration for the Last of the Mohicans theme). This whole album was made the Loch Ness Monster Exhibition and is much better than it has any right to be for a tourist attraction.

• Sólin Mun Skína - Rökkurró at 9.3K views. Icelandic pop and rock band. I like the lead vocal artist a lot. Edit: Their VEVO channel puts this one at 41K views, so it breaks my rules a bit. Oh well.

• Modulus - Marcus Fjellström at 733 views. Swedish composer and artist who did mostly moody and surreal dreamscapes and ambient music. Sadly he passed away in 2017 after composing the score for the tv show The Terror (one of the few excellent survival horror shows). Not really "easy listening" but I'm really impressed with his work and wanted to share it.

• Misery Needs Company - Lovedrug at 2.1K views. Indie/alt band. Great song. Simple as that.

• The Lunar Effect - Kebu at 19K views. Kebu, a Finnish keyboardist and composer, does lots of old-school synth and electronic work like you'd find in the tradition of Jean Michel Jarre. Edit: The live performance of this song has like 300K views... so I really shouldn't include it here.

• Summoning Lesser Demons - Ivar Tryti at 10.1K views. Ivar is a regular on the synthesizer discord which is how I found his stuff. He's a wizard with Elektron synths/samplers and gear so I keep up with his releases.

If you're having trouble finding stuff <20K (I know I did when searching my history!) then increase the threshold to say 100K. If anybody has a good way to find rarer stuff, ideas are welcome. :)

Obviously taste is subjective and people are complicated, but at least on the surface, I'm sure most avid listeners can pick an artist or band that they really enjoy, but don't seem to have the popularity or recognition to match. I'd love to hear your picks - preferably, post a link where something can be streamed for free and purchased easily, like Bandcamp. Give us a little synopsis, or at the very least, genre or similar artist, as well.

I'm a big fan of Nu Metal, but I've been listening to the same stuff for quite a while. (System of a Down, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Soulfly, etc.). So, I'm wanting to find some cool new bands to add to my playlist. Honestly, the only two modern acts that I know of are Crazy N' Sane and Dropout Kings.