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Help me expand my musical horizons


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I often check in on the right this minute thread to see what other members are listening to and then go to amazon and listen to samples. I have a found a few cd's I like this way.

I like a wide range of music, the cornerstone of my collection being 70's and hard rock such as AC/DC, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Grateful Dead, Cat Stevens, Blck Sabbath, Supertramp, Yes, Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Bob Dylan etc(the list goes on and on, the usual 70's suspects). I also like Cake, Black Keys, Jack Johnson, Adele, Modest Mouse, Pearl Jam, Amos Lee, Metallica, Michael jackson, Florence and the Machine and the list goes on.. Some country such as Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, bluegrass.

I also like rap in small doses and some pop.

Now on to the main point of this post.

One of my favorite bands however, and one that I would like to find artists similar to, is Steely Dan. I love the Jazz infused classic rock. As they progressed in their carreer they leaned more toward the Jazz side of things. I love everything about Steely Dan, the beats, grooves, horns, piano, vocals, lyrics and the way they blend it all. I don't really know of anyone who sounds like Steely Dan but I am open to exploring more Jazz sounds. The problem is I don't really know where to start. So fell free to throw suggestions my way on this or other genres that are a departure from the pop rock genres I initially listed. I am open to things like electronic or .....I 'm not even sure I know what that is....lol. Just looking to try some different stuff.

Feel free to chime in with ANY artists you favor however.

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back in the day, i expanded my horizon with LSD; but that's a different story...or is this still part of that same story???

Check out Alan Parsons, Supertramp, Brian Setzer, and of course the best band of all time QUEEN. (thanks for listing Yes, by the way...excellent).

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For jazz try some Return to Forever---it's a group formed by Chick Corea with a revolving membership through the lps. The first was called simply Return to Forever, then came Light As a Feather. Later stuff such as Romantic Warrior is more along the art or prog rock lines. You can't really go wrong with the first several of these efforts.

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Me, I am very heavy into the underground power/progressive music scene. Things like Symphony X, Sonota Arctica, Kamelot, Dream Theater, Nightwish, Epica, Voyager, Aryeon, Stratovarious, Fates Warning, Arch/Mateos, and so forth. Was checking out Tetrafusion, Dimension Act, Beyond the Bridge, Silent Voices, and Soul Secret just in the past day or so.

I personally cannot stand rap at all, not even in small doses. I would rather listen to my neighbor's dog barking instead of any rap "music". I also pretty much all but gave up on the current mainstream as well and pretty much entirely ignore it now (did not even bother watching the Grammys a couple weeks ago, for example). However, that being said, I do find it interesting that some of my favorite artists, such as Nightwish and Dream Theater are actually starting to get some mainstream appeal. Hell, Dream Theater even got a Grammy nomination for thier last album (only for Foo Fighters to ultimatly take the prize).

One thing you can try is Pandora Radio. Setup a station and plug in Steely Dan as your artist and start listening and see what else comes up. Instead of listening to Steely Dan proper, have you checked out any of Donald Fagan's albums, such as Kamakiriad? I would assume you have if you've been checking out the "Right This Minute" thread over in the two-channel section.

My experience for discovering music is checking out some of the on-line streaming services such as Pandora or Spotify as well forums such as this one. I am also fairly regular in the Ultimate Metal forums, where I find out about many of the artists and music that I am interested in (the aforementioned power/progressive metal).

Good luck in your music discovery - there is quite a bit out there beyond what is just played on the radio, if you are willing to search for it.

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Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

Hard to go wrong with them. Besides havinga few of thier albums/CDs, I've caught them live a few times (always for free, btw). Incredible group.

... and Pat Metheny... OH Yeah!

Bruce

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A good way to find new music is Pandora internet radio, it's free. make a radio station with the name of someone you know and it will give you other artist that is supposed to sound similar. I works great for finding new music.

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I've been heavy into African music from the 60's and 70's. The music scene is influenced by american jazz funk blues psychedlia and combines them with their musical traditions. Don't know if its your think but there is alot of it out there. The music varies greatly from country to country.

http://www.soundwayrecords.com/catalogue http://secretstashrecords.com/store/

watch?v=nJ0qi9JzWH4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ0qi9JzWH4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mrDYDWg26o

http://analogafrica.blogspot.com/

Another way I find good music is exploring a good record labels other bands. Tom Waits has been releasing music on ANTI records. They do great work and care about the music and quality.

I also like to find out who my favorite artist were influeced by and explore them. I learned Hendrix was into Elmore James so I started exploring his music. Good stuff.

Lots of ways to find new music.

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The previously offered suggestion to try Pandora is a good one. I've found many new artists I like that Pandora considered to be similar to a "station" I created.

If someone asks me to suggest Jazz CDs, I recommend Time Out by Dave Brubeck and Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. If you don't enjoy them, you'll probably not like many other "jazz" offerings. If you enjoy them, there's a wealth of "jazz" you might enjoy.

Enjoy the search.

I find myself listening to a lot more Rap lately . . . mostly at intersections.

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I often check in on the right this minute thread to see what other members are listening to and then go to amazon and listen to samples. I have a found a few cd's I like this way.

Check back often on the RTM thread, the musical plays change with the seasons....
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Thanks to all for your thoughtful replies. I'm going to have to get back on Pandora. I set up an account but haven't used it much since the sound quality isn't as good as my cd's. Pandora is an awsome way to find new music. I sampled some of the jazz recomendations and will be ordering a cd or two.

Thanks again

Jon

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