Jeremy Soule Please Put Morrowind Back in Spotify

The 5 Best Sites for Discovering Cool New Music

ModSquad January 21, 2016

Ah, the internet! Great galumphing bastion of memes and more. While we here at ModSquad utilize the internet every day to get things done for our awesome clients, I also spend a lot of my free time in search of my first love–new music. Sure, you can have all the tips and tricks and tools in the world to maximize your productivity, but to me there's nothing like a playlist full of music to get one's day going strong!

I've gathered together five great sites to find new–and often free–music from up and coming independent artists.  Be sure to clear some drive space for album downloads, and let's get rolling.

1.) Bandcamp
This is pretty much the home of new independent music in the US. Everyone from small, solo artists on the coffee shop open mic circuit to better-known musicians like Amanda Palmer, Sufjan Stevens, and Grimes, have a Bandcamp site. You can easily find great albums in all manner of genres for free–or the price of a latte–as many artists accept donations under "pay what you want" pricing.

For those who are always looking for new music for work or personal creative projects, there are even tag feeds to help you find music based on licenses like Creative Commons, podsafe, and royalty-free. On top of that, if you purchase/donate on an album, you then get unlimited streaming of that song or album on your mobile device using the Bandcamp app for iOS or Android. Definitely very handy for those living a digital nomad lifestyle!

2.) Jamendo
What Bandcamp is to the US, Jamendo is vying to be for the rest of the world. You can easily find music here from independent artists in Kansas all the way to Kuwait, and more. Add to that, the site has fairly robust language support, with an active community, and interesting music styles that you may not have previously encountered like afrobeat or folktronica.

The site's overall strength is in the sheer amount of music it holds, but it is a bit trickier to navigate than Bandcamp. With that said, if you love instrumentals, electronica, chill-out, or other genres in that general neighborhood, (all great for focus playlists) Jamendo is definitely a place to stop by and get some tasty sounds for your ears. They also have an app for on-the-go use, should you wish to do your digging for chill-out music while in line at the DMV. (Really, who doesn't need chill-out music there?)

3.) CCmixter
CCMixter is a bird of a slightly different color from the two prior sites. While it contains lots of the same genres as both Bandcamp and Jamendo, it does require a bit more direct input to discover music you'll really love. For example, if you select tags like "remix" and "vocals" you can find some great original vocal music being published by the talented CCmixter community spanning genres like electro-jazz, funk, pop, and more. As with the prior sites, you can also drill down on licenses to find things for corporate use, but be aware that as with Jamendo, fees likely apply here, whereas personal listening and downloads are generally free.

4.) OCRemix
If you've ever listened to one of eleventy-bazillion Zelda mixes, own at least one 8-bit chiptune album, or have ever played a video game and found yourself focused on the soundtrack, then this is the site for you! OCRemix is a community of artists who have covered (or reimagined) all kinds of music from the Super Mario themes, to creating massive Final Fantasy albums full of collaborations from artists all around the world. (My personal favorite is the free Final Fantasy VII album, Voices of the Lifestream.) While most of the music is free for personal and limited use–because really, who doesn't like video games–this isn't the place you want to snag music for your company's next promotional YouTube video.

5.) Live Music and Netlabels at the Internet Archive
Okay, so maybe digging through tons of new music on the hunt for great new bands isn't your thing. Perhaps you'd prefer to road trip with classics like the Grateful Dead or Bob Dylan rocking out in concert? For live music fans who love bootlegs, the Internet Archive has you covered. You can head over to their Live Music Archive and snag recent uploads from everyone from fans to soundboard operators. The quality can be a little shaky at times, but there are some real gems to be found for those willing to do a bit of digging.

Along with that, the Internet Archive is keeping an eye on the future with a rapidly-growing section of netlabels, featuring everything from avant garde, to post-rock, to wave music. This is also a treasure trove of free music with varied licenses that work for podcasts, creative commons works, and more. (As always, read up before using for commercial projects!)

Hopefully these sites should give you a starting point on finding music you'll love. If you have a favorite site to find music on that isn't listed here, or a great indie band you just love to tell people about, drop us a link in the comments! Music is best when shared, after all.

Krystalle Voecks
Project Manager

This entry was posted in Mods and tagged digital music, music by ModSquad. Bookmark the permalink.

Finding The Soundtrack To Your Life

ModSquad January 13, 2015

Please pardon me while I turn on my favorite Pandora channel so that my mind can be opened and the creative spark be allowed  to flow through my fingers as I address a topic that is always on my mind – where can I find new (or new-to-me) music?

"Intro" by The xx – I've never heard of them before, but I'm diggin' the drum intro. Thanks, Pandora!

Now, perhaps a little intro to my life. I am a former classically trained cellist. I grew up in a family full of musicians of almost every sort, going back as far as memory and family mementos allow. My childhood wasn't filled with soccer practice or video games, it was filled with music lessons, practice sessions, and rehearsals. To my 8-year-old self, there were seemingly endless hours spent in music stores, concert halls, summers spent at music camp, and more practice. Always practice. I settled on the cello early on and stuck with it.

After 12 years, my hard work, combined with a dash of talent, enabled me to be awarded a Cello Performance scholarship to the University of Alabama (yes, there's more than football and tide-rolling taught there). Mission accomplished!

Music is more than just something I like or enjoy, it's something in my blood. I seek it out. I need it. And although I no longer play, I get to re-live all of those great experiences as an audience member when watching my husband perform with his band, Over the Effect.

There is nothing in the world quite like the feeling of connection that music allows. We all feel it move through us. Who can resist the urge to smile and dance when they hear "Happy" come on the radio? Who doesn't want to throw in a little "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, when it's grey and drizzling outside? Are you seriously NOT going to fight for your right to party when "Fight For Your Right" by the Beastie Boys comes on? Heck no.

It is my opinion that music has become SO valued that we almost require it as the soundtrack to our daily lives. The discovery method may different, not the importance. Music finds us now, whereas in previous decades, we had to find the music.

The big three – Pandora, Spotify, and iTunes

We no longer have to rely solely on the radio, or on our local music scene, to find out what's new.  We now have Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, and a host of other avenues for music discovery. These services offer bands I've never heard of, or a song I previously didn't know existed by a favored artist. I love that Pandora offers a brief description of each band as well. I frequently find myself falling down the rabbit hole of musical influences and side projects, all while gaining new insight into the artists, and also finding new stuff to listen to!

If you REALLY want to dig into the creative mind of musicians around the globe, then you should try Internet Radio, like Rocker's Dive, and Radio Paradise. That's where you can find the stuff that's really happening in local scenes around the world. If you love digging deep into the underground, well get ready, you'll find it in the thousands of internet radio stations out there.

Soundcloud and Bandcamp

If you like a little social media mixed in with your search of the newest of the new, then Soundcloud may be the place for you. This is a website that is used by musicians to stream their music, usually moments after it's mastered, or just recorded in their bedroom. DJs post their sets there from all over the world. As a listener, you can comment, share, favorite, the tracks you like. And with a recently announced Twitter integration, the social media aspect just got even better.

Another way to find new music is through sites like Bandcamp. This is where indie artists can put up profile pages that include information about them, sell their music, t-shirts and other merchandise, as well as interact with their fans. This is a great way to support indie bands, as the money goes directly to them!

Experience it!

All of these methods of finding music are great and wonderful. However, the absolute BEST way to find new music is to experience it. Get out there, go see a show! Take a chance and spend $5 to see a local band, playing their hearts out for one reason – for you. These folkslive for your applause, so why not give it to them?  It's free, and it's what keeps their creative spark flowing like the perfect amount of distortion on the guitar (or my favorite, bass distortion).

I hope you enjoyed my most reliable, and fruitful, methods of finding new music as I haveenjoyed my many journeys down this particular rabbit hole.

Melissa Kamphuis
People Operations

P.S. This post was brought to you by the (shared) "Distortion and Feedback" Pandora station, created by none other than, Melissa Kamphuis (A.K.A. MKULTRA).

This entry was posted in Best Practices, Community, Digital Engagement, Offbeat and tagged band, bandcamp, bands, cellist, cello, composition, discovery, music, pandora, practice, rock, soundtrack, spotify by ModSquad. Bookmark the permalink.

Variety for the 21st Century: Time to hitREC●rd

ModSquad March 24, 2014

Oh, the variety shows of the Golden Age of Television! Who didn't love them?

Entire families, often three generations at once, glued to their tv sets every Sunday night, waiting for Ed Sullivan to serve up the newest and coolest in comedy, music, and general stardom. If you're an American and you ask your parents (or, at this point, your grandparents) where they first witnessedThe Beatles play live, chances are they'll say: "Why, on The Ed Sullivan Show, of course."

In the almost 45 years since the institution that was The Ed Sullivan Show went off the air (after a juggernaut run of 23 years), the variety show still exists on television, and (with very few exceptions) it hasn't really evolved much since the 1970s. Most contemporary "variety" shows are arguably still rooted in mid-20th century entertainment creeds and traditions, and for this reason it seems they (more often than not) pay the price of failing to appeal to younger audiences. Some might argue that that's not a bad thing, that the format's waning success is not a result of a failure to evolve, but merely a sign of the times. Well, I beg to differ. And so does actor, musician, and filmmaker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

In 2005, Gordon-Levitt and his brother Dan launched a collaborative online community under the name hitRECord. It quickly became a gathering place for artists from around the world, contributing their unique takes on visual art, music, and spoken word to an ever-growing repertoire of awesomeness. Over a few short years, international interest and excitement for the project has grown to a point where the brothers decided to upgrade hitRECord from an internet sensation with limited exposure to an online production company, publishing massively collaborative artworks across the boundaries of media.

Since 2010, the company has released several books consisting of the harmonious contributions of myriad authors, records containing collaboratively produced music, and short films combining a variety of art forms that went on to be featured at SxSW and Sundance. And yet, according to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, everything really led up to one goal: to harness all of the collaborative, creative energy to create a televised variety show for the 21st century. Thus, hitRECord on TV was born.

The first season of the show, which aired on the new Pivot Network in January 2014, brought together a vast array of content from thousands of contributors all over the world, embracing different visions and perspectives. Each entertaining episode is focused around a unifying theme ("RE: The Number One", for instance), as explored through music, film, visual, and performance art.  And, it doesn't hurt that Gordon-Levitt, who acts both as the show's host and as contributor in some bits, is a bona fide multi-talent who can perform as flawlessly in a not-so-classic Broadway number (with a still-suave Tony Danza), to playing the drums in a gritty, collaboratively-written punk-rock number. He may bring in the heavy star power, but the real star of the show is everyone.

Other interesting works showcased by the initiative include:

• A young American author's moving tale as told through the beautiful voice acting of a Scottish contributor and illustrated by dozens of visual artists,
• Genre-defying musical numbers on topics like trash, space, and death,
• A relatively 'ordinary' short documentary about the future colonization of space.

By embracing the creative potential available across the internet, hitRECord on TV successfully showcases the possibilities and talent available in this brave new digital world where everything and everyone is connected (in a good way).  And, just as importantly, it also proves that a boat load of fun can happen in the process – as any good variety show should celebrate.

Guido Schenkel
Senior EU Project Manager

This entry was posted in Best Practices, Community, Digital Engagement, Offbeat, Social Media and tagged acting, actor, Art, artist, collaboration, community, ed sullivan, hitrecord, joseph gordon-levitt, literature, music, online community, performance, performance art, talent, variety, variety show, virtual art by ModSquad. Bookmark the permalink.

Jeremy Soule Please Put Morrowind Back in Spotify

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