I don’t know about you, but mainstream radio just doesn’t cut it for me anymore. They play the same 10 songs in hour-long rotations and quite frankly, it makes for absolute aural boredom. But two years ago, the world of college music blogs changed my life forever. I was introduced to college music blogs popularized by websites like fratmusic.com and the like during my freshman year, and have never looked back.
Music blogs give the opportunity for up and coming artists to showcase their talents and innovative sounds to the college community at little or no cost, often offering their music to download free of charge or minimal costs off of soundcloud or beatport. What better way to expand your musical vocabulary than to get free downloads of some of the hottest up-and-coming artists in the world of hip-hop, electronic dance music (EDM), and music to chill and study to?
There are thousands of blogs that have popped up over recent years, and many of them post the same artists and songs, but there are several blogs that I have stayed loyal to and have consistently found some great new jams for all occasions. I definitely think the following music blogs are worth checking out if you’re looking for some new music to rage or relax to.
[pagebreak]
Big Green Beats:
Big Green Beats was the first ever music blog that I was introduced to in the fall of 2009, when I attended my first “real” frat party and already bored with radio jams like “Sexy Bi*ch”. Big Green
Beats was created by Dartmouth College students intended as “a place to discover new, upcoming artists, as well as a spot to hear the hottest new music from artists you may already know”. The site has undergone serious revamping and has an aesthetically pleasing homepage with square thumbnails of the artists/songs that they post onto the website. They post (like the other music blogs tend to these days) a lot of EDM songs and artists you can rage and dance your butt off to, but they also have “Throwback Thursdays”, showcasing old school gems that you might have forgotten about (Don’t Sweat the Technique, anyone?) as well as information about big concerts like the recent Cosmic Opera in NYC.
Big Green Beats also has a strong connection in the world of college athletics when they conduct “Inside the Beats” interviews with Inside Lacrosse magazine, interviewing several DI players about their music choices, what’s hot on their iPod playlists and information about upcoming games in their season.
[pagebreak]
Goodmusicallday.com
Goodmusicallday is another music blog staple of mine. Goodmusicallday has not only the best up and coming hip-hop artists, but also has exclusive access to the newest mixtapes and bootlegs of some of your favorite established artists like Taylor Allerdice, Wiz Khalifa’s newest mixtape and also exclusive new releases and remixes from Rick Ross, Wale, Meek Mill, Frank Ocean, Nas and many more. I come to goodmusicallday for their new feature, GMAD TV which has exclusive music videos, interviews with artists, viral hits, live concert footage, behind the scenes footage, and even playlists you can put on when you want to throw a party.
My favorite aspect of GMAD is their usability—you can easily navigate the blog for mixtapes, and search in the Indie, Hip-Hop or Electro genres for music more tailored to your taste or occasion. Best of all, GMAD has a hand in many concerts at area colleges and universities, so if you’re into live music and seeing some of the best up-and-coming artists perform near you, check their website for concert dates and locations.
Dml.fm is another one of my solid favorites that showcases everything from beachy, chill acoustic music to loud, bass-booming electro tracks offering the newest and probably most obscure music in genres like dubstep, hip-hop, house, mashup and electronic. The website is easy to navigate, as for each post you have a play, download or add to a playlist feature all in one location so creating that ultimate post-spring break- workout playlist is all at your fingertips.
[pagebreak]
Lastly, as many of you all know, the world of EDM is on the rise and quickly claiming stake in the music industry worldwide. Heck—many of you saw DeadMau5 perform live at the Grammys, and even Skrillex took home 3 awards. For those of you who just can’t get enough music to rave to, there’s dancingastronaut.comwhich is my number one source for new electronic tunes. They have adjoining podcasts on iTunes and Soundcloud, and have exclusive remixes, new releases and bootlegs, tracks from artists you may never have even heard before (the more obscure, the better!) and they’ll even be at Ultra Music Festival in Miami rubbing elbows with some of the top EDM dj’s and artists so if you’re headed south this week, be sure to check them out!
Music blogs are not only a way to discover great new music and exclusive tracks from artists you love, but also a great way to connect to others in the college and university community. With each blog you can connect directly with the writers and bloggers, other college students and even the artists that are posted on the blog via twitter and facebook—what better way to stay connected to your favorite new music if you can actually talk to the bloggers and artists that share the same passion for music like you do?
You can share your music finds as well—be sure to submit your faves and undiscovered artists and songs and your post may just end up on the site! (mine have!). So, sayonara fm radio, see you later Pandora, music blogs are here to stay for good to rage with you for the best four years of your life.
Sources: www.dml.fm, www.goodmusicallday.com, www.dancingastronaut.com, www.biggreenbeats.com