It’s tough keeping up with pop music these days. Okay, I said it. There are so many websites and so many blogs and so many forums that you just wonder how you’ll ever fully be “in the know”. On top of that, you read a lot of stuff online where you wonder what their “angle” is, because sometimes it’s pretty obvious that you’re reading a PR release instead of a genuine review of someone.
Having said all of that, there are ways of finding out what “real” folks are grooving to, and my favorite is Last.fm. (“Pop Music Notes is not in any way receiving any compensation or recognition for this endorsement”) They’ve come a long way in the past two years, and I consider them to be a top-notch service that allows me to keep up with friends and their tunes, check out new stuff through recommendations, engage in dialogue on artists and their music, and even blog. Prior to this blog’s inception, all of my American Idol posts were listed there, and the discussions would get a bit heated at times. Sad, yes, but still interesting.
I’m probably preaching to the choir with many of you, and some of you are already friends with me on there. If you’re not, feel free to add me. It would be great to keep up with what everyone else is digging. And in case you’re wondering, here’s what I’m listening to today:
Stumble It!
Pop Music Notes 
I’m all about last.fm. Man, I get pissed off when my songs don’t scrobble! I even found a way to scrobble while at work (even tho last.fm is banned by the bank!). As a hater of “PR” and “corporate” reviews (give me a ‘Joe Blogger’ review any day), I think you are right on the money about how last.fm is all about what folks are liking and what’s hot right now–without the slant.
I’m with Yuri on the getting frustrated when my songs don’t scrobble properly! I still think about how nice it would’ve been if it had properly imported my previous listening history when I signed up instead of having me start from scratch, too.
I love how all the charts get instantly updated now as opposed to having to wait to the end of the week for the update.
Having been a last.fm member for quite some time (I think I signed up in 04 when it was still “audioscrobbler”), I’ve seen it go through a lot of changes. There was a lot of moaning and groaning about the latest site overhaul, but in the end, I think it is a good thing. That having been said, there are a few formatting things I would do differently, but hey, no one asked me,
I’ve met a lot of good souls via last.fm (nearly the number I have blogging) and it’s great how music can bring people together. While I’m naturally drawn to people that share my musical tastes, I have also been turned on to a lot of new music by people whose Venn Diagram of music doesn’t have much overlap with mine!
And what Yuri said about “Joe Blogger” reviews (although I am hesitant to say Joe-anything these days.) They are the best kind of reviews there are.
Yuri, thanks for the add. Now I can see the twisted inner musical workings from the mind of Yuri!
Poster Girl, SO with you on the scrobbling. There was quite a while there where the scrobbler didn’t work well with Mac, and it would frustrate me to no end. All seems well now, though. Care to be friends?
Dan, yeah…you are an elder statesman on last.fm, given your date of joining and the number of tracks. I bow in your general direction.