Music can be a lot like food: one actively seeks out the music they already enjoy just like they only prepare or buy the food they already enjoy. Its easy, its fun, its fast, and the pay-off is always positve, since you know exactly what you are getting into before you even dig in/put on the headphones.

But I was never like that. In fact, I have always prided myself in being the guy who discovers the next amazing band. My friends would always ask me "Whats the skinny this week?" when I had my headphones on, hoping I would turn them on to a new band they had never heard. I was a hunter of music: following the trail of MP3's and local concerts and pouncing on my prey with a furious vigor. I have no problem bragging about the various times I saw bands live before they got big(or at least big within the circles of music they played), because it was all done with purpose. I wanted to be that guy, and I didn't care if people found me arrogant or pretentious: I was a music aficionado, and damn proud of it.

But a few years ago, something happened. Something that for fan of the artform of music is bound to happen: I grew annoyed and a bit bored with the whole process. No longer did I find joy in scouring message boards, local record stores, or internet radio for a new and exciting artist. Instead of going through all the effort, I merely went back to the albums I knew I already loved. Bjork's Vespertine, Decrepit Birth's ...And Time Begins, Cannibal Corpse's Vile, Iron and Wine's Our Endless Numbered Days and The Dillinger Escape Plan's Miss Machine went through my ears again and again and again. I felt safe and warm in the embrace of these records, like nothing outside of them was worth my time or energy. Why bother? I have all that I need right here. I grew fat, complacent and happy.

And why not? I worked hard to discover so many bands, and from time to time, it became more of a problem then a positive. This is one of the major difficulties of discovering new music all the time: are you really taking the time to apreciate the music you just discovered, or are you already onto the next thing, leaving the bands and genres you loved just a few days ago behind in the dust. I will openly admit to being gulity of this offfense: the hunt was more important to me then the prey on more than one occasion. Its not something I am proud of, but it happened. I considered my sudden lack of interest in musical discovery my mind telling me to slow down and enjoy the music you love now. And thats exactly what I did. For several years.

Fast forward to 2010, and music, which at one point had been the biggest thing in my life, had gone on the back burner. My band had just broken up, football(American) was my current obsession and video games were taking up my entire entertainment budget(no, I do not steal music). I quit listening to even the records and artists I had loved so much only years before. I had come to the second difficulty of discovering new music: extreme bordem. Even with things very important to ones self, bordem is a very real possibility. Things you loved no longer hold the same power over you, and they become more like dissapointing reminders of the person you used to be as opposed to the entertainment one expects. For a short time, I gave up on music completely: I truly believed that the part of myself that craved music was gone, and that trying to bring it back was pointless.

Then I read an article in a local rag(newspaper, for the slang defeciant), in which the writer claimed to be suffering from the same distinct symptoms on musical boredem that I felt. He too had grown too comfotable with the music he alread loved, quit activley looking for new music, and eventually became bored with the albums he loved. So this writer challenged himself to a test, one which I found very inspiring.

This writer challenged himself to the "Nothing Not New" test: for the rest of the year, he would only listen to bands and artisits that he had never heard of/never listended to before. He even went so far as to only listen to albums that had been released in 2010. Upon reading this article, I found myself inspired to follow a similar path. I decided I would still listen to the music I already loved and would force myself to sit and reaccuaint myself with it. I also decided that I would listen to albums made before 2010. The most important part of the challenge however was the concept that I would activily seek out new music. That is exactly what I did, and the results are nothing more than amazing.

I did run into the third major difficulty of discovering new music: dissapointment. This can be the most difficult to overcome, and with good reason. You hear all these positive things about a band or artists, only to discover upon buying a record that the music is not for you. It can be a crushing experience, and one that may turn a listener off to musical discovery. Listening to a record one owns does not got money, time or energy.

However, nothing can compare to the joy that one feels when they discover new music. Its a feeling of not only victory but of anticipation: victory in the knowledge your hunt has paid off and anticipation of a new, bright future with the band or artisit you have discovered. Its a special moment for any music fan.

So listed below are a few tips that will make musical discovery both easier and cheaper. I follow this statement with a disclaimer: no where in this blog have I endorsed or condoned illegally downloading music. Remember: the vast majority of musicians do not make much money, and just because a few do does not mean stealing copy-writed music is right.

1. Listen To Your Friends/Interent Friends: Just because you are not the first person to discover a band does not mean the act of discovery is cheapended in anyway. Just hours before I wrote this blog, a memeber of the OT board on this very website turned me on to Midori, a Japansese Jazzcore band. I have no problem not being the very first guy to hear about a band, and yet I still get to enjoy the process of discovery.

2. Purposley Go Outside Your Favorite Genre: My favorite genres of all time are Death Metal and Grindcore. Yet in my pursuit of new music, I grew slightly bored with these genres. What did I do? I picked a genre of music I didn't like, in this case rap and hip hop, and listended to as many artists as I could. I fell in love with artists like Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest and Black Star. From there, I went to folk music to pop music to ****cal music to jazz music. Most recently, I have developed a great love for country music. And when I went back to Death Metal and Grindcore, I had a new apreciation for the music, mainly becasue I took a break from it.

3. The Interent Can Be A Powerful Tool Without Stealing: Notice something about the links I posted? They are all YouTube. YouTube is a great tool for listening to new artists without stealing the music: you get to try out a band or artist without buying the music first. If you really enjoy the music, you can buy the record later without the dissapointment of buying a record from an artist you don't like. Last.fm is also a powerful tool, one that will also provide a list of similar artists to ones you already like to check out.

I would pray that every music fan out there change their complacent ways and actively seek out new music. It is not only good for the seeker, but it is good for music as an artform.