How I Find New Music

As previous blog posts will indicate, I am due to run the bejayzuz out of the NYC Marathon next week. A big onset affect of this 26.2 mile sized commitment, is the increasing amount of “nights in” I am having at the weekends… and during the week, if truth be told.

I do miss that aspect of my social life, but when one door closes…..

Something I have ALWAYS been massively short of since moving to London - is some good, old-fashioned ‘Me Time’. This city is manic, and to add, I happen to have quite a demanding job and a fair amount of other commitments to keep me busy, so it can be quite tricky to find the down-time.

Amongst other things, I’ve used quite a portion of my newfound spare time to sort my mammoth music collection out – God knows it needed a clean-up. I’ve also been adding to it, and have been lucky enough to uncover some of the best music I’ve listened to in a while…. And just when I was losing faith in the music industry.

Perhaps it because I am steering clear of just that – the Industry. Well, at least what it has become.

Personally, I have absolutely NO method for finding new music. It always seems to happen unintentionally. In saying that, there are definitely a few ways to go about the tune-hunt.

Lastfm.com searches work a treat  -  By using the ‘similar to’ tool you can search for new music via artists you’re already into. I highly recommend this to anyone who knows what they like and are keen to find more of it.

Friend benefits – No… Not THAT type of friend benefit. I am lucky enough to have a fair few palzos with awesome taste in music. I’ll always check in with the inner-circle to see if there’s anything on their radar that may have missed mine. Music is one of my favourite topics to chin-wag about with friends. I could literally do it all day long.

Gigs – Self-explanatory… Or is it? It’s one thing going to a gig if it is to see an artist/band you are familiar with and a fan of. It is a totally different thing to head along to one where you might not be so accustomed. This, is one of my favourite things to do, especially here in Londink. Doesn’t have to cost much, as usually you’re heading to the lower profile gigs, where it tends to be anything from a £3 to £10 door fee. Best ways to find out about these gigs? Get to know the venues that are home to them. Keep an eye on their events calendar. Follow them on Twitter. 1 + 1 = 2, would you believe.

Twitter – This is a no-brainer. Follow artists you like, music publications and industry bloggers, decent radio DJs and the stations they frequent… XFM and a fair few of their jockeys (Maryanne Hobbs is noteworthy) get my vote here in the UK, but there are also some random smaller stations based across the pond in America – the further south, the better. Some of the unplugged sessions I’ve come across from checking these fellas out, are ridiculous.

TV Shows – I’m not ashamed to admit, that some of my favourite bands have been introduced to me via TV shows like the OC, Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill……. Most shows will have a dedicated site that lists all music played in each episode. Easy-peasy.

SoundCloud – Most people I know are under the impression that SoundCloud just caters for those on the music performing/producing side of the music world. Now, I may never record my own song and put it up on SoundCloud for all to see. But, I still have an account, and I love snooping around other profiles to see if I can find any random winners.

YouTube - I use YouTube a fair bit, to compile playlists and... you guessed it, search. I can't count how many times I've come across new music, simply from checking out the videos listed in the tab on the right of the video i've initially been searching for. Always seem to find some awesome little recordings of the song I may have been searching for in the first instance. A perfect example of this - only days ago, I was looking up some Tom Petty, and came across an excellent cover version of 'I Won't Back Down', by a chap called Benjamin Leftwich. 

It's late, and I have a marathon to run in a matter of days, so sleep is (supposed to be) my best friend at the moment. It's a bit of a forced friendship, but we're making it work.

Bee

One week and counting

One week to go until Marathon Day....

I have one week to go until I take to the streets of New York City and run my slightly shrunken ghetto booty through 26.2 miles of it’s beautiful, bustling streets. As I enter the “rest period” of my training, the level of excitement continues to grow, along with the level of “shittingmyselfness”.

I guess, at this point I have done all that I can do in terms of preparation – the only thing to focus on between now and run day is resting up, carb-loading (gotta be careful on that one… HashtagSnort) and packing! I am actually finding the resting part trickier than I, or any normal person for that matter, would have anticipated. I guess, when your body is very used to being active for a larger % of the week, it is hard to come down from that.

I did a six-mile run today, and it felt too short. I guess that’s a good thing, right?

I hop on the old familiar early morning Delta flight to JFK on Thursday, which means I have three days in the large apfel before run day – November 4^th – to revisit some of my favourite NY running routes, 75% of which, involve Central Park. I adore the reservoir lap, and cannot wait to do a couple of early morning rounds there.

I say now, 1 week BEFORE the epic legathon, that I’ll do a fair bit of running afterward. I have a whole week to spend in the City before heading back to Londing. If I put my realist helmet on (god, it’s heavy, and it makes me look fat), I can’t help but think that the only running I’ll be doing that week, is to and from the bar of the many, many, MANY pubs I plan on getting rather merry in with buddies and family from NY. I am massively looking forward to catching up with everyone over there. The big bonus? My mum and sister are also coming over for the duration, to be my personal cheerleaders… OK, maybe there’s more reasoning to their trip than to simply shake their pom-poms for Becca on November 4^th, but still. I feel loved. I am so, so chuffed that they’ll be here. There'll be quite a bunch of us actually... Between all the family and friends I have living over there, and the family coming from Ireland for myself and Aoife..... Yep, I feel loved.

I am running the Marathon with my cousin, the aforementioned Aoife, my Uncle John (lives in Manhattan with my Aunt and three awesome little cousins), and a heap of other people I’ve not yet met – all associated in some way, with the IDEAL School, the foundation of which I am raising money for. When I say “running the Marathon with”, that basically means we will start out together but I plan on being a lone ranger for 99.5% of the route.

The whole training experience has been quite rewarding. I am certainly at my fitness peak, I don’t think I’ve ever felt healthier. But it is true what they say – “What is good for the body is good for the mind”, and my mind feels..... minded?

B