What a fantastic medium for trying out new music.
These are my favorite shows for discovering new and new-to-me music, or re-discovering old favorites.
Each show title links to the show site and to the Apple Podcasts page.
Devendra Banhart recentlypulled out some deep cuts, some of which you wont find on Spotify or even YouTube.
Ive already ordered the original Slapp Happy version of Blue-Eyed Williamon vinyl.
The hosts have that classic NPR air of intelligent affability and a discerning but wide-ranging taste.
On the site you’re free to play YouTube embeds of the songs from the show.
Youll also see more out-there recommendations, likeoperatic Japanese prog rock, in the Vikings Choice playlists.
Covers a wide range of jazz styles, subgenres, and eras.
Host Ken Laster loves to find a particularly good version of a jazz standard.
Seetrack listson the blog.
Carnival Mix (Apple)
Wall-to-wall upbeat Caribbean songs.
Good for a party background.
Bamf Radio - Lofi and Chill(Apple)
Wall-to-wall chillhop with no vocals or interruptions.
Mixes mostly hit around 45 minutes, sometimes longer, and make great quiet background music.
Its a commodified genre, this subgenre of chill known as lo-fi hip-hop chillhop anime beats to work/relax/study to.
But that sound is good.
Bamfs albumDreamingis on all the usual streamers, including a full-album YouTube video with the required peaceful anime art.
Well it really is an old guy playing records.
If youve followed public radio over the last two decades, youve noticed the programming get less western-centric.
(Try, for example,The OG by A Tribe Called Red.)
If you dont have the bandwidth for the fullMusic That Mattersmix, this is an excellent sampling.
Heres the single plucked out of Indigenous Peoples Day.
And thats a great way to learn about an old song.
They keepa running Spotify playlist, with 255 unimpeachable tracks from all kinds of genre and era.
The site includes playlists of these deep cuts and forgotten tracks.
Every track smells like a roadside bar with pool tables, Michelob signs, and peanuts on the floor.
You know I bought it.
A Twilight World of Ultimate Smoothness(Apple)
Six-episode audio drama miniseries with frequent music.
Twilight Worldtakes place inside a fictitious radio broadcast of a sexy late-night show with a hilariously unsexy host.
Blue Jam
90s music interspersed with bizarre, disturbing comedy sketches.
It came on at midnight, although Morris really wanted it to air at 3 a.m.
While the sketches were sometimes horrific or offensiveone episode wastaken off the air mid-broadcastthe music wasnt.
Listen to this bootleg feed to remember or discover some great 90s alternative.
I am ready as always to hear about the hundred excellent shows I missed.
