MySpace Music

Most of us who use MySpace have something of a love/hate relationship with it. Let's be honest, I find it damn useful.  Whether for tracking down friends, keeping up to date, or sending annoying bulletins (about important events, NOT pointless surveys), it's pretty handy.  Oh yeah, and for pretending you're an internet sleuth, aka being a total voyeur.  On the other hand, the code is complete shit, the whorebots are annoying as hell, and as soon as people start using MySpace they seem to lose about 30 IQ points.

Still, one thing I like about MySpace is the music scene, and that makes sense because that's how MySpace got its start.  If I hear a random band, I can find out who it is, and then chances are I can find it on MySpace and listen to a few songs.  Sure, some bands have websites; some of those websites have streaming audio; some even have videos.  But MySpace is a one-stop shop, and you don't have to click through quite as many splash pages with annoying if artsy flash designs to get to the music.  Plus, MySpace just restructured the music search engine, making it a bit easier to find the stuff you're looking for.

That said, here are a few bands I've discovered through MySpace.

The Jetsons proclaim themselves as "retro dance rock from the future", which is probably pretty accurate.  Their tunes are jangly, annoyingly catchy, and instrumentally tight.  Jules Jetson also has one of the best singing voices, ever, at least for this kind of music though I could see her doing well pretty much anywhere.  I should probably mention that in a complicated fashion I'm sort of related to Jake Jetson, and that we used to play Magic together a lot back in '98.  Aside from that, though, the music is great, and I'm really excited that they seem to be getting noticed and really going places with their music.  If you like them, be sure to swing over to their NME music page and drop them a vote.

June Madrona is a local Olympia band that focus mostly on folky instrumentation and heart-wrenching ballads, i.e. very pretty songs.  They're signed with Bicycle Records, a local indie label on the rise, and have one album available to purchase with a second one on the way, eventually.  Ross Cowman, who does guitar and vocals for June Madrona, has a solo album available as well, which is certainly worth checking out.  I ordered both albums from the Bicycle website and was surprised when Ross knocked on my door and delivered them personally (since he had been riding by on his bike), and then we ended up hanging out and chatting for a couple hours.  They play live a lot, so if you enjoy their music, it's easy to catch a show.

Changing gears a bit, Bitter:Sweet is a poppy trip-hop group that sounds like it should have done the soundtrack for the No One Lives Forever line of video games.  They're already popular, and not local, so I don't feel as much like I might be turning you on to a "hidden gem", but they still sound absolutely fantastic, and if you like trip-hop (and even if you think you don't), you should definately check them out.

Zofka is also described as sounding "futuristic and retro at the same time".  Is there a specific genre for this sort of thing?  Neo-retro?  If not, perhaps there should be, because it seems to be music that I enjoy.  In any case, they sent me a friend request out of the blue the other day, and I've been enjoying their sound.  Sometimes it's nice when bands can find you; another MySpace perk.

Last but not least, I heard a band called Smoke City whilst perusing a surf/board shop in Friday Harbor this last weekend, and I had to ask the salesdude who was playing.   The song playing was probably their most popular at the moment, Underwater Love, and I made sure to remember the band's name for the rest of the weekend until I got home and could check them out. Underwater Love really enchants me, and the rest of their music is top-notch as well.  I've only recently realized that I'm a fan of trip-hop, and now find I may be a fan of nu-jazz as well.  Having expansive musical taste is exhausting.

But I couldn't live without it.