For many music fans, actually sitting down to actively find their new favorites can prove to be daunting, especially for, let's call them "the technologically challenged."
LISTEN NOW: Search Engine | How do I find new music when I’m old and irrelevant?
While Audacy has hundreds of over-the-air and exclusive stations for all listening types -- Hip-Hop, Classic Hits, EDM, Country, Rock, Alternative, today's Pop, as well as podcasts, and so much more all streaming free 24/7 -- this week, the Search Engine podcast enlists a very overqualified person to act as a guide, writer Kelefa Sanneh, author of Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres.
Kelefa listens to more music than practically anyone on earth, that's why he's the perfect expert to break down how anyone out there can get out of their musical ruts and find something new when they feel like their ears have seized and rusted.
"Various studies have shown that people's peak of new music exploration came around the age of around 24," Kelefa explains, "and by the age of 33 or so people basically stopped discovering new music regularly and for the rest of their life ended up listening to the stuff they listened to in high school and college."
"My musical consumption is a little bit unusual because ever since the '90s I've spent a good portion of my waking hours trying to find new music," he says. In turn, that means his friends "are more likely to turn up their nose at what I listen to than I am to turn up my nose at what they listen to," he admits.
One easy way he's found his way into new music -- rather than scouring the globe as he is known to do -- is by talking with those around him. When Kelefa finds someone who is into music he's not familiar with, asking a million questions, and learning as much about "how a different corner of the musical world works, and about how they think about music," is a great start. "That's gonna be fascinating to me," he says.
Listen to the full episode with Kelefa Sanneh on Search Engine -- now streaming on Audacy -- where no question is too big, no question too small. Host PJ Vogt answers the kinds of questions you might ask the internet when you can't sleep. If you find the world bewildering, but also sometimes enjoy being bewildered by it, we're here for you. New episodes every Friday.
Browse and follow more of Audacy's all-new stations like Greatest Guitarists, Greatest Drummers, Classic 70s, 80s Guitar, Rock N’ Road, Freedom Rock, The Canyon, Arena Rock, Wake Up and Rock, and The Roots of Rock for those who crave the early days.
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