Wishing

Ahhh...relief! It's done and if I say so myself, it turned out pretty good! I was very pleased with the way my final product turned out. I think it is pleasing to the eye which, as a very graphical person is important to me. I think the links are fairly easy to use and hopefully everyone will be able to listen to the songs. The only downside of the links is that I was not able to access the full song for the two I found on iTunes. So I linked to the Amazon site where at least users can hear a brief 30 seconds of the song. I felt that it was important to include comments from critics. Although I am a huge music fan, I am not by any means a music critic. As I said in an earlier post, I know what I like when I hear it. However, I don't always know enough about music to understand WHY I like a certain song or don't like another. I tried my best to explain why I liked the songs I picked and my favorite aspects of them. If I had presented this project in person, these are the comments I simply would have spoken aloud while playing the songs to my classmates.

I have to admit that I found working through the 8 W's very helpful. As someone who has done research for what feels like a loooong time, I was skeptical of how much a model would help me. But I was pleasantly surprised how helpful it was for me to write out an outline, to reflect back on what problem I was trying to solve and to evaluate my resources. I thought my research went fairly smoothly...I had a clear understanding of when a resource was going to work and when it wasn't. This was a new type of research for me because most of my sources were websites. I'm more accustomed to using databases, books and magazine articles. Somehow I was afraid my sources would be less credible, but I feel they were the best types of resources for my very current topic.

Most importantly for me was that at the end of the project, I was truly left with some valuable information that I will further pursue after today! I will continue to use some of the resources I found. I will go out a buy a couple of new CD's and enjoy the new artists' music I found. I will continue to follow these artists and hope that they continue to produce music that I enjoy.

One of my favorite aspects of this project is that we were not told what our final product had to be. I loved that concept! I was able to create a final product that worked best for my information. If I had been told to turn in a 25o word essay on my subject, I would not have enjoyed the process as much and quite frankly would not have learned as much. I think this is an important part of learning I will try to carry over into my teaching. On the negative side, I think I waited too long in the process to decided exactly what my final product would be. I had to go back to the webbing phase several times to research more information. Next time, I will try to define my final product sooner.

Below are the standards this project would fulfill:

AASL ILS:

Standard 1 - The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively: Throughout this project located the resources I needed and was able to find information to answer my questions. I found the information in a succint and timely manner.

Standard 2 - The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently: I was able to critically look at all of my sources and decided which ones were applicable to my subject matter.

Standard 3 - The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively: I was able to use my information very creatively. Many of my resources were independent sites with a great amount of creative flair. I felt that I used the resources to the best of their ability and reflected the information in an accurate manner.

Standard 4 - The student who is an independent learner is information literate and pursues information related to personal interests: This entire project was based on my personal interest in music.

Standard 5 - The student who is an independent learner is information literate and appreciates literature and other creative forms of expression: Obviously, to conduct a research project about music, one must appreciate creative forms of expression.

Standard 6 - The student who is an independent learner is information literate and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation: I felt that I did strive for excellence on this project. I was/am very proud of my final product and happy with the entire research process.


Music Standards that could be applied to this project:

4.9.2 Discuss likes and dislikes using familiar terms
4.9.3 Evaluate musical works and performances using a class-written rubric or another evaluation tool
5.6.2 Discuss similarities and differences between music of various styles and cultures.
5.6.4 Identify the sounds of percussion instruments and adult soprano and alto voices.
5.9.2 Use appropriate terms to explain your preferences for musical works and styles.

I think there are many ways this project could be approached by students of all ages. Music appreciation is a concept that can be applied and taught to all grades. Younger children could focus on identifying the sounds of different instruments and discussing why they like certain ones better than others. Seniors in high school can provide examples of music they like and discuss why they enjoy listening to it. There are many avenues this type of project could explore in an educational environment. I think kids of all ages would enjoy listening to music, critiquing it and learning about new possibilities.

Additional Wrapping Thoughts

As I began to create my final product, I thought of two more ideas for organizing my information:

1. How to list the songs? Alphabetically? By preference? Artist's last name? I decided to list alphabetically by song title. It would be too difficult for me to rate them by preference and alpha order by artist last name would be difficult because some songs are by a band.
2. I think rather than linking to various sites to listen to the songs, I will try to link all songs to a Amazon. This kills three birds with one stone...allows users to listen to the individual song, read information about buying the CD, and browse other songs on the CD. My only concern with this is that some of the songs I selected may not have been released on a CD yet. For those songs, I will simply link to the site where I listened to the song.

Okay, back to the final product...

Final Project

Angie Woodson's Top Ten New Songs

Break Your Mama's Back by Slow Runner

(for purchasing information, click here)

"Slow Runner sound like Ben Folds stripped of his most egregious smartass tendencies and filtered through a post-Postal Service sepia-toned lens of electronic blips and gurgles and teen drama-friendly swells. Their best song, "Break Your Mama's Back," is lean, tight and catchy, and has been featured on "Grey's Anatomy." - www.salon.com

*I like the upbeat tempo of this song. It makes me want to tap my feet or get up and dance. I also enjoy the techno sounds at the beginning of each verse. What a fun song!

Funny Little Frog by Belle & Sebastian

(This song is listed along the left side of the Salon.com webpage underneath February 15, 2006. For purchasing information click here)

"Life has gotten easier, it seems, since Belle and Sebastian's early days. To boot, since 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, the Belle cast has indulged a more 70s-era set of influences. No worries, Belle and Sebastian retain their gleam flawlessly. A jaunty lift is still in their step, a carefree abandon that charms even as it also reaches to the 70s for the funk-meets-psychedelia. It's bright and breezy throughout (the titles tell some of the story: "Another Sunny Day" and "Funny Little Frog"), with memorably decorous, familiar bouncing rhythms marking much of the album." --Andrew Bartlett - www.amazon.com

*Initially I had to listen to this song simply because of its title. My very first impression of their sound was they were a little too pop for me. But I have to admit that the chorus is SO catchy. This is another fun song that makes you bop your head and smile.

Get Some by 2Me

"From their humble beginnings in the coffee shops of Sacramento, the guys in 2Me have begun building a name for themselves as a band that can charm a candlelit audience just as easily as they can rock a bar full of weekend drinkers. 2Me released their second album “Schizophrenic Love Songs” to a packed house in January 2006, and will be embarking on a national tour in June. Their unique blend of acoustic rock, blues, and folk – a style they affectionately refer to as Powerlounge – is sure to put a smile on your face and a wiggle in your hips. Enjoy!" - www.myspace.com

*This is my FAVORITE of all the songs I found. I love the bass at the beginning. I kept thinking they reminded me of another band...especially the way the lead singer sounds. Then it dawned on me, they are very reminiscent of Phish - and I'm really not a big Phish fan. However, they have less instrumental than Phish and I just think they have a great sound. I would have listed every one of their songs, but didn't think that would be very fair. I will probably buy their CD and I wish them lots of success.

Getting it Together by Tommy Guerrero

"Guerrero’s previous albums - Loose Grooves and Bastard Blues, and A Little Bit of Somethin’, have both become must-have releases. Upon its release in 2000, the latter was described as "a super-horizontal, wiped-out slab of lo-fidelity instrumental rock" by The Face, with Jockey Slut claiming, "Tommy excels with his soulfully melodic, acoustic lo-fi folk fables." More recently, Tommy’s Another Late Night mix (on the Azuli label) has raised awareness, and subsequently won over more fans, with Esquire Magazine pointing out "don't worry if you haven't got a clue who Tommy Guerrero is...simply accept that he has excellent taste. This is simmering."' - www.betterpropaganda.com

*I like this song mainly for its rhythm - I think it has a great beat. I also like the muffled sound of Guerrero's voice and the melodic instrumental. Overall, a nice sounding song.

High by James Blunt

"As a piece of propaganda, James Blunt’s album Back to Bedlam does more for changing the face of the British Army than a series of television adverts ever could. Swapping a rifle for a guitar, the former cavalryman’s ballad-heavy debut is a clearly aiming to win the battle for the public’s hearts and minds. Blunt also sings with conviction about matters of the heart, and that’s the territory that most of Back to Bedlam visits, with songs of loss like "Goodbye My Lover", "So Long Jimmy" and "Billy". And throughout, the arrangements remain understated yet effective, thanks to the input of such heavyweight producers and songwriters like Linda Perry and Guy Chambers. All of which prove that there’s a lot of depth to this modern, musical hero." --Robert Burrow - www.amazon.com

* I love Blunt's falsetto voice. His music is so sweet and so sad. Very relaxing and great music to wind down to at the end of the day. His is another CD I will probably purchase.

Red Moon by David Gray

"...the songs here reflect a resilient yet fading sense of hope. Most of them are short, stripped-down to their bare acoustic necessities and brimming with familiar themes of resignation, or a love just out of reach. "I'm getting tired of being denied, of things getting in my way, and if I'm quiet, that's 'cause there's nothing left to say," Gray sings on "Red Moon," his raspy-voiced cadence crying out over rough, indelicate guitar chords. Part of what makes Gray's musical voice so interesting is the way these words come out, vowels and consonants all chewed up and spit out, direct and deliberate, yet expressed with a cavalier matter-of-factness. It makes his work seem personal and individual, even when the sentiments he expresses are unabashedly accessible and universal."--Matthew Cooke - www.amazon.com

* I have been a long time fan of David Gray. This song highlights his unique voice and as the review says, it is very bare. This is a great way to focus on Gray's melodies while keeping the music simple.


Sepia Toned by 3 am Drift

(3 am Drift will be releasing their first CD at the end of February 2006)

"Good Day World, we are 3am Drift. 3am Drift is a band consisting of Brandon Eastlack and Ryan La Motte. The band is roughly 3 years old now and booming. From Brandon's soothing and pure voice, to Ryan's eclectic and melodic guitar, 3am Drift has it all." - 3am Drift - www.myspace.com

*This is another song that is very relaxing to me. The melody of the chorus and the way the lead singer's voice carries it is just beautiful. The instruments and voice blend very nicely into a sweet, sad song.

Something Less Than Something More by Caitlin Cary

"The subtle shades of Caitlin Cary's rich alto find an engaging match in the yearning strains of Thad Cockrell's reedy tenor. As solo artists within the closely-knit Carolina alt-country community, the two have harmonized together before, but this album-length collaboration finds them writing most of the material together and trading vocals on each song. Mainly, however, these duets extend the classic country tradition, the musical conversations between a man and a woman about what went wrong and how to try to make it right. Though Cary has proven herself a stellar harmony singer from her formative years in Whiskeytown through her recent work as one of Tres Chicas, here she shows the vocal artistry to command the spotlight and the generosity of spirit to share it." --Don McLeese - www.amazon.com

*I love the earthy sound of Cary's voice and the country beat of the song. This one reminds me of being little and listening to country music with my Dad. The song is just folksy enough without too much country twang.

Suddenly I See by KT Turistall

"If the art of the female singer-songwriter revolves around coffee-table soliloquies then Eye to the Telescope--the debut album from Edinburgh-born chanteuse/guitarist KT Tunstall--is a pleasing mediation between the traditional demands of brooding egocentricity (espresso) and frothy commerciality (cappuccino). KT Tunstall has star quality. However, Tunstall isn't entirely convinced by the compromise ("I'm struggling to cater for the space I'm meant to fill" she sings) and "Miniature Disasters"--one of several strong numbers showcasing her aptitude for wrapping up pop tunes in either folky bluesiness or ponderous jazz--catalogues her desires for unfettered self-expression. The opening cut "Other Side Of The World" might sound like Dido without the giftwrapped grief (she's none too flattered with the comparisons) but Eye to the Telescope is spiritually closer to Carole King and Elvis Costello than Katie Melua. And that's no bad thing." --Kevin Maidment - www.amazon.com

*This song borders on pop at the beginning and the echo is a little annoying to me. But Turistall makes up for it with her guitar strumming and grainy voice. She needs to lose the voice track and just sing. Her voice is strong enough to carry the song alone.

Written All Over Me by Joel Plaskett

"This could be mistaken for big dumb-ass rock, if it wasn't for the airiness, the s p a c e, between the instruments, the tasty playing of Joel Plaskett on guitar, and his clear voice. He sounds like he loves to sing and if I could (sing that is), I would want to sing this too. No, there's nothing new here, just straight up blues-based rock that can, if you let it, get you singing as well. He's kind of like an oversized, decaffeinatted, more mellow, Ted Leo... Leo without the bite and punk roots." Alan Williamson - www.betterpropaganda.com

*What first attracted me to this song was the guitar at the beginning. The classic rock sound and Plaskett's druggy vibrato make for a great sound. This is a good one to blare in the car on a sunny day.

Wrapping

For the first time in a long time, I am finding that my presentation of this information would be easier and more effective in a non-virtual environment. I am usually happy to turn in projects electronically but I can't help wish I could do this one in person. It would be so nice to have my top ten songs on a CD. I could play each song for the class and keep it playing in the background while I discuss the artist. However, for the purposes of this assignment, I will just have to adapt. I had considered paying .99 for each of my ten songs to download the mp3's from iTunes, but after talking with Annette, have decided to just provide a link to a webpage where the song can be played. I think the information will be best displayed in my blog so I will probably create a post that simply says Final Project and list my top ten songs with links and brief artist information. I will probably also include some personal musings about why I chose the particular song and what I like about the artist. I would like to also include some type of graphic...either a picture of the artist or a CD cover. I've noticed that moving images and the placement of images in blogger do not always turn out exactly the way I want...so we'll see how that goes.

After glancing through Annette's explanatin of the wrapping phase, I am going to target my audience as members of this class. For my final product plan, I've decided to make a quick outline to make sure that I don't leave anything out. As one of my classmates pointed out...I love lists and they help me keep my thoughts straight. So, here is the template I will follow to produce my final product:

I. Project Title

A. Song #1 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

B. Song #2 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

C. Song #3 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

D. Song #4 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

E. Song #5 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

F. Song #6 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

G. Song #7 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

H. Song #8 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

I. Song #9 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

J. Song #10 (with link to website where song can be heard)
1. Artist Information
2. CD Information (with link where CD can be purchased)
3. Why song was chosen
4. Graphic

Okay! Now I think I am ready to plug in the information and publish my final product! Yay!!

Weaving

As I embark on this phase of my research, I must begin to look toward what I want my final product to be. I have to know this in order to know how I will begin to weave my information. I have considered three options for my final product:

1. A list of my favorite ten songs I discovered through my research. I like this option because it gets right to the heart of what this project was all about - music! Ideally I would create a CD, but for the purpose of this assignment, it would simply be a list of links to the songs.
2. A list with biographical information about my favorite ten artists I discovered during my research. This final product could be a little denser, including artist information, a sample song and a list of CD's they have produced.
3. A list of online resources that would assist consumers in finding new music and artists in a timely fashion. This is the most straightforward of my choices and would most directly answer my research question.

Upon reviewing my choices, I think I will combine options 1 and 2. I will make a list of my top ten favorite songs with brief information about the artist and where their CD can be published (if they have recorded one). Although option 3 is a more direct way of answering my research question, I think combining options 1 and 2 will be the best way to synthesize the information I have gathered. I also think it will be a more exciting product as opposed to simply an annotated list of links. Okay, so let's begin weaving the information I have gathered into this final project...

First, I need to organize which resources I will utilize in compiling my final project. Glancing back at my wiggling post, I think the following resources will be the most effective:

• iTUnes
• MySpace
• VH1
• Better Propaganda
• Salon

Since I want my final project to be a list of ten songs and I have five resources, I think I will try to find two songs from each resource. Below is a brief explanation of how I used these tools to weave together my information:

iTunes - I clicked on the Music Store, then browse, selected Folk as my genre and new acoustic as my sub genre. Then, I began clicking and listening! I discovered two negatives to this resource that I had not considered before - first, there is no blurb about the type of music the artist plays. The only information given is the sub-genre they are listed under which is often times very subjective. Secondly, iTunes only allows its users to listen to 30 seconds of a song before they purchase it. Sometimes, this is not enought time to judge whether you like an artist or not. However, after much browsing and listening, my favorite two songs I found from this resource were: "Something Less Than Something More" by Caitlin Cary and "Red Moon" by David Gray. Although David Gray is not a new artist to me, I had never heard this particular song or this particular album. Since no biographical information is provided on the iTunes site, I will need to do some separate research for this information.

MySpace - Through their search engine I selected the 'sounds like' option and entered the key term Jack Johnson. 2Me was a group I had discovered on a previous visit to this site and I REALLY like them. I think they have a great sound. So I chose their song "Get Some." The other song I selected was "Sepia Toned" by a group called 3am Drift. The lead singer has a touchingly emotional voice - love the song. As I said earlier, this is the site where I found the most music I liked and the most raw music - not overly produced (some not produced at all) and just genuinely original music.

VH1 - On their You Oughta Know section I selected KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See." She has a great voice and sounds great with just her and her guitar. I also chose James Blunt's "High." I had heard his song "Beautiful" before but was not aware of his name and had never heard any of his other music. He has a nice British sound to his music...very relaxing and soft.

Better Propaganda - On this site I used their search tool and typed in the keyword 'acoustic.' From this site I chose Tommy Guerrero's "Getting It Together" and Joel Plaskett's "Written All Over Me." In my original wiggling post, I commented that this site was difficult to navigate. I found this to still be true and would say it is the least effective of the five resources I chose to use.

Salon - After visiting Better Propaganda, I appreciated the simplicity of this site. I chose the current days pick from my last visit to the site which was Slow Runner's "Break Your Mama's Back" and the pick from February 16, Belle and Sebastian's "Funny Little Frog."

As Annette suggests in her weaving section, I decided to compare my resources. VH1 was by far my favorite because it was the most concise and had the most information. There were seven artists listed with enough information given on the initial page to decide if it was worth further pursuit. MySpace had the most music that I liked and they had a decent search engine. I enjoyed being able to search by other music that I enjoyed. I mentioned in an earlier post wanting to find a resource that would help me find artist x, if I also liked artists y and z. This resource came the closest to fitting that bill. iTunes largest drawback was the limited amount of time consumers are allowed to listen to a song. I enjoyed the speed and organization of this resource, but feel that it is very limited by its lack of detailed information and lenght of songs. Salon and Better Propaganda are both somewhat cumbersome tools, but in different ways. Better Propaganda is just poorly organized for the purposes of this project. However, if a consumer knows that they like either hip-hop, rock or electronic, then it is fairly easy to browse new music. Unfortunately, acoustic folk does not fall neatly into one of those categories, so I had some difficulty readily finding artists that I like. As I said earlier, Salon is a great resource to use daily. It is quick and succinct. One song each day with a short paragraph talking about the artist. However browsing the archives is a little tedious. You must be a registered member of the site to read previous articles and I found that the songs took some time to download. It was also a blind gamble selecting songs since I chose not to register for the site and was therefore unable to view the articles.

During this process I was able to pull out the individual strands needed to begin weaving this project together. I am eager to begin the Wrapping phase...

Wiggling

I did some of my wiggling while I was webbing. I think that is only natural to do...while you finding information it is hard not to evaluate it simultaneously. Although much of the information I found was good, quality information, it was not necessarily pertinent to THIS project. I think sometimes students might get into trouble with that aspect. With lots of information it is easy to sometimes lose focus of what questions you were trying to answer in the first place. So to make sure I am staying on track, I decided to review the original questions I wanted to answer with this project.

Looking back, I see that I did not state my questions very clearly. I did a better job of answering the questions Annette suggested under her Watching step. Since research is not strictly a linear process, I decided to review what I said during that posting, and pose questions from my statements. This is a perfect example of Jamie McKenzie's Research Cycle. His model focuses on, "actively revising and rethinking the research questions throughout the process." Below are the new questions I formed from my original comments made during the Watching phase:

What online resources are available to help someone discover new music and artists?
What types of online newsletters or list-servs are available to inform consumers about new music?
Are there any online radio stations that play only new music?

These are the issues I addressed in my original Watching posting. After having completed my research or webbing phase, I see I completely ignored the online radio station idea. One of my classmates mentioned that in one of his comments, but I still did not pursue this avenue. I decided to step back to the webbing phase and did a Google search using the keywords 'online radio.' I found a website called live365.com . It lists online radio stations by genre. As I began to consider which station to listen to, I realized that this tool is not the most time efficient way to find music.

As I was going through the webbing phase, I found that one important part of this project was to not only find online resources that assist me in finding new music, but as I mentioned in a previous post, these resources had to be time efficient! To discover new music through an online radio station would require hours of listening and then traveling to another website if I wanted to purchase or download a song. I decided that online radio stations are useful sources, but not for this particular phase. They simply do not meet the criteria of this project. So, after much rambling, I think the main question I want to answered with this project is, "What resources are available to assist consumers in findng new artists and new music in a timely fashion?" Yes! That's what I want to find...so let's wiggle through the information I have gathered and pull out some useful resouces! Below is a list of resources I found and my evaluation of them in regards to the framework of this project:

iTunes - Good information that can be quickly accessed. Software must be downloaded but it is free and relatively quick. Also provides quick access to buying music.
Amazon - Liked the Music You Should Hear Section. Quick way to browse through music recommended by favorite authors. Downside is not all recommended music is NEW. Not the best resource, but one worth browsing.
Online Newsletters - Information is not specific enough. Most come with general information about the music industry. Not effective enough and clogs up in-boxes.
MySpace - Like this one for its originality. Greatest positive is that there are LOTS of new artists who have definitely not broken into mainstream music. Negative is that there is a reason some of them have not broken into mainstream music! Also, there are lots of young artists...not many veterans. This site mostly consists of teen bands, but I have to admit, I found some of my favorite new music on this site. Overall, good information and a resource worth knowing about.
AllMusic - Just doesn't feature enough new artists. Is helpful in further exploring a certain genre (or mood), but not helpful in discovering new music.
VH1 - My favorite tool. I LOVED the new artist section. Well organized information and easily accessible.
MTV - Ugh. Need I say more? Too many commercials, too commercialized and not a lot of original or truely NEW music.
Billboard - Not a lot of opportunities to actually LISTEN to the new music. Although they had a new artist section, there were no quick, easy links to hear the music.
Rolling Stone - Mostly music news and not a lot of information about new artists. As I stated earlier, the actual magazine probably has more relevant information, but it is not a financial committment I am willing to make. Also, a magazine subscription does not quite meet the qualification for time efficiency.
Better Propaganda - A little difficult to navigate through the information, but the type of information was exactly what I was looking for. This site loses points for time efficiency, but is still worth the effort because the music featured is great!
Salon - Really liked the AudioFile segment of this site. It was quick and easy to listen to the music. Very nice that it is updated daily and has an archives that can be browsed.

In my next phase of weaving, I will begin to organize my ideas and move toward completing my final product...!

Webbing Continued...

Web searching...I was not too successful at this approach. I found that my topic is just a little too broad for Google and was given way too many sites to browse through. I tried doing a search for new music and came up with mostly consumer sites trying to sell me CD's. I tried searching with the keywords record label and found lots of websites trying to help artists get signed.

I then tried searching through Google groups. I began by browsing through the Arts and Entertainment groups. There were 535 groups. As I glanced through them, many were discussions on particular groups like Kiss, The Grateful Dead, and Phish. Others were about playing specific instruments (trumpet, accordian or drums). As this browsing was getting a little tiring and I was not really finding what I was looking for, I decided to use the Google search function. I typed in the key words 'acoustic music' because that is one of my favorite types of music. This narrowed my list to 28 groups.

Many were about playing acoustic guitars, recording acoustic music and acoustic guitars. I finally found a group that simply said 'Folk Music' and its description was: 'Folk music group! All about acoustic, roots, traditional and contemporary folk music.' Once I began reading some of the posts I found some to be unhelpful..."DVD Series Guitar Maestros features some of todays most celebrated and respected acoustic guitar musicians. Artists including Martin Simpson, Michael Messer, Big Jim Sullivan, Steve Tilston Wizz Jones and Clive Carroll, have each spent time in making their own individual DVD's. If you are a fan of Martin Simpson, Michael Messer, Steve Tilston, Wizz Jones, Big Jim Sullivan or Clive Carroll check out http://www.soundtechniques.co.uk/ for more information on this fantastic series. " First of all, I don't know who any of these artists are so I don't know if I would in turn like this music...it is a UK website so I don't know if the CD is available in the US, and thirdly, this sounds suspiciously like someone trying to sell me something. Some posts were just plain weird..."Russian music in the United States: Russian musicians, Russian songs, lyrics and translations into english, Russian orchestras and bands, Russian DJs, Russian music Alums and MP3 downloads, Russian musical instruments: balalaika, domra, bayan, garmoshka, gusli, Russian singers and performers: http://www.barynya.com/rm.stm" Uhhhh...what?! So this isn't the group for me, and come to think of it, reading through posts trying to find genuine recommendations for the type of music I like is just too time consuming. I decided that Google groups is not the best tool for this project.

I decided to continue my web search, but this time through recommendations I received from the local dj's I had e-mailed and from tips I received from peers through my blog. I checked out the following websites:

1. allmusic.com
2. vh1.com
3. mtv.com
4. billboard.com
5. rollingstone.com
6. betterpropaganda.com
7. salon.com

AllMusic - While scanning the first page of their website I noticed a link that would suscribe me to their New Release Newsletter. I subscribed and have so far only received a confirmation e-mail, but no newsletter. The site also has an interesting browse feature...you can browse by genre, mood, theme, country and instrument. First, I decided to explore by instrument. Under the 'strings' heading I chose guitar (acoustic). After clicking on the link, a page pops up with several paragraphs talking about the acoustic guitar, where it originated from and how it has evolved through time. Interesting, but not the information I'm looking for. After scrolling down, there is a list of artists. By random, I selected Robert Johnson (I've never heard of him before and he was the first on the list of about 20). There is no information provided on this screen other than the artist's name. After clicking on Robert Johnson, I was given information about when he was born (1911), when he died (1938), when he was musically active (1930's), his biography, who he was influenced by and similar artists. There were also links to his CD's. When I tried to listen to one of his songs, I was told that I must first be a registered member of the site. After registering, I logged into the site and was able to listen to a quick 30 seconds of Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen" song. It was not the type of music I was looking for so I tried a different approach. For fun, I decided to use the sites search by mood tool. They list everything from silly, to sleazy, to dreamy. What fun! So I decided I was in a relaxed mood. This mood turned up such artists as James Taylor, Fred Astaire, and John Tesh (ack!) This tactic was not working for me...so I decided to try one more browse. This time I chose to explore by genre. Out of the list, I chose folk and then clicked on the subheading of new acoustic. I chose the artists Tuck and Patti. They are still living and I decided to listen to 'Time After Time.' After hearing the song, I recognized the artists and the song...still not quite what I'm looking for....I'll wait and see what their newsletter is like!

VH1 - I clicked on the music tab on their front page and then clicked on their 'You Oughta Know' link which took me to a page with 7 featured artists who VH1 claims to be on the rise. Underneath each artist is a brief synopsis of what their music is like. After clicking on a specific artist, there are four links listed: meet 'em, buy 'em, watch 'em and photos. The meet 'em link provides biographical information and a quote from the artist. The buy 'em links you to the VH1 store where you can purchase a CD. The watch 'em link provides several music videos and/or live performances to watch. The photos link contains several photos of the artist. After listening to each of the artists, I was able to find a couple of artists that I liked! Success! I REALLY enjoyed this site - it is well organized, easy to navigate and provides lots information.

MTV - After getting through the initial shock of all the eye candy and god-I-feel-old sentiment, I clicked on their music tab. After watching a Gillette Fusion commercial I tried to decipher just what all of their links might mean....one link said The Leak...I thought this might be about new artists, you know, leaking out information, a leak in the press, etc... After clicking on The Leak link, I watched another Gillette Fusion commercial and was presented with a rotating graphic that kept flashing the words "The Leak." Utterly confused with nowhere to click but on the massive Gillette razor, I decided to try another link. This time I clicked on the music tab again and chose artists. An Xyience ad popped up this time (don't even want to know what Xyience is...). Finally, I see a new artists link! A list of artists appear (without a commercial) with their pictures and brief information about where they are from and how they got their start. I have no information to go on about the type of music they play other than their photos so I at random chose Armor for Sleep - they look like a reasonable bunch. After clicking on the link to see their video 'The Truth About Heaven' I was treated first to a T-Mobile commercial - not just a pop up. Video and audio, about thirty seconds. Finally their video comes on and they are NOT my type of music. Completely frustrated with this site and all the commercials, I believe I may be too old for the MTV demographic and decided to move on....quickly.

Billboard - I clicked on their artists link and then selected their 'breaking and entering' link. This took me to their featured new artist, Mat Kearney, who is 'breaking into the scene.' I had to chuckle at his quote, "My goal is to try to avoid a genre - I think it's better for people to hear the music and decide for themselves what they think it is." This reiterates my point about why it is sometimes so hard to find new artists...everyone's definition of a music genre is different and it is often hard to describe the type of music you like. You just know it when you hear it! Anyway, back to Mat (with one T). I was able to read the article about him, upon clicking on the bio link there was no bio listed. His discography link told me the name of his CD but provided no links to listening to it. Urg.

Rolling Stone - This site has lots of music news stories...American Idol, Top Selling Albums for the week, and Missy Elliott ringtones. I decided to click on the artist link and was given a list of the twenty top selling artists for the week. I didn't find any information about new artists, however they might have more articles in their actual magazine. I'm not willing to make this investment when I think there are other free online sources where I can learn about new music.

Better Propaganda - This site was recommended by one of my peers through my blog. On their main page they describe themselves as a 'new music discovery tool.' This sounds like it might be what I'm looking for! After browsing through the site, I didn't find that it had the most effective search or browsing tools. The site is basically divided into four genres: rock, pop, hip hop and other. As I've discussed earlier, it is hard to know which of these genres is the kind of music I like. Throughout this research project I have found that the keywords that typically generate the kind of music I like are folk and acoustic. So, I decided to use the site's search engine and I typed in acoustic. I was given a list of 145 (mostly artist) links. By browsing through these links I was able to find some music that I liked. Sucess! Even though I found this site somewhat cumbersom to navigate, I think they really have the type of artists I am looking for. New groups that haven't broken into mainstream music yet. Overall, I found this site to be a very useful tool.

Salon - This was another site recommended by a peer from this class. She recommended the audiofile section of the site. Audiofile is a daily article featuring a free music download. The download for the day when I visited the site was a group called Slow Runner that was compared to Ben Folds. This was promising since I am a fan of Ben Folds. Their featured song was 'Break Your Mama's Back' which had been played on a recent episode of Grey's Anatomy. Another plus in my book because I have often found many songs I like being played on television shows or commercials. So I decided to give the song a listen. Great song!! A little different from what I usually listen to, but I really enjoyed it! I like this article because it features ONE song, it's not overwhelming with information and it would not take a lot of time to give a quick listen to the pick of the day and decided if I liked it or not. Also listed along the side of the page are previous days picks. Chalk this up to another success!

Overall, I found my web searching to be very educational...some of the sites that I thought would be helpful turned out to be real duds, and others I had not heard of turned out to be real winners!

I feel at this point of my research, that I have enough information. I had also listed list-servs and online newsletters as another option for finding information. I did subscribe to two online newsletters, but found them to be no more helpful than the original website. With the other two list-servs that I subscribe to professionally, I just don't think I have the time for a music list-serv. I feel happy with the information I have gathered and am ready to move forward with this project! As Carol Kuhlthau stated in her ISP research model I am feeling a sense of relief and satisfaction as I prepare to present my information.

The Tangled Web We Weave

I'm embarking on the webbing stage of this project...okay the embarking began awhile ago, but my procrastinating self is just getting around to blogging about it! The biggest challenge I have seen with this topic is that it is very current. I'm unsure how much information I will find searching databases and 'professional literature.' So reluctant, that I didn't even include it as an option on my Inspire diagram. I have a feeling there will be a phase two of the webbing phase, but so far, here is the information I have gathered and how I gathered it.

• I am on a listserv called PUBYAC for Young Adult and Children's librarians. The website MySpace.com was being debated. Apparently it is very popular with teens and they are monopolizing Internet computers in order to access the site. I'm not familiar with this website, so out of curiousity I decided to check it out. Much to my surprise, there is a music section. On the site, you are able to search for music by band name, band bio, band members, influences and sounds like. The sounds like feature is great because the whole point of this project was for me to discover new music but how do you sort through the millions of new bands to find one that plays the type of music you like. Easy! You use this website and search by sounds like or influenced by. So, I selected sounds like and typed in one my favorite artists, Jack Johnson. My search turned up 144 pages (approximately 10 artists per page). The site lists the following information about each band: band name, genre, location, date their webspace was last updated, number of plays, number of views and number of fans. Clicking on the band gives even more information about the band such as concert dates, cd's, bio's about band members, sample songs to listen to and sometimes download and comments from the band. I am thrilled to say that I heard some great music on this site - SUCCESS!!

• I e-mailed some local dj's and asked them how they learned about new groups. Two dj's e-mailed me back that same day (one within ten minutes!!). The first dj to respond was Brad Holtz with 92.3 WTTS. Here is the e-mail I sent to him:

"Hello. I'm working on a project for school and am wondering how/where you learn about new music, singers or bands. Your station plays music that is not so top 40 and I always hear new music on your station first. Can you tell me how you stay informed about new music? Are there websites? List-servs? Thanks for any information you can find the time to pass on!" - Angie

And here is his response:

"Hi Angie, we have a number of ways of learning about new music. We hear about it from record labels, both big and small. Artists also send their materials in to us. We also use websites like billboard.com and allmusic.com to stay informed. Thank you for taking the time to write. We hope you enjoy the programs you hear on WTTS!" - Brad Holtz - WTTS Program Director

Okay, so now I'm beginning to see what Annette was talking about with one strand of our web connecting to another. Before we walk down this new thread, let me first tell you what the other dj who responded to this same query said. I e-mailed 99.5 WZPL. Apparently, these comments must go to more than one person because I received two responses from this station:

"Hi Angie, I don't know of any consumer websites offhand, we get information directly from record labels. You may try Ask.com or Google.com and see what you can find. Let me know if I can try to help you with anything else." Scott Sands - Director, Operations, Programming

This was not too helpful because I had already listed searching Google as one of my search strategies. However, another dj from the same station responded with this e-mail later in the day:

"MTV.com and VH1.com have artists pages on their sites where you can find out about new artists and music. Each record label also has a website that tells about their new projects. Music mags like Rolling Stone also have good info. And, there are kazillions of "underground" blogs and webpages that have info" - Dave Decker, DJ

Okay, so this was a little more helpful. I hadn't thought of Rolling Stones magazine. Maybe a subscription wouldn't be a bad idea. Or maybe they have some online resources. I will have to pursue this avenue further. MTV and VH1 I will also have to give a glance to. Kazillions of underground blogs and webpages sounds like a nightmare. After all, one of the stipulations of this project was that I be able to find new artists in a timely fashion. Given the time frame of this project, I do not think I can begin that search. However, if I did happen to run across an individual's blog who's musical interests paralled mine, I could see this as a handy resource. Maybe I can try searching blogger for music blogs...maybe...the clock is ticking.

• I browsed through Amazon to see what I could find about new artists. I found a Music You Should Hear: Artist's Recommendations section. This is an interesting concept. The only drawback is that you are limited to the artists listed on the site. However, I was able to find some that I enjoy and browse through their recommendations. I looked at guides created by Ben Folds Five, Elvis Costello, and Lucinda Williams. The albums listed were not always new artists, for example Lucinda Williams recommends The Doors. However, this music may be new to me. Shockingly, I have never listened to The Doors (ack! the horror!) It is interesting to read some of the artists comments about the albums they chose too. An interesting resource that I would be interested to know more about...how it was created, who maintains it and how often new artists are added. A search engine would be a very nice addition to this resource.
• iTunes has an interesting browse feature. First you must download the software (which I already had) and it is free. Then you can click on the Music Store, then click browse and select a genre. I chose folk as my genre and then new acoustic as my subgenre and was provided with a lengthy list (approximately 50 artists) and their albums. An interesting way to find new music. Most of the artists listed, I had never heard of. The drawback of this method is finding what type of music you like. What iTunes labels as folk, I might consider country. Too bad you can't search by 'sounds like' as you do on MySpace.com.

Okay...I must take a break and give my fingers a rest. I have more webbing to tell you about, but it must be continued for another time...like after I give my daughter her bottle:)

Wondering

I am moving onto the Wondering phase of the research project...quoting Annette, "What is the problem I need to solve?" The problem is how to discover new music in a timely manner. I've been thinking about why it used to be so much easier for me to do this and decided TIME is a major factor. As an undergraduate student and even a recently graduated student, I had a lot more time on my hands...time to go see local bands, time to talk with friends about new music, time to browse Napster (the shame!), just more...time! Now my time is filled with finding time to spend with my husband, working on classes, working at my job, taking care of my daughter, petting my cats, calling my mom, mailing birthday cards...you get the point. So, with this project, not only do I want to discover new music, I must be able to do it in a fairly easy and timely fashion.

I went to the Inspire website and downloaded their trial version. Here is the product of my brainstorming...

I am wondering which of these resources will turn out to be the most beneficial. Which ones I will gain the most information from or if they will lead me to other sources. Wish me luck as I walk on in the information inquiry process.