how would you hear about it? Replacements for traditional distribution mechanisms have to be accompanied by replacements for traditional advertising methods - and those are still "works in progress".

Perhaps we could formalize what already happens irregularly here - a semi-regular thread for people to turn others on to good music worthy of, but escaping, wider notice. A micro-showcase for micro-economic music. I'd be interested to see that.

...like this, or this, with a dash of this and a few of these, with this as a chaser.

Rinse ears, repeat as necessary.

_{Turn back to the Constitution - and READ it.}

..I recommend what I used to do: drive into the region in which you're interested, and start walking around the shops in the small towns.

There are still local recording studios, and every now and again you can find something that grabs you.

For me, it's old-school bluegrass, and for that, you go to central/eastern Kentucky, and into the Appalachians. I miss there more than I can say (I've *never* taken to the brown California summers), and the small towns were a load of fun. Loved listening to the local talent when somebody would pull out the guitar and dulcimer, and start singing some of the old songs.....

-5.75,-4.05
"We're all fucked. It helps to remember that." --George Carlin

The closest I, as a Canadian, can come to suggesting you some new americana, is Sam Roberts, a delightful Canadian singer/songwriter aware and proud of this great nation. Though a slight bit more subtle than springsteen.

Perhaps not new to many, but his music is worth a listn.

(and to mark a favourite line from one of his songs about this land:
s-o-CIA-l-i-s-m is here to stay!)

Depends what you're looking for. What's wrong with "The National," (try the homonymous album as well as Alligator and The Boxer - all in all an excellent cross between Tindersticks, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen). Why not also try the more commercial "Arcade Fire" and the "Bright Eyes." The "Handsome Furs," with their Plague Park is an excellent mix of electronica, guitars, good vocals and nerdy lyrics, and so on. Of course if you have not discovered their long career of more than 15 years why not try the "Flaming Lips," who still produce great music. Listen to Yoshimi. Also try another group: "Beirut." I have only listened to their latest and friends tell me their first is better, but really what I have heard is so good.

Music is regularly pronounced dead. I do think however, that what is dead is radio and TV and the people promoting groups and keeping good musicians out of the market. I will not fight the battle about whether we have anything like the 60s or 70s musically right now. I do not think we can. Back then the readiness of radio to promote innovation and take risks had a whole society as a market for musical innovation. Today it is more limited as the people listening are fewer. But it is not the market that has shrunk but the media for the distribution for the music. Still there is good stuff out there.

A lot of the newer music on the radio is decent, but not in any way original or memorable to me. My tastes are a little more toward the industrial, electronica, gothic, techno, and metal end though...

But the internet is a great tool for exploring new artists or musical genres. I discovered most of the bands I listen to today via the internet, although many of them are well known enough to be found other ways. Here are some of my resources:

1) www.allmusic.com. Just type in one of your favorite bands and start looking at their listed influences/collaborators. You can also sort by musical genre, era, etc.

2) Amazon. Once again, enter a band that you like, select one of their CDs, and start clicking on the recommended artists that are listed on that page.

3) Bittorrent. I'll just list this--probably not wise to discuss it any further.

4) Myspace. Find a band's webpage and look for other bands in their friend list. Guaranteed to find some obscure yet good stuff.

You'd be surprised what you can find. My latest favorite is this guy:

Dr. Steel

Sort of industrial, opera, hip-hop, steampunk music made by a victorian-era mad scientist with an army of robots bent on taking over the world. You don't find that on the radio :). And the music's awesome and hilarious too.

Is nigh.

I could ramble for weeks on end about this subject, but I'll keep it short.

I used to own a Recording Studio in the SF Bay area. I mostly specialized in demos and spec songs for the songwriters market.

In those days, most of my clients were rap "artists" and funk/metal bands. Almost every one of them virtual clones of what was already popular. They would spend money to make these demos and send them off to record companies via their Entertainment lawyer. They all wanted a "commercial sound"

A fair number of these guys went on to moderate commercial success. Most of them went back to slinging crack or programming for a dot com startup.

A few of my clients were fantastic. Amazing talents. These guys and gals were my pro bono clients, since music is an expensive habit and the path of the artist is not quickly rewarding in a financial sense.
Everyone needs to earn a living and the work it takes to get to the point of making a living in music, leaves little space for climbing the corporate ladder. Sad to say, most of the true talents I have had the pleasure of working with gave up on music for financial reasons.
The music business can break your heart.

That said, technology is the game changer. Without getting all gear geek on you all let me just say that I currently have a far more powerful and agile studio for less than a tenth of the cost.
p2p distribution opens up doors that never existed before. Youtube allows anyone to post their videos. Digg, Facebook, Myspace etc..all great free tools for artist self promotion.
Big name artists are starting to embrace a new paradigm in music promotion an distribution. Radiohead and Trent Reznor of NIN are just the start of a new era in digital distribution and artist run record companies. A new model is going to emerge.

Soon there will be so much good music easily and FREELY available that the only difficulty will be deciding between two great acts playing live in your town.

The business model is what has to change. All the tools are there. The talent is out there.

is doing her part.

... on PBS featured Pete Seeger. Wonderful program. It brought to mind as the tale of his life and trials unfolded, is that it wasn't so much about originality as it was authenticity.

Pete was nothing if not authentic. He touched millions in ways they will never know. Where have all the Seegers gone?

"...cunning, baffling, powerful."

If you have not tried Pandora to find new music, you are really missing out. It is fantastic. Sirius satellite radio is pretty good also - the DJs have freedom to play whatever.

to know/meet the people who love music and maybe make a small living from it in your area. They're in live music venues, or used record shops. They appear to live hand to mouth but have a very bass they bought for $10 sitting in their living room. They know Gannon, at least they know the one in their city. They probably know the Gannon in several cities.

The Dimes, from Portland, Oregon.

The Lotus Theory, from London, Ontario.

I wouldn't know these groups if I didn't know a spouse or sibling of a band member.

Some free tunes are available from both groups with a little Googling, or in iTunes. I find each have a never-overproduced authenticity that's hard to find anywhere.

The Dimes sometimes play a rocking cover of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," but are known for their own original tunes.

The Lotus Theory made a fun video of their "Lost and Found" that's available on yahoo.ca or yahoo.com.

Johann Sebastian Bach given a modern look, 260 years after portrait

DUNDEE The face of the 18th-century composer Johann Sebastian Bach has been reconstructed using the latest technology. A bronze replica of his skull was used to create the model, which bears similarities to a portrait by Elias Haussmann in 1746. The model, created by a team led by Caroline Wilkinson, of the University of Dundee, is due to be shown in Germany next week.
(I know, it's not contemporary)

Nashville is producing a number of really interesting artists, including Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyers and of course Bela Fleck. Here is something really cool, bluegrass with a strong classical influence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlBZx4YXijs .