In all seriousness though, listening to the radio with my kids has brought out my inner poptimist. I now know that Ariana Grande has the range. I know that Pitbull is much more of a genius than a punchline. And I know that The Chainsmokers are as shitty as everyone says they are. I will always be lame because I’m a dad, and that’s part of the deal. But I also know all the lyrics to “Run Away With Me,” with makes me, at the very least, cooler than the OTHER dads. That’s the best I can hope for at this point.
Vicky Sko
a teen
There are a lot of great music apps out there, but I would say that about 90 percent of all the music I listen to is discovered on Spotify. They have created such a unique personalized approach to music that I'm really fond of. I'm especially enticed to their personalized “Release Radar” playlist. It puts together all the new bops out there based on my music taste and artists I like, and every Friday it updates and it's hands down the best part of my week. Music also really binds my friends and I together, and it’s also a big source of all the new songs I discover. We are constantly listening to it together and exchanging good songs together, and creating a huge melting pot of all our music tastes.
I'm fortunate to have lots of classes with friends so we listen a lot during class by sharing our headphones with one another. We also love to listen to music at lunch and have gone to a couple concerts together. Spotify also has a great feature that allows you to stalk what your friends are listening to, and I use this to my advantage a lot.
Rachel Williams
WNUR Streetbeat executive producer
As a college radio DJ, my main mission is to bring underrepresented music to public ears. In my opinion, the best places to find new, rare releases are on streaming platforms like SoundCloud and Bandcamp. These sites are where I find all of my music for sets. You can find gems on accounts ranging anywhere from a million to under 100 followers, and get exposure to music from artists and labels from
I usually start with a track or artist I know I like; then check out the related tracks or figure out what label the artist is on and check their page out. SoundCloud's newsfeed-like feature also helps keep me up to date. Accounts that are aesthetically pleasing and have a lot of new, consistent, and organized content are most attractive. Some accounts I like are ULTRAMAJIC, trip, DIRTYBIRD, falls-2, buttechno, and OWSLA.
Oscar Czarnecki
a teen
My primary source for new music is Pitchfork. I visit the Pitchfork website at least twice a day and make sure to look for the big headlines, Best New Artists, Best New Music, etc. I also listen to the playlists that Pitchfork curates on Apple Music. On Apple Music I listen to Beats 1 Radio and “Blonded Radio,” curated by Frank Ocean and I steal a lot of my tracks from those playlists.
I use Instagram to keep me updated minute by minute on the latest music news. I follow all my favorite artists on Instagram as well as Pitchfork's Instagram account. Another simpler source I use is Apple Music's newest songs, which they update every Friday on the landing page. I try to stay away from looking at the Top Ten list on Apple Music because I don't want to be influenced by what other people like. I’d rather make choices based on my own taste.
Jillian Mapes
Pitchfork senior editor
It helps when your inbox is a constant stream of downloads from publicists, managers, artists, and your ex-coworker’s boyfriend who played guitar once. I talk to my colleagues a lot; we have six categorized Slack chat rooms and a message board where we discuss music in all its various formats and forms. I talk to my friends who love music—and love it in a more specific way, one that falls more along genre lines. Check in with your specialists, essentially. Listen wide.