It's always fun to find new music, to step out of the boundaries of the everyday or pop radio. But not all of us know people whom we can trust to help us find a good new band, or even convince us to purchase a forgotten treasure like The Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady before we've even heard one chord.\nWell fret not, my friends, because I've devised a simple method that will help you make educated guesses on what's cool without taking the fun out of risky record buys. After all, there's nothing better than getting a CD by a band you're not so sure about and then finding out that the whole album swings, rocks or grooves harder than you expected.\nWe all have made mistakes before, so don't be ashamed to carry this with you into the music store if it helps. You don't want to be one of those people who bought the Chumbawumba record -- and judging by the used CD rack there are a lot of you -- thinking, "Well, 'Tubthumping' is a timeless gem… I'm sure the remainder of the album follows suit."\nSo here are some things that should go through your head before dropping $14 on a CD with one or two songs you'll listen to for a year at best. Who knows, you might even be able to pick up a good CD before you've ever heard a note of it. Of course, these are just generalizations.
How to tell a band is good:\n• Let's start with an easy one: John Hammond. If you've read or overheard, or if it's been communicated to you by the voices in the TV that speak only to you, that Hammond discovered or worked with this person, it's very safe to assume you should pick up one of their discs. From Bob Dylan to Billie Holiday to Bruce Springsteen to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hammond is easily one of the most important non-musicians in music history. \n• Jazz: How pissed off do they look on the cover of the CD? John Coltrane's Love Supreme -- need I say more?\n• Are they from Australia? Sure, it's sort of a fad, but the Aussies are typically better at avoiding the clichés we Americans can't help. Hey, if they're good enough to make it into your average music store halfway around the world, I think they've already proven themselves a bit more than the standard top 40. For example, would you rather hear the Cherry Poppin' Daddies or The Living End?\nThey also seem to be less concerned with their look than the actual music, even if the singer is sexy. So you're telling me Kasey Chambers doesn't show her butt crack every 12 seconds like Britney Spears? Geez, I was really looking forward to that. I knew something was missing from that album.
chances are it's a bad album:\n• Fashion: Any band whose members still wear leather pants after the age of 35 probably isn't worth your money. Think about it. Jim Morrison was very cool, but he stayed at the party too long and look what happened. Most people think it was the drugs, but I think the leather was saying, "Hey, Lizard King, give us a rest!" I'm also convinced this is why Aerosmith hasn't had a solid album since Pump.\n• Hype: Any band that's labeled "the next _____" is bound to be a disappointment in that capacity, for better or worse. Don't listen to anyone who makes such a comparison. These are the same fools who said that John Mayer was the next Dave Matthews (I'm grateful he's not) and that Travis was the next Radiohead (kind of a let down, eh?). Note: British magazines seem to be the worst at this. \n• Does their drummer have a gong? I like prog and all, but even I have my limits.\n• Commercials: This one's trickier. If the band's song is in a commercial for a product you respect or simply because the band members are dead and their publishing company sold the rights, then it's usually by an artist with numerous hits that may even be recognizable to your father. In this case, yeah, it's cool to buy the Hendrix album simply because one of its songs really caught your ear in that car commercial. However, it is not acceptable to buy Brand New Day. Look, Sting is riding in the car, and the album came out at the same time and was crap. When else has Sting really needed outside help promoting an album?\nDo a little research is all I'm asking. I know there are a lot of rules I left out, and it's not easy. But at least that way, when I sort through the used bin, I'm not buried in 47 copies of the turtleneck-wearing freaks from Matchbox 20's latest album.
