Every day I read the reviews on sites like AMG, tinymixtapes, indieworkshop, treble, DOA, popmatters, almostcool, etc, etc, etc....

And to state the blindingly obvious I can't even get all the reviews READ, let alone hear then buy/like/love/hate/meh.

Info overload means awareness that there are, daily, additional artists I WANT to check out, but in reality never will.

Not that that's revelatory or anything, just saying, there's only so many times I can go "huh, that sounds like I'd like it" and actually follow through with finding out about it.

It wouldn't matter so much if I didn't have the first "huh."

i agree.

unless an album floors me, i rarely have time to give music 2nd and 3rd listens cause there is simply too much else on my desk, or soulseek i need to check out.....

few cd's go into a normal rotation for me anymore....it sucks, but how to stop it?? when the desire to hear more is always in you?

I've got a folder on my computer with 3600 songs that I've downloaded but haven't listened to yet. And I don't download full albums. I only download three tracks per disc.

On top of that, I have a 38 page Word document with a list of music to download.

So, while it seems like it isn't possible to hear all the music that you think you'd like, I don't give up that easily.

i've learned to become selective. there's not only too much out there to listen to, but too much to listen to enough to gather a strong enough opinion/liking of. that's why i have a cap on the number of albums i listen to every 2 weeks. if i listen to as much as possible, i only give single listens to some stuff that i know i'd like more if i had more time to listen to. that's the new music scene.

(but i was kinda hoping this was a spice girls thread. )

I don't need to hear every single "okay" indie rock band out there, but there are always reviews for obscure/regional/no label ambient, early blues, folk or just unusual acts that peak my interest.

And I rarely have time or resources for follow-up. It's not a matter of trying to be at the forefront of anything hip, but more a matter of that "huh" that comes to a lifelong music fan.

i too list what albums i want to download. i also creat a folder on my desktop that i send all new music to, so when i'm having one of those days where i want to plunge into new music, its right there and, as i download those things, there's no big immediate debate as to where i put it, if i'll keep it or get rid of it.

So maybe I need to break my nearly-consistent rule of not downloading full albums?

I'd have to search harder, because some of these releases only exist theoretically, after some dude with a handle like panandjesusfuck wrote a review. Otherwise they could just be a CDR from someone's mailbox for all I know. And still could be.

i'm not a big fan of downloading full albums illegally, partly because i think its a waste of time and space. try downloading stuff legally via the artist's web page, their label home or doing a simple search on google for blogs that have posted mp3's. that stuff is there for the taking, legally, most of the time, you might as well do it.

Hey, now there's an idea, Phil, you numbie. Yeah, I haven't done a whole lot of exploring of blogs or artist sites.