Part One: The Big Guys
- Exclaim!
- Exclaim is Canada’s premiere source for music reviews and streaming audio online. They do everything from small, indie records to large, commercial albums. Their reviewers are intelligent and knowledgeable, and are hired based on specific knowledge of genres.
- Where to find them: we get copies of their paper every month, available for free right outside the office.
- You can also check their website, http://exclaim.ca/
- Pitchfork
- Pitchfork is pretty much the best place online to check out alternative music from the States. They’ve gone from toting a reputation of being snobbish hipsters to being a lot more open to different genres and levels of fame, much to everyone’s benefit. Their “Best New Albums” section is a really great for finding excellent new content that might not have otherwise made it across your radar. Beware: sometimes their top picks are a little obscure for the sake of it.
- Check em out at http://pitchfork.com/
- Spin
- Spin is a great online resource for festival coverage and long, long lists of albums to anticipate. Their album reviews are typically lengthy and full of personality. They’re kind of like Rolling Stone’s edgier younger cousin- they cover lots of pop culture, but with a bit of an edge. Read em if you like festival hopping and slyly comedic reviews of your favourite stars. They also have one of the best in-site streaming setups: it’s on the top of the page and plays seamlessly as you navigate the site.
- http://www.spin.com/
- Rolling Stone
- Rolling Stone is more of an establishment than anything at this point. They’re the music industry get: you know you’ve made it when you’ve hit the cover (see: Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show’s classic track, “Cover of The Rolling Stone”). As such, interviews given by musicians to any of the talented writers on staff tend to be gold: band members will give their best quotes, their deepest insights and their influences. They tend to be good reads. That being said, since Rolling Stone is so established, they tend to profile albums and artists that are either on the cusp of being huge or huge already. So if you’re looking for a long-form story about CocoRosie… maybe don’t check RS. Rolling Stone is also great for retrospectives on classic artists, comparisons of different bands, and wall to wall coverage of Florence and The Machine, The Black Keys, and Jack White. I kid, but they tend to find about twenty artists for a year and cover them obsessively.
- Find them in stores on the magazine rack or at their website: http://www.rollingstone.com/music
- CBC Music
- CBC is Canada’s radio station (other than CFUR obviously). BEST place to find tiny tiny indie and folk acts in one place in Canada. CBC gives each artist a spot to make their own profile and stream their music. You can also listen to show archives and tracks. WOOT.
- Check out Radio 1, 2, or 3 at http://music.cbc.ca/ , or download the app for android and ios.
