So this salesguy's in my office a few years back and we're talking and it turns out we're about the same age and the talk gets around to music and he mentions some 80s bands and makes a comment, I can't remember what he said exactly, but he used the phrase "our music".  Like because we grew up in the same era, we must have listened to the same popular music and would forever be bonded by this shared experience.  Prince, Phil Collins, Springsteen, Bon Jovi - those guys.  Because everyone knows your musical genome is synthesized in high school and college and never varies thereafter.  Why is that?  Why don't we continue to uncover those buried musical gems and discover those quirky bands into adulthood?  Is it because it's not a grown-up thing to do, because we're afraid someone will consider it frivolous, or maybe it's just because the hectic life of a working parent doesn't allow the time to explore.  The 99% rule of music, in effect since the first note was blown, states that 99% of all music is crap - the 1% can be hard to find amidst the detritus.  I teach a spinning class and one of my favorite parts is putting together playlists of interesting new music, built around themes (like my most recent, electrotango), and with songs that match the exercise (hill climb, sprint, time trial, etc...).  My spinners often ask, "how on earth do you find that crazy stuff?"  What they're saying, I think, is,  "how do I find interesting music - I'm getting tired of Journey?"  Here's the 3 step plan:

1.  Read Paste magazine.  Paste is a music mag (that's expanded into film, games, and books in recent years) that covers all styles with a great intuition for what's cool and, get this - it comes with a cd of tunes!

2.  Listen to All Songs Considered.   Bob Boilen's love of music is infectious - you can't help but be excited about that obscure psych-folk collective when he sings their praises.  You can podcast the show for free plus they've got loads of concerts for download.

3.  Buddy up to a music maven.  These used to be the record store guys but, now that record stores are dying faster than injuns in Blood Meridian, you got to look a little harder.  I know this guy at my coffee shop who always has a cool new band to tell me about - every time I see him.  This morning he told me, a bit ashamedly, that he was in a retro mood, listening to "some old stuff" - he meant Pavement and My Bloody Valentine.  It made me feel bloody old.

Follow these simple steps and you, too, will be able to tell a Deerhoof from a Wolfmother.