The Ditchwalk Music Sampler

If you’re looking for new music — by which I mean music new to you, not necessarily new to the world — I would point you to this compilation on Bluesky.

There are currently 211 songs listed and linked, all of which can either be viewed on that page or on YouTube if you prefer. (If a song is playing on Bluesky and you scroll the page, the song will stop. To avoid this, just right-click on and launch the visible link, or click the ‘Watch on YouTube’ link in the lower-right corner of the video window.)

The songs are all broadly pop, but span virtually every conceivable genre over the past seventy-five years or so. They are loosely grouped either by…uh…group, or by genre (say, disco hits) or thematic associations, so if you find one song you like there should be others nearby which will appeal to you as well.  

I was introduced to many of the more recent bands by the Pandora algorithm, and I am regularly surprised and impressed by the quality of the music being served — albeit from more obscure corners of the music universe. Bands that I have come to enjoy and admire include Wolf Alice, Vök, The High Violets, Lemon Jelly, Hooverphonic, Maserati, Goldfrapp, Broken Bells, and the most recent addition, London Grammar. (Until a year or two ago I had never heard of any of them, but then I don’t get out much.)

I even found myself won over by St. Vincent (Annie Clark), which I would not have predicted based on the hits of hers that were initially favored by the Pandora algo.

There are also plenty of oldies for you…uh…oldies, or those who missed out on some of the greatest music decades in human history. (Particularly 1965-1975.)

Also — and unlike many social media sites — as of this writing you can scroll through the entire list without registering or logging in. (You may have to pull the right scrollbar down multiple times, but the entire list will load.)

Plenty of songs yet to be added, and hopefully no more parenthesis to be added here.

Enjoy.

— Mark Barrett