Have you recently found yourself scrolling and thinking “everything just looks and sounds the same?” It’s true that Hollywood, the music and publishing industries are now deeply dependent on the algorithms, which tell us what to consume for fun. And while that has caused some flattening of commercial entertainment (superhero movies, everywhere!) it’s also made us kinda lazy in our choices. We let ourselves be served art passively, instead of actively exploring and discovering new and interesting content that’s outside of the mainstream.
Folks, it’s time to take control of our consumption again! If you’re ready to find the joy in discovery, we asked some very cool cultural insiders how they find great stuff to watch, read, and listen to. Uncovering creative gems might take a bit more work than simply opening up Spotify or Netflix, but the payoff will be much more enjoyable.
Jump to: Music; Movies & TV; Books; Art.
Music: Volume matters
Before you’re tempted to think that there’s ‘just no good music these days’… stop, take a deep breath, and listen to Derrick Gee. He’s a radio host, selector, DJ and music content creator who has never opened Discover Weekly on Spotify. “I refuse to!”
To find cool music and artists, Derrick says you need to consume from curators. “I find new stuff in DJ sets and radio shows. And I’m a heavy user of SoundCloud. Whether it’s a community radio DJ set, something from Crack Magazine, or a Spanish radio station or something… If the cover art kind of seems a bit compelling, I’ll just click on that and kind of wait to discover a little nugget.”
That strategy takes a lot of patience though. As a shortcut, Derrick suggest checking out SoundCloud reposts. “That’s where you really find like stuff that you would never know about. It’s like, some random rapper’s friend… and then you become obsessed with them!”
It also pays to tune into stations that will take you outside the mainstream – like NTS radio (where Derrick was a host for years), or community radio in Australia like RTRfm (Perth), FBi Radio (Sydney), or PBS (Melbourne).
STUCK IN A RUT? Derrick has a) some tough love for you, and b) a really good tip. “First, don’t be lazy! For most people, when you’re young music kind of finds you quite naturally, but as you get older you don’t look for things and you’re not talking to people about it. It’s not that ‘everything sounds the same’, it’s a you problem.” Ouch, point taken.
It’s ok, there’s a simple solution: “Play music loud! You don’t really feel a genre until it’s at volume. Like, I’m kind of allergic to mid-volume sounds because it’s just not the point of music! I think you can understand most genres if you play it loud enough. Especially getting it out from between your ears and get it on your body. It’s a completely different experience when you’re not just sending it straight to the eardrums.”
@gee_derrick It comes for us all. But doesnt have to! #newmusic #musicrecommendations ♬ original sound – Derrick Gee
Movies & TV: Switch up your subs
For those sick of the endless glossy-but-just-fine movies and shows on Netflix, where can you find more interesting things to watch? We asked two people who are very much in the know: Hebah Ali, a Sydney-based filmmaker (whose award-winning short film Angrezee was released in February), and Patrick Lenton, Deputy Arts & Culture Editor for The Conversation.
First, where to look for recommendations? Hebah recommends exploring film-focused platforms. “Letterboxd is a platform where film lovers commune to rate and review the films they’ve been watching. Mubi is really awesome too – it contains titles from all over the world, and it’s only $6 a month. SBS On Demand is free and has many underrepresented stories, I highly recommend it as a launch pad for those looking to expand their taste.”
If that opens up too many options for you to get your head around, Patrick suggests finding a critic or commentator that suits your vibe to get vetted recommendations. “I have a bunch of writers and publications who I read religiously – considering most of these critics and publications are in the US, they often get shows before we do in Australia. Two notable sources are Vulture, which I’ve read for a long time, and the podcast Las Culturistas, which will often mention shows and films that I know I’ll be interested in.”
And there is always TikTok! “I follow lots of film commentary creators who are always unearthing films that don’t have a large audience,” Hebah says.
STUCK IN A RUT? If you’re feeling trapped by your comfort shows and movies, Hebah and Patrick have two easy tips to reset. “Read a book! Redirecting your energy into another medium can almost act as a palette cleanser, and you can come back with a clear head and stronger desire for what you want to spend your time consuming,” Hebah recommends.
Patrick suggests switching up your subscriptions. “Find one of the multiple new streaming services that have started recently and get a trial – you’ll find content you might not have had access to before, due to rights and the like. I recently did this with Paramount+ and found myself watching a couple of shows that went a bit under the radar.”
Books: Go to the source
Marina Sano and Jing Xuan Teo are co-founders of Amplify Bookstore, an online store that exclusively stocks books by BIPOC authors. The entire mission of Amplify is to help diversify your to-be-read list, which also makes them the perfect people to get you out of that reading rut.
The first place Marina suggests looking for your next great read is the ‘bookternet’. “We’re pretty plugged into bookish content creators on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter to see what other people are ready. It’s particularly interesting to keep up with creators in the UK and US, as titles are often released over there much sooner so certain books will already be on my radar by the time that we’re able to buy them for the store here.”
While following creators in the genre you already love is a no-brainer, you should add a few who specialise in completely different niches to expand the books you are exposed to.
But for truly insightful book recommendations that are specific to your unique tastes, go direct to the source – booksellers! “We spend so much time with the books we sell that we’re familiar with a lot of titles even beyond our personal reading. If there’s any group of people who you can trust for a good book recc, it’s local booksellers,” Marina says. “We get sent early copies of upcoming books from publishers, and we know what customers, including book clubs and libraries, are requesting.”
STUCK IN A RUT? Xuan suggests reading a book that’s very fast-paced and action packed, like a thriller or suspense-filled mystery that keeps you turning pages just to find out what happens. “Nothing gets you out of a reading rut quicker than the need to keep reading because you’re just so drawn into the world.”
Art & Culture: Creatives > influencers
Finding fresh visual arts, design and cultural events to inspire your creativity is arguably the most difficult. Where do creative people find out about the cool things that inform their work? The art that hangs on their walls? For a push in the right direction, we asked Sabina McKenna, a curator and all-round creative, how she hunts down all things new and intriguing.
“I watch a lot of interviews with creatives online or on YouTube. There’s an interview that The Cut did with Fran Lebowitz, where they were like sitting in her apartment and she was talking about how much she hates all her stuff! But she talks through all the eclectic furniture and quirky, personal design and art and things that they’ve collected over their lives.”
Following the lead of creative tastemakers will uncover artists, music, designers, books and places you’ve never heard of. Try to get more up-and-coming creatives in your feed, rather than typical influencers. “At the moment there’s a lot of focus on big names, people with a lot of privilege and influencers and all this stuff is just unrelatable. I’m into seeing what a lot of younger creatives from less affluent backgrounds are making. I just started watching this series called The Come Up, which follows a unique group of New York creatives who are not like what you’d expect – it’s very grassroots.”
STUCK IN A RUT? But Sabina’s best piece of advice for exploring new art and ideas is to get offline. “For a lot of young people, we work on a screen, we consume on a screen, we talk to each other on a screen. But that’s why the algorithms are able to keep feeding us the same stuff we already like – we don’t get challenged by other types of material or perspectives or experiences as much.”
“It’s actually about getting out and seeing things like exhibitions, art openings, music events. Going to things that ground you and connects you with other people – whether it means you go with friends, or go by yourself and meet new people, who will share new things with you again. If you take a little look around, you’d be surprised by how much is going on!”
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