The internet is full of new music. No doubt about it, websites like garageband.com, myspace.com, and numerous blogs have allowed completely independent musicians to put out their music to a wider audience (at least theoretically) and with much more ease than ever before. But honestly it’s overwhelming, and trying to sift through the thousands of bad songs, bands that don’t have it together, and blogs that hype mediocre bands with the same kind of urgency that made the world fear for the Y2K disaster…well it’s just too much. Even the amount of actually produced physical promos that I see every day at my college radio station is astounding. So to try and help you out, dear reader, and maybe just maybe lead you to a pleasant discovery I present three bands that stick out for me.

1. Aquila Rose This band was completely unknown to me until I listened to their promo. One of those pleasant surprises that came out of nowhere, a band without a label, with a cd that was both handsomely and professionally packaged…and with a sound that was equally interesting. The music is dreamy and drifting, guitars floating and flowing along with almost jazz-like qualities at times. Occassionally the songs are punctuated by the bands female singer, but mostly they stick to their instrumentals. The first three tracks are great–and while the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to the same degree of quality it is certainly not bad and definitely worth listening through. Take a listen to “In the Bed of a Balladeer” to get a good sense of this band. http://www.aquilaroseband.com/aqraudio.htm

2. Elizabeth Harper An artist to emerge out of the garageband.com website who is definitely worth listening to, particularly if you enjoy 60’s pop/folk music. She has a very nice voice, and the music is soft, well-produced, and friendly to the ears. While it’s certainly not the most innovative music out there, it is really quite good and something that will pass underneath most people’s radars, which is too bad. http://www.elizabethharper.net/music.html

3. Happy Apple Innovative, fresh, and brilliant jazz music does a really good job of escaping popularity. Sure most people have heard of some of the big jazz greats (Coltrane, Davis, etc.)–but how often does a new jazz ensemble get hype like the Arctic Monkeys? Happy Apple is more than deserving. Their music is loveable, all over the place, and always moving forward. Their drummer (who also happens to be in better known band, The Bad Plus) is constantly changing up styles, while their bass player and saxophonist work their instruments masterfully without being pretentious or too obscure to enjoy. While they are best live, their music is definitely worth checking out (Pitchfork even gave their debut a 9.5, though they haven’t received that much press since). http://www.happyapplemusic.com/index.htm

The internet is a scary place, particularly when it comes to finding the gems of unsigned or overlooked music–so stick to your favorite sites, occassionally poke your head into the madness, and listen to your college radio station. Rock may be dead, but good music isn’t–it just sometimes takes a little more work to find it.