Hello, interwebs!

Hi everyone. Hope you've had a great start to your year, from wherever in the world you happen to be reading this.

In the past month or so, I've been turned on to a variety of incredible music-related items from various people whom I have hung out with in New York and Colorado. Naturally, many of these have been bands that have filled my ear-cavities with enlightening and exciting sounds. However, I've also started to get hip (or at least more hip) to various websites that review and distribute music, from blogs like NYC Taper (http://www.nyctaper.com) to major sites like Pitchfork. What has struck me so about these sites is that they are not only acting as critical outlets that provide a perspective on trends in music and the music industry as a whole, but really act as way for people to find out about music that they wouldn't have come across any other way.

Personally, I tend to get my new music suggestions from friends whose tastes I trust. Being a college music student, I'm blessed to be surrounded with a group of friends who have extremely eclectic tastes that spawn every genre imaginable. Additionally, being home for winter break has allowed me to catch up with people I haven't seen in quite awhile. Conversation often seemed to turn to what new music we'd been listening to, and before long I had a ton of names to go check out.

When I find out about a new band whose sound I really love, I usually can't stop listening to it and get so excited that I've found something fresh. I start telling my friends around me about it and might post a Facebook status, but it usually stops there. There is so much new music being produced today that it is nearly impossible to keep up with everything that is coming out, and I know that I'm not the only one who would like to say they try.

This led me to an idea- what if there was a way for friends to keep each other updated on new thing that they find out about? Sites like ilike.com have obviously already beaten me to this idea, but those only really provide names and numbers and not actual opinions. It is with that in mind that I introduce to you this blog, Joyful Noise- a way for friends to show each other their new and favorite discoveries.

Articles won't just come from me, but from many of my friends whose opinions I trust. Not only will this mean that there will be more posts then usual for a blog like this, but it means that you the reader will be getting many different perspectives. These people and their views will be introduced in the coming days, and I hope that the list will grow over the next year. It is my hope that we will not only spread word of the best new acts today, but also encourage people to get out and find it themselves.

Stay tuned........