B-Sides: _Final notes for fine-tuning your musical experience_

I’m going to be frank with you all. This week was a slow week in terms of music news. It’s fitting, really. We’re all entering the fever pitch of finals preparation and, try as we might to procrastinate, we just don’t have time to explore many new items of music news or albums.

It’s also fitting because this slow down of music news gives me the chance to bid this column a fond farewell, at least for a little while. I’ve loved writing to you all every week, and I thank everyone who’s read “B-sides” from the bottom of my heart. In any case, I thought that I could use this final column as a platform to write down just a few of the things I’ve learned over the course of these two quarters. Hopefully, they can help to increase your appreciation of music, just like they’ve bolstered mine.

“Genre” is just a word

Before this year started, I would have told anyone who asked I was a folk or indie music guy. My knowledge of classic rock and rap was sadly limited, and my library of country music was essentially nonexistent. My mistake was ascribing the stereotypical musical characteristics of one genre to every single artist and song within that genre, none more so than country music.

But for every “Red Solo Cup,” there’s a “Letter to Me.” There are elements to like in just about every genre of music, and finding a little something to love in a wide variety of musical styles will really enrich your library.

Attending a music festival belongs on your bucket list

I’ve devoted a fair portion of my column this quarter to various music festivals, specifically Coachella, Sasquatch!, and South by Southwest. But that’s just a tiny fraction of the wealth of music festivals taking place over the course of the year.

Yes, they’re expensive, but I imagine there’s no experience quite like immersing yourself in music for three to four days, hearing old favorites and making new discoveries. From the smallest jazz festival to the biggest rock festival, there’s something for everyone. Attending a festival is a pilgrimage every music fan should make at least once.

A band’s break up isn’t always final

We’ve all gone through break ups with favorite bands ““ or, if the bands wanted to let us down easy, a “hiatus.” It’s awful, but this year has served as great evidence that band break ups are not necessarily permanent. Though some bands certainly should stay broken up (cough, cough, Oasis), others find a way to get back together. Icelandic band Sigur Rós broke my heart when it went on hiatus a few years ago, but it is coming back this spring with a new album for which I could not be more excited.

But even if a band doesn’t get back together, there are always side projects that have the same general feel as the original band, usually with a little twist. And even if neither of those things happens, you always have the music from the band’s career and you never have to stop listening.

That’s it for me, folks. Thanks to you all for reading. Keep exploring new music.

And when you make a great discovery, turn the volume up.

_What are your musical principles? _

_Email Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu. _

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