Showerthought: Finding new indie bands used to mean crate digging at local shops.

Sandra Nelson · 2026-02-24T14:50:22.33144+00:00

Now it feels like everything is curated by an app.

My buddy Mike found this amazing psych-rock cassette at a garage sale last year, just random boxes of old stuff. The band was called Desert Fog, some local group that never put anything online. He had to dig out his dad's old player to even hear it, and now it's his favorite thing. That weird, lucky find just doesn't happen with a streaming service.

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vera_kelly328mo ago

Everything now feels handed to you by some algorithm.

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morgan_bennett8mo ago

Think about algorithms only suggesting songs based on your past listens. They never show you the weird local band your neighbor recorded in their garage. Finding that cassette with its doodled-on cover makes the music feel earned, not just served up. You piece together the band's history from the tape hiss and handwritten notes.

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shah.iris8mo ago

Wait, the band was actually called Desert Fog?

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dylan_gonzalez8mo ago

Remember when a playlist felt like a real collection you built, not just a list some app made for you? Those old tapes had a story in every scratch and scribble on the case.

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