I usually do my music research on Sundays.
I wake up at around 10am... check on the things I need to do up until lunchtime and then prep up for a Pasig drive.
Then before driving, I turn on my mobile data, open the Shazam app, and either check out Magic 89.9 or Jam 88.3.
Magic is where I get re-acquainted with the current music. That's why if you see K-Pop or American Pop here, that means I am looking for that particular song to be in a particular project.
For example... this song.
I know One Direction had its time on top of the charts.
But I don't follow much of the happenings in the 2010s.
I know the song Drag Me Down but I don't want to listen to it when it first played.
However, researching for an upbeat song with a great beat that can inspire a music producer, I like the build-up to the chorus and in general, the mood and feel of the song.
I get that most sports themes have to be hard-hitting but sometimes, heavy metal and the rap-rock vibe can be a bit cheesy and dated. One of my pet peeves in doing comedy plugs is the use of shake effects and crash zoom transitions.
Just because you are making a comedy plug, doesn't mean you have to do this in every punchline.
I find it corny.
And while yeah, One Direction songs are corny, depending on the listener. If I am going to create a 60-seconder basketball plug from what I'm hearing, I am going to look for iso shots of players prepping for the game... and then look for the awesome highlights when the song gets into the chorus.
Every Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening, I turn on Shazam and just let the app do its thing. When I get back to my room, I open the app and just fish out the things I like and some of the songs end up on my "Listening To" section.
When I need a peg, I just open my blog and just fish out the things I like.
Yes.