If you’ve ever wanted to explore the relationships between artists and band you like, then TuneGlue is an app you’re likely to enjoy. TuneGlue will “map” the music you like. You type in an artist or band name to start and that artist will appear in the main window. clicking on the target icon next to the artist name will bring up a contextual menu letting you “expand” to other related artists. The relationships are powered by Last FM and Amazon.
There are several other options in that contextual menu, the most interesting being “Releases.” But I couldn’t get that one to respond. Maybe you’ll have better luck. My understanding is that it queries Amazon for album releases by the artist, allowing you purchase the music.
The fun part about TuneGlue is visualizing the relationships between artists. Take a look at the snapshot included in the post and you’ll see that our little corner of the music world is pretty closely connected. I started with a search for Bill Monroe. That seemed an appropriate place to start. when I expanded I got six related artists. Just kind of randomly clicking through by quickly choosing the one of the six I found most appealing, I ended up with the “map” you see in that image. You’ll notice that everything is clumped together pretty closely. I guess all bluegrass does sound the same!
Hardly, but the relationships are fun to explore. So click over to TuneGlue and try your own visual music map starting with your favorite bluegrass artist, and see where it leads you. Who knows, you may stumble across a name you need to explore.
