Music exploration | Follow the thread

About

Where the names come from, and what’s changed along the way.

← Back to TuneThread

How it works

Type an artist or a band. TuneThread looks up who actually played with them — the people in the liner notes, not a playlist guess. Hit trace further on any name to walk one more step out.

The thread is built from public music credits. We start with MusicBrainz (who was in which band, who collaborated). Discogs often adds the photo, a short bio, and extra people if the first list is thin. Wikipedia only shows up when there’s a real article, not a “which Annika did you mean?” page.

On a band, Spotify and Apple Music are always there. If we don’t have their official page, those buttons search by name. You can copy a link to share whoever you’re looking at. Stars you save stay on this phone or computer — we don’t have accounts.

We try not to guess. Same name isn’t the same person. If a search isn’t a clear match, you’ll get suggestions instead of a famous namesake. If someone has nowhere new to go, you’ll see end of thread rather than an empty step.

What’s new

Newest first. Early notes are from 22 August 2026; later ones keep the date on each card.

18 — Years on the bands

25 Aug 2026
  • On a person, bands show years when we know them, and the band they were known for rises above short side projects.

17 — The rest of the band

23 Aug 2026
  • If the credit database only lists a couple of people, we fill in the rest from Discogs. Anyone who’s left shows as former.
  • Searching “John Stickley” can still find Jon. We don’t open a famous namesake just because the last name matches.
  • This page is written for humans, not a changelog dump.

16 — The band you actually remember

22 Aug 2026

Long-time members show up before the six-week drummer.

  • Search The Beatles and you get Lennon, Harrison, McCartney, and Starr — not a wall of Hamburg extras first.
  • “Former” means they left while the band was still a band, not “the group broke up later.”

15 — The right Luke Reynolds

22 Aug 2026
  • Same name isn’t the same person. We don’t paste a famous namesake’s photo or bands onto someone else.
  • If tracing someone wouldn’t add any new names, the button says end of thread instead of sending you into a blank.

14 — Faster repeats, quieter cards

22 Aug 2026
  • Artists you’ve already looked up come back quicker.
  • Names on a card don’t all fetch extra data until you actually trace them.
  • Line under the title: Music exploration | Follow the thread.

13 — You can see the next step

22 Aug 2026
  • After you trace further, the page moves you to the new names so they don’t hide off-screen.

12 — Wikipedia only when it’s real

22 Aug 2026
  • The Wikipedia button shows up after we know it’s an actual article, not a “which one?” page.

11 — Bios that read like sentences

22 Aug 2026
  • Short bios keep people’s names and cut off at a full stop when they can.

10 — A quiet frame

22 Aug 2026
  • A bit of weave in the margins. The reading column stays plain.

9 — Phones

22 Aug 2026
  • Buttons wrap so trace doesn’t fall off a small screen.

8–6 — Type, copy, listen

22 Aug 2026
  • Names got a clearer typeface. Copy link sits with Spotify and Apple Music. Band cards always have those listen buttons — they’ll search by name if we don’t have a direct page.

5–1 — Getting it on the web

22 Aug 2026
  • Photos and bios, a kinder “we got stuck” message, and the first public TuneThread: search, trace, share a link.

TuneThread · Music exploration | Follow the thread