If you already know about Pandora.com, you can delete this now. (But not before you feel a tiny pang of guilt for not filling me in on this amazing knowledge.) If you don't already know about it, prepare for a music revolution.Jessie happened to mention it when she was over yesterday, and when she saw my blank stare, she explained how it works: you register at the site, and for no cost, you can set up any number of radio "stations". You tell Pandora a song or an artist that you like, and the site gathers songs and artists similar in style for your approval. For each song that comes up, you can tell Pandora if you like it or not, and this helps to guide future selections. If you don't want to listen to the current song, you can skip it.
Imagine the possibilities! This is the perfect thing for a person like me. I love music, but I get in music ruts all the time. A big stumbling block for me is not knowing how to find new music that I will like. This is the perfect music discovery tool! I can see how I could spend a lot of time making lists and exploring new artists.
As my mind was reeling with wondering how they possibly put this database together, I found this on the site telling how it came to be:
"On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.
Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.
Since we started back in 2000, we've carefully listened to the songs of tens of thousands of different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.
It has been quite an adventure, you could say a little crazy - but now that we've created this extraordinary collection of music analysis, we think we can help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe."
Cool.
16 comments:
I love, love, love Pandora. I keep thinking that I should blog about it, but I love it so much, that I'm not sure that I haven't already. Did that make sense? I'm glad you found this cool site. And that you're spreading the word. The dissemination of information is my single-most favorite aspect of the blog world.
I love it also. I am glad you discovered it.
I have had that linked to my blog since the beginning, hmmm.
oh my gosh.....i have to run there...i love music and sadly our two stereos are not plugged in....how can that be...its been a couple of years for sure...if it weren't for kids being around now, I would have probably plugged them myself by now...thank you...i will definately try it.
jill had a link???????? sure i see all of her links...but they are soooooo many that i just scroll down and just see pictures.....there you go...you get what you see
Hmmm, cool! I'll save this information for my future life!
That's exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks!
i've heard about this and will have to give it a try. i too get into music ruts ALL the time.
I knew Jill had mentioned it awhile ago. I may just have to check it out. Sounds like an awesome sight. I LOVE music.
i'll have to check this out! anything about music is OK by me!
I'm glad I could share something with you- It's rare that I know anything technologically that hasn't been common for years. This may be a first.
I listen to Pandora ALL the time now. I want it in the home.
I've never heard of Pandora, except for the one with the box. I can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the info and the review.
I discovered Pandora at work last school year and it is most definitely amazing!
pandora is great and seriously one of Adam's favorite things about the web. He loves to find new music and it's the perfect way.
I have never heard of this. I guess I should check it out.
I have never heard of Pandora! Thanks for sharing something so fabulous. I am in the same rut you described...who has time to find the *new* or sift through the unfantastic on the radio??!
I love Pandora! They don't have any classical music right now, I guess they're still working on the 'gene mapping' for it. My favorite channel started out with 'A Night in Tunisia' and now I listen to all kinds of classic jazz.
BBC Radio 3 also has an online radio player which I really love. It's Proms season now so they have some really great concerts on.
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