One of the drawbacks of never going to music stores anymore is that I
don’t get the recommendations I used to get from the guy behind the
counter. He knew my taste and often suggested I listen to some record
or other. Well, now I have Pandora.
Pandora is based on a project that aims to “capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level.” The point is that I tell Pandora a song or a band that I like, and then Pandora builds a radio station based on similar music.
And you can add more than one band and call it whatever you like. For a
couple of days I’ve been listening to a station I’ve named “Steffen
aged 17.” Maybe it should be called “Pathetic 34-year-old stuck in the
indie/synth/goth mud,” but anyway, the station keeps churning out
brilliant songs. Some of them I know and love, and some are unknown to
me. Some hit the spot, and some miss badly. It’s fine when Pandora
plays me The Strokes or even A Flock of Seagulls (but only just…),
but how on earth it came to play me Lucky Ones by Loverboy
I shall never try and find out, in case I am forced to listen to the
sorry thing once again. I guess mistakes happen. But why do they have
to be recorded and released?
Given that Pandora and similar systems work for more personalities and tastes than mine, it can be an exciting instrument for music media like NME or MTV
to tap into. And it’s a clear sign that we are moving toward the
Semantic Web. More on that later. My 17-year-old alter ego calls. He
has such good taste and knows everything, for sure.
