Just discovering Pandora.com

[Maine-ah]

this is awesome! :headbang: http://www.pandora.com/

About Pandora®

When was the last time you fell in love with a new artist or song?

At Pandora, we have a single mission: To play only music you'll love.

To understand just how we do this, and why we think we do it really, really well, you need to know about the Music Genome Project®.

Since we started back in 2000, we have been hard at work on the Music Genome Project. It's the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. Together our team of fifty musician-analysts has been listening to music, one song at a time, studying and collecting literally hundreds of musical details on every song. It takes 20-30 minutes per song to capture all of the little details that give each recording its magical sound - melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, lyrics ... and more - close to 400 attributes! We continue this work every day to keep up with the incredible flow of great new music coming from studios, stadiums and garages around the country.

With Pandora you can explore this vast trove of music to your heart's content. Just drop the name of one of your favorite songs or artists into Pandora and let the Genome Project go. It will quickly scan its entire world of analyzed music, almost a century of popular recordings - new and old, well known and completely obscure - to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice. Then sit back and enjoy as it creates a listening experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs for you.

You can create up to 100 unique "stations." And you can even refine them. If it's not quite right you can tell it so and it will get better for you.

The Music Genome Project was founded by musicians and music-lovers. We believe in the value of music and have a profound respect for those who create it. We like all kinds of music, from the most obtuse bebop, to the most tripped-out drum n bass, to the simplest catchy pop tune. Our mission is to help you connect with the music YOU like.

We hope you enjoy the experience!

[woo me with science]

1. I like Pandora's interface a lot,

but for the music I listen to, I find that lastfm.com has a broader and deeper selection of tracks. Maybe that will change over time, but I ended up switching over at least for now.

[Maine-ah]

2. sweet

I'll have to check that out!

[MiddleFingerMom]

3. I really like Pandora...

.
...and listen to stations I've created around a particular
artist quite a bit, but I used to work at a community radio
station where dozens of volunteer programmers would come in
during their free time to avail themselves of this CD collection
numbering possibly 100,000+ and program music for their own
once-weekly radio shows ranging from 1-6 hours.
.
Week-after-week QUALITY shows, all by themselves, without
"genomes" -- armed only with their knowledge and experience
and, most of all, LOVE for the music they were putting together.
And many of their shows outshone Pandora's mixes by far.
.
Some could RUN in 10 minutes before a show and grab music
off the shelves and instinctively put out an amazing show.
.
One I (ahem) KNOW needed up to 20 hours a week to put out
a one-hour show.
.
But these were one-man and one-woman shows (occasionally
some collaborators) that were priceless living relics of the way
radio USED to and SHOULD be. And still is -- in some low-power
publicly-funded radio dreams-come-true.
.
If you have a community station in your area, listen to it. If
you like it... help fund it. It really is radio for and by the people
(at least -- snark -- in SOME areas).
.

[Bucky]

4. Music that will never surprise you or push your envelope. Let Pandora.com be your elevator.

I once heard a description of what TV programmers are looking for in new TV pilots as "the same, but different." That's what this sounds like to me: high tech banality.

[CBGLuthier]

5. Not at all. You have to make an effort.

I started with a Dweezil Zappa song that led me to Ozric Tentacles, so I created a channel for them which led me to find Porcupine Trees.

I started with Brian Eno, which led to Steve Reich which led me to Steve Roach which led me to Stars of the Lid which led me to Robert Rich.

I never would have found an act like Negativland without Pandora

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whqW8F_Clh4