endorsement.

And now for a word from our sponsors.

I found a new music website recently, and I think I'm in love. It's based on the idea that if a person likes a musician, that person will like other artists with similar features. You enter an artist or a band or a song that you like, and then the site will play other songs that you might like based on what you already like. As songs play, you can say whether or not you like them, which I assume is used to further determine a specific style that you enjoy. You can enter more bands and create a bunch of different "stations" based on your tastes. Basically, the site is like that guy you meet at a party somewhere who asks what kind of music you listen to and then suggests other, much cooler and more obscure things you might also like so as to impress you. Except that the website is not hitting on you, so you can trust it.

The site is free, though it will stop playing every dozen or so songs to ask you to register, which consists of nothing more personal than your email. I think this might just be for identification purposes, because they haven't emailed me anything yet (and I used my real email address). Once you do register, there are no interruptions whatsoever. There are no commercials, just song after song. It runs within your internet browser, so you can just minimize it and listen while you work. Sound quality is very good, though obviously I wouldn't recommend it on dialup. Each song is accompanied by artist and album information, plus helpful links.

It's an interesting concept. Obviously, it has its limitations as there are some qualities of music that may be enjoyable but not necessarily defineable. For me, originality and uniqueness are fairly big factors in how much I like a band. So if the program plays a band because it's what I heard before and liked, I wonder if I will dislike the new song just because I have essentially heard it before. When you enter an artist, the program will tell what the defining characteristics for the artist are going to be that allows the program to pick other similar artists. I've not used it enough to see how thorough it is - does it rely simply on the kind of instruments featured or the song style, or do things like the wit or subject matter of the lyrics factor in? The website claims it looks at everything, everything, but I am not yet convinced.

I have been impressed with the variety of artists. This program has brought up some very obscure, independent music for me, and I've already become interested in a few new-to-me bands through the site. I feel like I'm hard to impress in that aspect. However, it seems almost necessary to include the smaller labels to make this project successful, otherwise it's just another streaming radio station. No one is going to learn about new bands if all the bands can be heard on the radio anyway.

I've only been using the site for about a week now, so it's hard to say how it will stand the test of time. I wonder how well it will get to know me - will it manage to figure out my tastes so completely that I never again hear a song that I have to give a thumbs down? And like any sort of new media, it seems a matter of time before it goes commercial. I see this as only more reason to enjoy it now, while I can.

I feel like the idea is solid. It really is just like having friends who know what you like and suggest things they've come across, and I've found most of my favorite bands through the suggestions of others. It's just a matter of the implementation. To do the job right is no trivial task, but I feel like these people are on to something. Of course, you have to keep in mind that this program is not meant to be a radio station, so you're going to get repeats on artists and songs within a short time frame. It's just a suggestion box.

Alright, I'm done with my endorsement. I'm sorry to burden you with such advertising, but I'm not being paid or hitting on you, so you can trust me, too. For those of you who are interested in finding new, good music, I do recommend the site. For those of you who are not interested in that, well, what's wrong with you?

Pandora