A ways back, The Gecko who Lives in the Temple posted about a neat music project called Pandora. Pandora is a streaming online jukebox that dissects songs for their genetic matter and then feeds them back to you based on your preferences. So if you like Ben Folds (say), Pandora might play you some Joe Jackson (say), because both artists use a piano to perform songs that are harmonic and share a particular rhythm. Say.
Off you go, you type in the name of an artist or particular song and then Pandora spins a song by that artist that it feels encapsulates the artist’s “genes”. Then she spins a song by another artist that shares some of those genes. In this way, you get to listen to a lot of music that, in theory, should sound good to you. You can interact with it while it’s playing, so if it should decide that Creed (say) is in some way like Joe Jackson, you can express your indignation accordingly.
I listen to music while I am working and often I find myself in the mood for something I don’t own. (Like Armageddon, by Prism. Say.) The other day it was REO Speedwagon. I punched that into Pandora and was rewarded with so much arena rock I nearly teased my bangs perpendicular. This morning, I decided I was in the mood for some funk. So I went to Pandora, typed in “Parliament” and have been blissed out on funk ever since. Rick James, Lee Dorsey, Kool & the Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire. It’s a dance party in my pants!
Go try it! 8 hours of listening does tend to stretch the limits a bit and it doesn’t work for everything (I caution you against trying Aimee Mann) but it’s fun and free and then you too could have some kind of party in your pants. Unless there’s already one there.
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