Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart

Subject: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: Amos
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 10:44 PM

A really remarkable new service has surfaced in my listening life, at a web page called http://www.pandora.com. You give it the name of a few favorite artists or songs and the darn things start bringing up similar songs, which it then lets you reinforce or reject. It gradually ends up playing a whole spectrum of stuff right along your tastebuds that you haven't heard before.

I've had it playing all evening and it's introducing me to artists I really enjoy discovering.

A

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: mack/misophist
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 11:45 PM

After eleven composers, the only hit I got was Tommy Dorsey. Pretty puny data bank, if you ask me; nothing but pop of one kind or another.

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: Amos
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 11:53 PM

Yeah -- it didn't do Correlli, Vivaldi or Mozart -- but it does a nice stream of modern singer-songwriters from Tom Paxton to John Denver.

A

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: Les B
Date: 17 Dec 05 - 11:40 AM

I put in Doc Watson and got an interesting stream of songs. They did mis-label Doc and the Kentucky Colonels doing "Footprints in the Snow" - but they came up with everyone from Charlie Poole to the Carter Family to Pete Seeger. Quite impressive.

Then it wanted me to "register" for the free service, at which point I stopped. What do they get out of it, other than a cookie on your
computer ??

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: Amos
Date: 17 Dec 05 - 12:30 PM

I have had no bad side effects from registering. Their revenue stream comes from floating ads, which is silly since you don't go to the site to watch the screen but to listen to music.

All they get out of it is a number with which to impress advertisers.

A

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Dec 05 - 03:39 PM

That's pretty neat. I put in the "Holly & the Ivy" and it came up with some very nice seasonal songs, btoh instrumental and vocal, including Vivaldi.

Also, tried Burl Ives and got not only him but U.Utah Philips!

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Dec 05 - 06:48 PM

well, in viewing the 'source code' for the page, Amazon.com is prominent, as we might expect. I guess it is one more way to direct us to place to buy more...

still, it's neat (I started with Tenness Ernie and heard "Davy Crockett!...then got Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold before I hit 'back'

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: Peace
Date: 17 Dec 05 - 07:33 PM

Thanks, Amos. Just listened to "American Storm" by Seger. YES!

Subject: This isn't an advertisement for Last, just my POV
From: Bard Judith
Date: 18 Dec 05 - 10:37 AM

It sounds like the same thing Last.fm provides.   

As their web page says, "Last.fm rocks! It also boogies, raps, jives, shakes its booty, and sings opera. All at once, in a high-quality (128kbps) MP3 stream. Welcome to personalized radio, where the DJ is a computer that picks the best songs to play you. You can skip songs you don't like, and your musical profile updates accordingly. All you need to tune in is the Last.fm Player, a small, free, open source application that connects to our network to play music just for you."

It takes about three to five hundred songs played before the software comes up with truly 'personalized' radio for you, and then there is a 'small fee' (3 euros/US dollars a month) to access that one-click link (eg "Bard Judith's Radio Station"). However, you can use the 'Play Music Like' feature completely free twenty-four hours a day - just type in a few names and it will start up, heavily weighed with the artists you've actually chosen but branching out even across genres to provide interesting listening. There are two or three inconspicuous hypertext advertisements - but who looks at a music page, right? It's always windowed in the background while you do something else! I know I'm really enjoying it and have discovered all kinds of names and sounds I never would have otherwise.

Note that despite the 'plug' above I haven't conveniently provided a blue clicky, so you know I'm a real person with my own musical tastes and not an advertising magnate from Last.fm... :) I shall, however, go have a look at Pandora and let you know how it compares....

Subject: RE: Tech: Pandora Learns Your Musical Heart
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Jan 06 - 12:01 PM

I put in "Woody Guthrie" this morning and am listening to an incredibly good mix which includes him, Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan, Utah Phillipsa nd tohers. Just great!