You know when you hear a song that you really like, but you don’t know exactly WHAT makes it so appealing? It may be rock or classical or whatever, but something makes it stand out above the rest. For some reason it just sounds really good.
Then you wish you could hear other songs that had that same…something…that you’re not really sure about. Well I just came across a great free tool that allows you to do just that. It’s called Pandora and it’s a free online radio type application that actually ‘learns’ how to pick the perfect songs for you. You can even try it before you register for your free account.
It’s so simple. It just asks you to pick a song that you like and then it starts playing a song by a different artist that they think you might like in the same way. There are up and down arrows that allow you to vote if you like it or not. Based on your vote it will make necessary changes to pick better songs for you. They refer to this as creating your own station.
You can pick particular songs as favorites or even buy them, but otherwise it’s just great free music that is perfect for YOU.
I love this new app. I picked ‘Little Wonders’ by Rob Thomas and the first song that it chose was a Cold Play song that I really like. And it’s a song that I like in the same way. It’s hard to explain what I mean. You’ll just have to check it out for yourself. I found myself listening to all of this music that sounded GREAT to me by artists I had never heard of. What a wonderful way to broaden your musical horizons. You can even click on a tab and ask ‘why they chose a particular song for you’. They go into great detail about the reasons. Here’s a quote:
“Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features basic rock song structures, a subtle use of vocal harmony, acoustic rhythm piano, a clear focus on recording studio production and mixed acoustic and electronic instrumentation.”
WOW! They’ve got me nailed down. I don’t know what half of that means, but their choices are SPOT ON!
So you guys should check it out if you haven’t already. I’d love to hear what you think and if it picked great new music for you too.
BTW, I have no affiliation with Pandora, I just had a great experience with this great new online app and wanted to share it with my wonderful readers. Enjoy!
PS: If you think others will like it, don’t hesitate to share it!
That seems like a great find! I’m going to check it out now.
Danny Allen´s last blog post..Get On The Right Path To Stopping An Addiction
Actually, Pandora has been around for a couple years now…and it is great! In fact, this will be the way most people get their music in the not-so-distant future. Instead of radio telling YOU what you like, you will be able to TELL the radio waht YOU like, and it will feed you music that fits your preferences. iTunes just intoduced a new feature in it’s latest software update called Genius, which does kind of the same thing. It looks at the songs you already have and recommends songs and artists based on your preferences.
As an independant musician, this is excellent news and a great breakthrough in music! We wont have to fight tooth and nail to get our music to the masses and we wont be forced to fit whatever niche or clique the “industry” has defined as the hot new thing. This truly putting music in the hands of the listeners!
Thanks for brining this to the attention of your readers, the more people use these kinds of services, the more new music will be continued to flourish and evolve.
-Matt R.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy´s last blog post..The Chuck Effect: Computer Nerds Finally Have A Worthy Spokesman
My husband and I love Pandora. My husband discovered it about 3 years ago and has not budged since. It has been our favorite way of discovering new music.
I totally agree with you when you say “It’s hard to explain what I mean” ….we just love the way it works!
Maya´s last blog post..The key to happiness and balance is right with you, just learn to use it – Part 1 of the thinkmaya framework
Pandora flies right past amazing, for a direct hit inside the middle of phenomenal. I wish I had it in my car.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..I Said Stop.
I must be the last person on Earth to find out about this. It sounds like most of you are already ‘in the know’.
At least I was able to inform Danny about it.
I guess that makes me the second to last person.
“Even the last to follow can be the first to lead.” -Author Unknown
This quote holds true for this situation perfectly!
Danny Allen´s last blog post..5 Ways To Embrace Every Moment
@Danny: Well said!
I love Pandora! Been using it for years now. It’s funny what makes a good station. Turns out my daughter’s station happens to be the best one of my family’s, even though you wouldn’t think our music tastes would align. Pandora is the best…
@Bill: “Turns out my daughter’s station happens to be the best one of my family’s, even though you wouldn’t think our music tastes would align.”
What song did she pick to start the station?
I recently discovered Slacker and love it. Similar idea to Pandora but way more genres to choose from (over 100) and does a better job than Pandora of picking the songs I like.
Like Pandora, you can also make a station based on a single artist or type in as many artists as you want.
Unlike Pandora, Slacker gives you “Fine Tune” settings that allow you to request songs, play more current or old songs, play more hits or deeper cuts or tune up or down the music discovery setting, depending on how adventerous you are.
And, best of all, they sell a portable player that lets you take your stations with you, where you go. It’s portable internet radio. I just bought the new G2 player and haven’t touched my MP3 player since.
http://www.slacker.com
@ Fred: WOW Fred, thanks for sharing this with us. I just checked it out and you’re right, it has a lot more options. I wouldn’t necessarily it’s completely better than Pandora (at least not yet
), but it does seem more flexible.
Pandora seems more focused on finding that music fit’s your unique tastes whereas this does this, but with more focus on allowing you to just listen to you favorite songs/artists. I like both for their own unique offerings. Great find! Eric.
Eric,
Don’t feel bad. You’re not the LAST person to find out about this. That distinction is mine alone-LOL!
I actually found Pandora stumbling my friends’ favorites on StumbleUpon and was instantly sucked in. I kept clicking all over the site to see what “the catch” was. There was none. You can listen to music to your heart’s content and buy it if you wish.
Great concept.
Jeff
Jeff´s last blog post..How Did I End Up Here?
I loved Pandora. But it was pulled for those of us not in the US a while ago … copyright reasons.
@Jeff: I know, the ‘no catch’ thing really got me. What a great *free* tool!
@Gus: That stinks!
Love Pandora. Get Airport and Airfoil and stream it to your home stereo. The sound quality is quite good.
I found Pandora about a year ago. I love the fact that you can have so many personlaized radio stations at Pandora. I tend to personalize them after my favorite artists. I’ve got one station that is titled “George Winston,” another one is “Luke Bloom,” and another is “Chris Isaak.” But I do think I will go check out Slacker, as that’s new to me!!