Pandora: radio from the Music Genome Project

I'm sure that many of you have heard of the Human Genome Project, which is incredibly fascinating to a lot of people. However, what if we could do a 'genome project' for other things? Well, strides have been made to do just that...for music! What a wide, varied and infinitely un-pin-down-able (if you'll allow me to make up a word) subject!

Excerpt from Music Genome Project @ Wikipedia.com:

The Music Genome Project, created in January 2000, is an effort founded by Will Glaser, Jon Kraft, and Tim Westergren to "capture the essence of music at the fundamental level" using over 400 attributes to describe songs and a complex mathematical algorithm to organize them.

Speaking as someone who's used Pandora for the last half-year or so, I can tell you that it is amazing. It's a free service, first of all--which, as fantastic as it is, is a real treat! Secondly, it's customizable. Thirdly, it's user-friendly and has a comprehensive FAQ, in case of confusion.

First, you create what's called a 'station,' which is based on a single artist or song and, based on that artist or song, the station will play songs with similar genome markers. The customization begins almost immediately with a tab helpfully labeled "Guide Us." If you click on it, you're given a choice of five options to use:

I really like this song - play more like it! (Thumbs-up)

I don't like this song - it's not what this station should play. (Thumbs-down)

I'm tired of this song - don't play it for a month. (Zzz)

Why is this song playing? (?)

I want to add more kinds of music to this station. (+)

Most of the options, of course, are fairly self-explanatory. The first two choices can be done without the aid of the 'Guide Us' tab by hovering over the song's tab in your 'radio.' A thumbs-up image and a thumbs-down image give you the option of marking a song as favorable or unfavorable and, in the middle of those is an up-arrow of sorts which, when clicked upon, give you even more options!

I won't go into too much more detail, as playing around with it is part of the fun. But, there are profile pages for artists which usually give you some measure of information about them and three artists with whom they share similar qualities. You can view abbreviated versions of these at the bottom of your 'radio' in the Pandora Extras section by clicking on 'Now Playing.'

Additionally, in Pandora Extras below your 'radio', you can choose to simply listen to pre-generated 'Genre Stations,' which include a bevvy of options. If you're not sure where to start with your own stations, this is a wonderful thing to use. Say you're a fan of Nirvana, but prefer to listen to a genre station. You could select 'Alternative' and, from the options for further customization, you would select 'Grunge / Seattle Sound.'

There is truly no limit to what types of music this wondrous radio will play for you. All that's required is that you tell it what you like and it'll do its best to play it for you. It's tailored specifically to your tastes and, even better, it'll skip songs you don't like--to an extent. If it sounds confusing, it's only because the system is so simplistic and does so much that it takes more words to describe. Seriously, give it a shot! You may find new music you like or you can settle down to listen to some favorites you may not have heard in a long time.

With the travesty of Clear Channel's strangle-hold on the majority of radio stations, these days, we need to fight for good music. Plus, Pandora's great to have on in the background while you're at work or at home. It's great for parties and almost any other situation you can think of, so don't hesitate to visit it and re-discover the world of music--tailored to your tastes.