pandora

There is something cathartic about singing. Belting it out. Whether it be along to a song or a cappella in my very own shower concert, I crave it…its become a need to fill. However, my inspiration has been on "E" for a long time.

With "free" radio virtually music-less and music television seemingly a thing of the past, the remaining avenues for music exploration are limitless and therefore overwhelming. I browse through MySpace music sites on a regular basis but infrequently stumble across an artist I like and/or have not heard. As an XM subscriber, I am blessed with commercial-free (almost), in-depth and diverse music options...but still, I find myself so frequently changing the station, unless I am using it for background noise over dinner or during a party...in which case, I have my faves plugged into my presets.

Since exiting the college scene a few moons ago, I am not exposed to nearly as many people who bring new music to the table…er, stereo. The local music scene is infested with 16-20 year olds that I avoid at all costs and thus, I am absent from a culture on which I used to thrive. My peers are now business colleagues and we differ so much in age and interests that its infrequent they introduce me to something that I actually like…though, it does happen occasionally.

My musical tastes vary to a fault. I maintain a "mantra" for appreciating the soulful and unashamed artists - whose voice and style are different and captivating, yet symmetrical with my taste – however, I struggle to define my taste. There really isn't a category of music that I don't dabble in. It pains me when people "write-off" types of music…because clearly they haven't explored it entirely. For me, my dislikes span across all genres and my likes are far more weighted than my dislikes. I am not into whiners or the overly melancholy. I really dislike scream driven songs. I like acoustic versions of songs. I love jazz. I like hip-hop. I love fusions of genres. I really enjoy country inspired music, bluegrass and ballads alike. I do not have a genre blacklist like so many. Perhaps they fear typecasting themselves. So - where is my station?

I've always longed for a means to assemble a variety of music that appeals to me, ranging from hip hop to jazz, from chick-rock to new age. My mix CDs and iPod only get me as far as my collection takes me, which, even with hundreds of options, I find to be binding. And then came Pandora (dot com). A friend introduced me to Pandora about 6 months ago and I must say - this is the best thing to happen to music lovers since the advent of Napster. Pandora and the Music Genome Project lend fans of new music a much needed helping hand...for free!

Taking all of my musical tastes, considering them "genes" as if they are biologically innate, Pandora analyzes my artist or song entries and creates a database for me to start my own genome. The more artists and songs I enter, the narrower my station becomes. Using attributes including melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, and lyrics, Pandora's technology driven site creates a station based fundamentally on the song, not the artist or genre in which one "belongs". To further customize my station, Pandora allows me to approve or disapprove of individual songs through a "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" icon. Thumbs down does not off the artist entirely, merely the song and any other song that may be similar to it.

For people who work a desk job, (like me) Pandora is salvation from 9-5 monotony. I generally use it as background noise while I write and work but if an artist or song catches my ear, its a simple and un-distracting process to bookmark in my profile. By bookmarking, I can later go back to my Pandora profile and check out all my bookmarked artists or songs…then I can further investigate using limitless online research tools (The Google, for one).

The Pandora interface may seem a little intimidating at first but after the initial steps of creating an account and starting your first station, it is straightforward, intuitive, and addictive! You can give your station any name you'd like (be creative) and you can add any artist or song to these stations - and you are able to create up to 100 stations! But I am having difficulty getting passed 5. Currently, my Reforock station (a morph of Reggae, Folk, and Rock classified songs/artists) occupies most of my listening time.

It is rare today for me to sit down and listen to music by choice rather than out of circumstance or boredom. I used to thoroughly enjoy listening to a new CD front to back 2-3 times over, repeating my newly deemed favorites until I practically knew every word...then singing along for hours, sharing with my roommattes and friends, playing it over and over on car rides. Pandora has reinvented the youthful music fan in me. For that I am grateful…I have rediscovered a passion that drove me from my teen years into my early twenties.

No longer do the music giant monopolies control what or whom I listen to...I've got Genome on my side. It may be a stretch but perhaps Pandora is our "box" of treasures in a world full of temptation and distraction. And to that, I sing.

From the Pandora creators: "The name Pandora means "all gifted" in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. She was also, as we all know, very curious. Unlike those Gods of old, however, we celebrate that virtue and have made it our mission to reward the musically curious among us with a never-ending experience of music discovery."

Go to Pandoraand create your profile...and share your stations with others to help them get started.