Pandora's Box o' Music

Was checking out my pal Wendee's blog, The Digital Fridge Door, and saw that under her "Music I'm Listening To" list she said something about Pandora. So I clicked and found a very cool, free service started by something called the Music Genome Project. http://www.pandora.com/

Type in the name of a musical artist you like, and Pandora creates a radio station based on the type of music that artist makes. I typed in "Neil Finn," creator of Crowded House and genius solo artist, and sure enough, Pandora kicked in with a song of his called "One All." A message appeared saying that the next song would be of a similar structure and type. So now I'm nodding my head to a song called "Back to the Sunrise" by a group called The Folk Implosion. I've never heard of them, but I like them! Next up, "I've got a Flair" by Fountains of Wayne, a group I know thanks to my friend Brian. And sure thing - I like 'em. This rules! I could create another custom radio station by clicking on a button and typing in another artist. Let's do it.

So, I typed in The Clash, and a live version of "London's Burning" is now rocking my speakers. Click a fast forward button and I get "Pictures in the Mirror" by a group called The Living End. I like it! If I didn't, I could fast forward again to the next song of similar type.

This is far better than Amazon.com's feeble recommendations. My vote for the easiest way to find new music. Now if they could only do it for books...