A Bit Of A Waste Of Time But Not All Bad

MJ turned me on to Pandora.com a couple of weeks ago. It’s part of the music genome project, which is, now that I’ve read about it, the biggest bucket of fail in the history of arrogant stupidity. They try to break music down into smaller and smaller pieces like it was matter. I was lost for something to write about tonight. I mean really struggling, so I decided to listen to Pandora and write about how cool it is. I had planned to write about how addictive it can be, and probably best avoided by those that are obsessive compulsive. I have some obsessive tendencies. I find that unless I love the song, I’m only interested in what’s coming next. I’m not interested in the next song for itself. I’m only interested in how it relates to my station, and I find Pandora to be a bit repetitive and stubborn. I love 80’s Bay area speed metal. It was the first station I programmed. I chose the Big 4: Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer. Pandora kept feeding me Guns ‘N Roses, which wasn’t a big deal until I found out that musicians and scientists were allegedly breaking all the music down into algorithms made up of 400 characteristics. The only things that Guns ‘N Roses shares with the bands I chose is that they toured with Metallica for six months. They were a rock band. The actual music on the page couldn’t be more different. I wouldn’t have noticed the selection if it happened once, but Pandora has chosen more Guns ‘N Roses than it has Megadeth. Megadeth has released five times as much music as Guns ‘N Roses, so it’s not a sample size issue. Basically, the end result of the music genome project’s analysis is a snapshot of a Turtles or Coconuts. I’m still enjoying Pandora. I’m being introduced to new bands and songs, which was nearly impossible for anyone with a full time job. I’m just a little disappointed. I thought Pandora was something special, but it’s just an extended iTunes random. I feel like Dorothy when she pulled the curtain back and saw the Wizard. But at the end of the day, I get to listen to Black Sabbath for free. I win.