Out of the [Pandora] Box

In the background: Dream Machine, Downtempo Mix (Hotel Costes 8), by Mark Farina & Sean Hayes

I have been a fan of Pandora since it was introduced to me by a friend, to whom I ranted on about a particular online station that put in a Gametap ad every other song. Since my initial Pandora experience, I had told at least 15 people about it; I have posted on their blog and gave my kudos to the site's creators; I have also purchased albums/tunes initially heard from this medium that have made it to my everyday sountrack.

The Music Genome Project is quite an endeavor. A group of music enthusiasts and analysts, etc. came together in 2000 to gather, listen, and analyze albums, artists, and songs. This growing collection has been then tagged "genes" or musical attributes (e.g. melody, harmony, instrumentation, etc.) that Tim Westergren and company identified - therefore, providing the ability to map which music can be connected to songs and artists based on shared quality and aforementioned attributes.

Enter the birth of Pandora.

One morning, I was enjoying the selection coming through my Morcheeba Station - with songs coming in from Morcheeba, Thievery Corporation, Portishead, Groove Armada, etc. Good sounds to keep me sane enough, and not too intrusive - as I trudge through the dictates of the daily grind.

As I heard the initial riff of the next song, I stopped - questioning what I was hearing. Frantic keyboard typing stopped.... I clicked on the Pandora tab and I sure wasn't imagining it: They're playing "Can't Fight This Feeling," by REO Speedwagon.

Before I go to the Guide Us (Oh, I will...) section and quickly choose the Thumbs Down option, I opted for the Why is this song playing? option to get answers. I was told that, "based on what you've told us so far... this track features the subtle use of harmony, instrumentation, etc."

And this is one reason why the word needs to get around and all those who acknowledge music to be a huge part of their existence need to take part. To finish my REO Suckswagon story, I eventually clicked on the Thumbs Down and got a confirmation apology: "Sorry about that. We'll try something else and will not play that song again on this station."

Yes, I will still listen to Pandora and yes - I still think the Music Genome Project is one of those great ideas that I wish I came up with. There are still improvements to be made, and therefore the creators need our input. (See May 02, 2006 Post: Welcome to the Music Genome Project on this blog for Tom's explanation) That is unless you're okay with having Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right But It's Okay" be in your Massive Attack station (good heavens - or in any station for that matter).