Progressive Wednesday

Yes to Music, No to Muzak: Listen

Listen:

We grew up listening to the radio — Matt to oldies and crooners, Eric to 70s pop — and we love the idea of radio — music streaming through the air, cross-crossing the expanses, literally changing (not to sound too sentimental, but rather scientific) the beats of our hearts. But we despise the growing number of commercials, the lack of alternative choices, the top-40 rock and pop leanings on FM. And we're not quite willing or able to shell out ten to thirteen smackers each month for satellite radio. So, we've welcomed Pandora into our lives with open ears.

Believe us, when we first heard about Pandora, we thought there was a hitch. There ain't. Pandora is the product of the Music Genome Project, which, according to its founder, Tim Westergren, aspires to “help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe.–

How do they hope to achieve it? Well, the bad boys and girls of the Music Genome Project pour over thousands and thousands of songs, and categorize tunes and artists by considering “melody, harmony and rhythm,– ¦instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony.– By doing this, the software they've created better understands your musical tastes. You select an artist you dig a lot, in my case, my first selection was Wilco, so Pandora started a Wilco “station– for me. When a song plays by an artist other than Wilco that they think I might like based on my preference for Wilco, I'm allowed to rate the song and let them know if I'd like to hear more songs like that one or not.

For example, since writing the first draft of this, my “Wilco Station– has automatically played songs by Sonic Youth (which I told it I dug), Stephen Malkmus (who I didn't realize put out solo work post-Pavement), The Go Betweens (which I told Pandora never to play again for me, thank you very much), Stephin Merritt (ugh), Box Set (another ugh), and Wilco. Based on the thumbs up and down ratings I was able to give, the station changed more to my liking.

The page does have fairly inconspicuous advertisements on the right side of the player, but if you're not into looking at ads, you can buy an ad-free subscription on the cheap.

So why are we suggesting this?

1. It can steer you clear of corporate radio, which is essentially owned by 10 media conglomerations.
2. It offers variety that you control.
3. You're bound to discover little known artists that you never would have thought of or discovered otherwise.
4. You might buy records from here or here and support creative efforts, or better yet, you might go see a show.
5. And if you do number four, you'll be helping the culture progress, because art, more than any other human endeavor, can express and alter a society's desires and intentions.

So go ahead: fire it up.

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