Thursday, January 12, 2006
Pandora's Box contains Hope...and Kicking Tunes
Pandora is an awesome flash application that grew out of the Music Genome Project, which looked to categorize music by characteristics they share. You type in an artist, and Pandora builds a playlist of artists whose songs share characteristics with the artist or song in question. While listening to the list, you can refine your station by rating tracks, save them to a favorites list, and purchase either the album from Amazon or individual track from iTunes. What makes Pandora so incredible is that it actively, rather than passively, takes the listener to similar music in a way that is miles above any other online music service. It truly expands musical horizons for its users. Recently, Music Psychologist (thatĀ?s a profession?) Adrian North said that "The accessibility of music has meant that it is taken for granted and does not require a deep emotional commitment once associated with music appreciation". I tend to disagree. While North might be right that music has become a commodity, music even on a passive level speaks to people. If a listener canĀ?t become emotionally invested in a song, itĀ?s because that music they are currently listening to has no depth to it. It's superficial from the outset. And when a piece that does have that depth comes to the forefront, it becomes ever more apparent for its ability to break out of the mediocrity.
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