Pandora

[Doc Martin]

Pandora, created by the Music Genome Project, is the doorway to a vast trove of musical information. With Pandora you can explore to your heart's content. Just drop the name of one of your favorite songs or artists into Pandora and let the Genome Project go.

Pandora will quickly scan its entire world of analyzed music to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice. Then sit back and enjoy as it creates a listening experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs for you. You can create as many 'stations' as you want. And you can even refine them. If it's not quite right you can tell it more and it will get better for you.

[Scott Dolan]

Wow!

That is really cool. Thanks, Doc!

[moneyp]

I entered "Velvet Underground" as the search term.

First song "I'm Beginning To See The Light" (live) by, who else, The Velvet Underground, and a message pops up offering to explain why they're not playing The Velvet Underground. But they are!

Second song: "Heaven And Hell" (live) by The Who. Huh?

Third song: "I'll Be Alright" by Stiv Bators. Nice!

Fourth song: "Jumpin' In The Night" by The Flamin' Groovies.

Fifth song: "Strange Town" by the Jam.

Seems to be moving away from VU, but it's pretty cool so far.

[Scott Dolan]

And here I thought Napster was the coolest thing ever.

Shit, this is right up there with Google Maps/Earth.

[rollhead]

This is great, thanks Doc.

I typed in Lester Young... and got the following

1. Lester Young
2. Stefon Harris
3. Some new age swill by "Pavlo" which I told them to cut out.
4. Lester Young
5. Coleman Hawkins
6. Lester Young
7. Roy Haynes Quartet
8. Cannonball Adderley

I also typed in a couple of other "artists" to try to confuse them, including Sonny Rollins and the Tin Hat Trio.

I tried to tell them I liked Steve Reich, but the program didn't recognize him.

[moneyp]

"Velvet Underground" somehow wound up repeating a slew of modern punk bands (NOFX and the like) with a smattering of The Damned. I wonder if it's geared to direct you to current artists.

[Brian Olewnick]

I tried to tell them I liked Steve Reich, but the program didn't recognize him.

I did a little limit testing and got non-recognition of Xenakis and Cardew but hits on Fennesz and Partch (the latter in tandem with Kerouac and someone else).

[rollhead]

I did a little limit testing and got non-recognition of Xenakis and Cardew but hits on Fennesz and Partch (the latter in tandem with Kerouac and someone else).

i was thinking of trying Partch, too.

[Brian Olewnick]

I just plugged in John Fahey and have a nice little string going...

Thanks, Doc!

[rollhead]

I wonder if it's geared to direct you to current artists.

I am guessing yes.

They keep trying to direct me toward recent New Age stuff, and I have been giving them the "thumbs down."

But I have heard some music that I might not otherwise hear. For some reason, they played Elmo Hope for me, which I liked a lot.

[Scott Dolan]

I am guessing yes.

Not me.

Note that they have direct links to Amazon. I'll assume if you can get it on Amazon, you will hear it on Pandora.

If Amazon doesn't carry it............

Just a hunch based upon what I've been seeing so far. Been getting both old and new artists. And everyone in between!



Very nice site.

[Scott Dolan]

Hahahaha........


Hey rollie, no sooner did I submit my previous post, they started playing Boa from the Elmo Hope Trio.


Sounds very nice!

[Brian Olewnick]

Cool. My Fahey string has brought me to Sir Richard Bishop who I'd heard of but never heard--sounds very nice.

[Doc Martin]

I'm glad everyone likes it. Has anyone put in song titles?

[Enforcer]

Nice! I put in song titles. It worked really well with Barry Manilow's Mandy and Backstreet Boys' I Want It That Way, choosing similar, equally hypnotic choices that leave me on the edge of my seat in anticipation of the next tune.

[rollhead]

I finally beat "New Age" out of them.... The last two they played for me were Eric Dolphy and John Zorn.

You are right, Scott, if it is on Amazon or iTunes it is likely to pop up on Pandora.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Very cool concept, but I'm still a little wary. It didn't know Rokia Traore and it thought Orchestra Baobab was a European classical group. My Billy Bang station went way too mainstream. But my Cadillacs station is doing better, having recovered from an atrocious second song by some weak cover group I'd never heard of which they promised they'd never play on this station again.

I don't know, now, this version of The Spaniels' "Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight" is an outtake, it's not the original hit. Hmm... Maybe they're just Doo Wop challenged, but I'm suspending judgement.

[rollhead]

Hahahaha........


Hey rollie, no sooner did I submit my previous post, they started playing Boa from the Elmo Hope Trio.


Sounds very nice!

i couldn't figure out why they played Elmo Hope for me, until I realized he played with Sonny Rollins who I selected as a favorite artist.

It's playing Fred Lonberg-Holm for me now. I like it a lot.

[Scott Dolan]

Used Kenny Garrett for mine(first cd case my eyes fell upon when I first opened the site).


Been playing me all kinds of good shit. Got some seriously ass stomping Roswell Rudd grooving right now.

[Scott Dolan]

np:Cold Ride - Curlew


Anybody here ever heard of this Curlew band? Sounded somewhat interesting.

[rollhead]

Used Kenny Garrett for mine(first cd case my eyes fell upon when I first opened the site).


Been playing me all kinds of good shit. Got some seriously ass stomping Roswell Rudd grooving right now.

Roswell Rudd is incredible.

I am getting "Happy Apple," a so-called "jazz/punk" group and "Gubbish."

Never heard of either of them, but Gubbish sounds a lot like Tin Hat Trio

[Scott Dolan]

Curlew kind of sounds like a really demented version of The Bad Plus, with guitar thrown in for good measure.


And yes, Roswell Rudd is incredible. Have always liked his music.

[Brian Olewnick]

How long do these strings last? Not complaining, just curious. I've got Etta Baker pickin' now. Never heard of her but sounds excellent. Whoops, now it's "Pig Ankle Strut" (!) by the Memphis Jug Band.

PS. Scott, Curlew was a pretty interesting band, 80s through early 90s I think? George Cartwright, Pippin Barnett, the late Tom Cora and others. http://cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/curlew.html

[rollhead]

now it's "Pig Ankle Strut" (!) by the Memphis Jug Band.

is that anything like the "Pig Ankle Rag"?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Fencoding=UTF8

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

It seems to get better with tweaking: Frankie Lymon, Clyde McPhatter, Solomon Burke, LaVerne Baker, Paul Bascomb(!), Jackie Wilson... I'm starting to get faith!!

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Monkey Hips and Rice by The Five Royales! Goddamn!!

[Scott Dolan]

The site truly kicks ass!!!

[Brian Olewnick]

Switched over to Mingus. After playing "For Harry Carney" from Changes, it went to Tina Brooks' "True Blue". I queried "why" and one of the reasons given was the incorporation of subtle latin rhythms, so I guess that's a Mingus criterion. Not unreasonable, of course, though not the first thing I think of. And not that the Brooks piece they're playing, "Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You" is noticeably latinate. Still, a nice piece to hear.

[rollhead]

As I read your post, mine was playing "Remember Rockerfeller at Attica," off Mingus' "Changes One" album.

[Brian Olewnick]

Seems to be weak in the "world" music area. I plugged in Ravi Shankar, thinking that would be an easy hit but no dice. Caetano Veloso came through but almost everything in the string wasn't really in the same ballpark (Johnny Mathis, Jimmy Buffet, Elvis Costello), only one Brazilian.

I tried entering a country (Viet Nam) but only got a rock group of the same name. Be nice if you could scan for a geographical genre.