TALK TO THE GENOME

As a music lover, this is the single coolest thing I have ever come across in my entire adult life.

I was pointed to Pandora by my buds on Digs, and it is SO FREAKING AMAZING. I may never listen to another online streaming radio station again.

What it does is basically create a personal streaming radio station based on the music you like. It sounds simple, (and it really is) but the technology behind it is incredibly awesome.

It's run by the computer program written for the Music Genome Project. This project discovered about 400 different qualities that each and every song ever written shares. Like, tempo, timber, key, overall quality, lyrical phrasing, chord progressions, etcetera. Think song DNA. You can hear the creator talk about it in this May 2005 NPR interview (before the release of Pandora) or read more on their website.

Pandora is what allows you to TALK to the genome. You log in to Pandora, and create your own stream by using a very nifty little flash player. You give it artists and songs that you like, then it picks and chooses from its MASSIVE music library and then plays it back for you. It is soooooo slick. So when you tell the genome that you like 'Golddigger' by Supreme Beings of Leisure, it supposes that you will also like 'Secret' by Madonna, or 'Elephant Woman' by Blonde Redhead.

And it's totally right 95% of the time. If you hear a song you don't like, you just click on the album that pops up and tell Pandora you don't like it. It won't play that song ever again. If you click on a certain artist twice and say you don't like their songs, then it will never play that artist again. If you REALLY like what it's playing, it gives you an option to buy the album or song from iTunes or Amazon. 'Timor' by Shakira came on, and I clicked on 'Why is This Song Playing?' (because, um, it's Shakira) and it said: "Based on what you've told us so far, we're playing this track because it features synth rock arranging, electronica influences, a subtle use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation and a vocal-centric aesthetic." And they were right. If I hadn't known it was Shakira, I would have loved it right off the bat. It's all about discovery, people.

I think the longer you listen and give feedback, the better it gets. (I know, duh.) I've been listening for, oh, I'd say about 30hrs total at this point, and I've just about got it tuned perfectly. 8 out of 10 songs are awesome, and 6 of those songs I've never even heard of before (and that's saying something). We're not talking Top40 radio here. We're talking deep cut obscurity, mixed in with Top40 stuff, club mixes, remixes, omigod everything.

Seriously, I was up until 5am the other night, simply because I didn't want to shut it off. No joke. I wanted to see what it would give me next. I just keep it on in the background (down in the toolbar) and maximize it when I want to see what's playing or to give it another suggestion. And did I mention that it is totally free? Holy Crap!

Try out BigSkyStarlet Radio. You'll need a Flash Player and you'll have to create an account (it's super quick and easy and (did I mention?) completely and totally free).

So there you go. Talk to the genome, create your own station and change your life.