Pandora: The Friendly Radio

No, this blog isn't about opening a mysterious and deadly box. It's about Pandora Radio. I was thinking about Kyle's post about favorite bands and the people who introduced them to him. While I have been introduced to many of my favorite bands by friends, I also do a lot of searching out new bands on my own. For whatever reason I constantly feel compelled to find new artists, new songs, new sounds. That habit is probably a reflection of my fickle nature or inability to be content or something...but, anyway, I think it's fun.

One of my favorite places to find new music is Pandora. Their site describes them as a "new, more personalized kind of radio -- where the stations play only music you like." If you're looking for low-impact music searching, Pandora is for you. No need to search the blogosphere (that's the first time I've actually ever used that word...I'm not sure how I feel about it) or through racks of CDs at your local music shop. Once you create a Pandora account (it's completely free), simply enter the name of an artist or song you like, and the website does all the work. They will create a "station" that plays music similar to the song/artist you chose.

For example, as you know, I'm a huge Eric Hutchinson fan. So, I created a Pandora Eric Hutchinson station. The first song Pandora put on for me was a live version of "Don't Hold Back" by Hutchinson. The second song was "Listen to Your Heartbeat" by Ford Turrell, an artist I've never heard of. He sounds a bit like Ray LaMontagne, who I also like. So, I click the little "thumbs up" icon on the track, to let Pandora know that I like this song and would like to hear more like it. Similarly, if Pandora messes up (which it does now and again) and plays something you don't like, you can either simply skip it or click the "thumbs down" icon, which both stops the song and also prevents Pandora from playing it for you ever again. The third song Pandora played for me was "As I'm Leaving," by David Gray.

That's my plug for Pandora. Go check it out, find some new music, and then tell me what you find! :)