iTunes store

Since I am old and don't listen to the radio much, I need new ways to discover new music. This is one of the reasons I started to play with Pandora, but that has been a disappointment, as I have already mentioned. Before I was playing with Pandora, I had tiny, tiny hopes for assistance from places like amazon and the iTunes store. Yeah, that didn't work so well.

Oh, iTunes store, do not judge me based on what I buy from you. The first song I bought was "Romeo's Tune" (shout out to Brunella!) and most of my purchases have been, well, impulsive. "The Groove Is in the Heart", oh yeah! The Darkness? Hell, yeah! Buying a handful of Christina Aguilara songs is cheaper than buying the whole greatest hits album, so I grab those (no, I won't tell you which ones.) There are some real embarrassments on the list (even than "What a Girl Wants" -- shut up!), but, at 99 cents a pop, who cares? 

However, this means that the music they recommend for me is just random and a bit scary. I try to modify the suggestions by rating other things and telling the store what I already own, but the crazy remains. Right now it is recommending Jimmy Buffett, "Still the One", and Brandy. Oh my. And no. Just no.

Oh, look! It just recommended "Jesus Christ Superstar"! Maybe there is hope after all...

Thoughts on Pandora

Lately I've been playing with Pandora and I'm trying to decide if I like it. I like the idea of its potential to expand my musical horizons. I like that it's free. I like that you can update your preferences, etc. But I am finding it limited.

I haven't really listened to it very much (probably a total of less than 10 hours) and the number of repeated songs I have had is higher than I would like. "Imagine" has come up a couple of times and, although I like it, there are so many other John Lennon songs out there. "Imagine" illustrates another point: Pandora doesn't seem to dig too deep into the catalog, which doesn't really help you discovery new music. If I check that I like "Imagine", shouldn't Pandora play something a little less common? Play "Jealous Guy", see if I like that as well, and then keep going further. I'm also wishing there was a better rating system. Thumbs up or down is not enough. There are a lot of songs I like okay, which I may throw a "thumbs up" at, but if it's something I really love (or really hate), shouldn't that affect things more? Once again, I like "Imagine" but we've all heard it a million times. I really love "Nobody Loves You when You're Down and Out", but all I can do is give it the same rating as I gave "Imagine."

There seems to be a love for live versions of songs, which, bleh! Sure, once in a while live versions are cool, but there's usually a reason a band has spent months in a studio recording an album. And because of the limits of the rating system, I don't want to hand out a "thumbs down" just because it's live. The other day it played a live version of "Badge". I like Cream, I like the song, didn't like it live. I want to hear more Cream, so I give it a "thumbs up" but now am I going to get more live stuff?

I'm trying to give it more time, but the repeating thing is getting to me. Right now, it's playing "Rebel, Rebel" again. I know that Bowie is a one-hit wonder and all...Grrrrr.

So, a blog and Pandora. Am I the coolest girl in 2003 or what?