Many I know have fallen hard for the free Internet radio site Pandora, and I’m happy if you consider this an advertisement for the site. It rocks.The rad thing about Pandora is that it combines two killer but previously rival concepts: Internet music’s freedom of choice with the excitement of radio and waiting to hear what comes on next.

Except on this site you’re more likely to love what you hear because of the site’s Musical Genome Project.

Basically, the project put multiple musicians and analysts up to the task of breaking down thousands of songs, spending up to 30 minutes per song to find the key elements that makes it “music to your ears.”

Instead of radio that acts as a taste-maker, Pandora works first from the individual listener’s taste, then makes music for them based on that.

Then the site went a step further by having its coders create “bots” that apply these layers of musical analysis and logic so that as you listen to a song or genre you’ve chosen, the bots can automatically line up several songs in your queue that you’re probably going to like.

If you’re in the mood to listen to something that’s heavy, psychedelic and goofy all at once but Frank Zappa is all you can think of, then type in one of his songs and enjoy – and next Pandora might introduce you to the delightfully wacky Captain Beefheart.

If you’re into militant early ’90s rap like NWA, you might find KRS-One or Public Enemy next on your list. If you like Kris Kristofferson you might get a recommendation for Townes Van Zandt. If you like Lady Gaga, it might introduce you to a less famous but just as sexual and weird act like Peaches.

I think you get the point right now, and you’re probably thinking, “Yeah, but I can just look up any band I hear about on YouTube, then if I like the song enough I’ll download it on iTunes.”

That’s what I do in most situations but I’m one of those people who actually likes surprises whether it’s what’s in my Christmas presents, what the waiter brings me at a restaurant, or yes, what music someone might have me listen to.

So for me radio was a thrill until the advent of Napster and the CD burner, at which point I realized I could make my own mix where I’d like everything.

But the thrill of not knowing was then gone. I can listen to an iPod playlist three times and it’s lost excitement for me. So I like Pandora because you don’t have to wait on your street-wise friend to suggest a new band for you, you just put Pandora on while you’re doing a paper or something else and let yourself enjoy all the delightful new artists you’ll hear, or classics you’d forgotten about.

So if you have time, you love music and you want that thrill of new, unexpected tunes filling your ears, give Pandora a try sometime.

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