No, Pandora is just about the coolest thing when it comes to online music radios, along with Last.fm
Yahoo and all the other big internet radio sites usually aren't that great (Musicmatch's is okay)
Pandora has some ridiculous music "links" between artists/songs. You can type in The White Stripes and a Mandy Moore song will pop up. Also the thumbs up/down option doesn't actually affect what music gets played on your station. It is a tool to help the site designers/researchers better understand good matches between music. That is nice and all, but it sure as hell doesn't help me when the same song I don't want to hear comes on everytime I go to the site. Also, yuo can't skip an unlimited number of songs which is the biggest drawback. Both of the two previous problems can be solved by just skipping tracks, but sometimes the connections are just so bad that you need to skip 5 in a row, and once you hit their limit, you are stuck listening to anything that comes up.
Launchcast uses user ratings to make their links, not some off-the-wall musical connections like "minor-key tonality" or "vocal-centric aesthetic." If I like a band, and 1,000 other people who like that band also like this other band, I am willing to bet that my chances of liking that other band are higher than me liking a band that shares "minor-key tonality" with a band I like.
It is a fun little site to type in a name of a band you want to hear one song from, and that is about all it is good for. Type in a band name and one song will play, not bad, but beyond that it is frustrating and not worth using.
On the other hand, if you are interested into exploring new things, it is great. I typed in SUnn O))) and listened to some amazing ambient and drone tracks I never would have discovered. I think a lot of people's discomfort comes from realizing how close, structurally, their favourite rock artists are to their most reviled pop artist
On the other hand, if you are interested into exploring new things, it is great. I typed in SUnn O))) and listened to some amazing ambient and drone tracks I never would have discovered. I think a lot of people's discomfort comes from realizing how close, structurally, their favourite rock artists are to their most reviled pop artist
Yeah, it is good to type in a new band and hear somethign by them. Maybe you'll even hear something else you like. But the point is, they don't link based on what people actually like, they link based on what a guy in a room thinks is a connection between Pearl Jam and Mandy Moore. And I'm sure there are a ton of connections between the hardest rock bands to the softest pop stars, if you pick apart every aspect of songs, you are going to find similarities between anything.
I just prefer Launchcast because their links are actually based off of user likes and dislikes, not one guy in a room's person idea of what comprises certain songs.
I just prefer Launchcast because their links are actually based off of user likes and dislikes, not one guy in a room's person idea of what comprises certain songs.
I think it is far from what one guy thinks. A team of people would be more accurate.
I think it is far from what one guy thinks. A team of people would be more accurate.
Well you are probably right there. But still, maybe 10-50 people? picking apart every detail of songs to try to find what kind of instrumentation and vocal styles are used. I prefer a radio based off of other users views, not a room full of people micoanalysing songs. Just my opinion though.
Comments
Yahoo and all the other big internet radio sites usually aren't that great (Musicmatch's is okay)
http://www.555us.com/555NY/555ny_zipcodes.htm
take your pick
Launchcast uses user ratings to make their links, not some off-the-wall musical connections like "minor-key tonality" or "vocal-centric aesthetic." If I like a band, and 1,000 other people who like that band also like this other band, I am willing to bet that my chances of liking that other band are higher than me liking a band that shares "minor-key tonality" with a band I like.
It is a fun little site to type in a name of a band you want to hear one song from, and that is about all it is good for. Type in a band name and one song will play, not bad, but beyond that it is frustrating and not worth using.
But I can control it and it beats the hell out of radio.
yeh its cool
peace
I just prefer Launchcast because their links are actually based off of user likes and dislikes, not one guy in a room's person idea of what comprises certain songs.
I think it is far from what one guy thinks. A team of people would be more accurate.