Throw Mythical Caution to the Wind: Open Pandora's Boom Box!

by Lael

Soul is a well-known musical genre, and, considering it features amazing artists like Sam Cooke, Al Green, Irma Thomas and Bill Withers, one well worth exploring and enjoying. However, in a larger sense, all music is soul music. Think about it. As energetic beings, our very essence is vibration, and, in so far as the vibrations we perceive as sound resonate or fail to resonate with the core of our being, all music speaks to our soul.

Not only does music address us at the level of soul, it animates us. When two wave patterns meet, they intersect and a new one is formed. In just that way, music jostles us emotionally, literally lifting or dampening our spirits.

Given the profound power of rhythmic and melodic sound, imagine turning on the radio and only hearing song after song that you love. Free of Clear Channel at last, would you think you were dreaming? Would you wishfully hypothesize that the mysterious DJ making these pleasing choices must be your soul mate? Or would you smile, turn up the volume and succumb to the urge to dance?

Pandora.com, a site that free of any charge personalizes the play lists of individualized online radio stations, routinely gives its users just this sort of deeply satisfying experience. Just as there'd be no cloning or genetic testing without the Human Genome Project, Pandora.com relies on the similarly named Music Genome Project which uses a list of musical attributes and a mathematical algorithm to "capture the essence of music at a fundamental level." Different organisms vary in terms of genetic complexity, and so too do different sorts of music. Pop music, the amoeba, it would seem, of the musical world, contains approximately 150 genes, whereas rap has 350, jazz about 400, and classical and world music between 300 and 500.

While music might be complex, Pandora's user interface is not. Are you an aficionado of abstract lyrics, dirty organ riffs, gravelly female vocals or minor key tonalities? The beauty of Pandora.com is that you needn't have any idea. Merely type in the name of a favorite song or musical artist and press enter. The site does the rest by first decoding your selection and then finding its closest relatives. Your votes up or down as various new songs play refine the system's understanding of and ability to cater to your tastes.

Pandora.com gives a whole new meaning to the somewhat contemptible term "easy listening." Sit back and turn up the tunes. Whether or not they feature R&B influences, smooth vocals or any other attributes of Classic Soul, if you enjoy what's playing, your own soul will thank you.

| 01/15/08 | Technology