Pandora & the future of Internet radio.

Take a few moments to consider your favorite music. How did you discover it? Was it through a radio single? Maybe a recommendation from a friend or an impulse purchase at your local record store? Now think about how frighteningly arbitrary this is – there are literally hundreds of obscure artists you might love if only you had a more reliable way to find them.

Two weeks ago, Tim Westergren came to Charlottesville's Gravity Lounge to discuss his answer to this problem – Pandora radio.

"This is the perfect venue for a small concert," said Westergren, a former musician and film composer, as he took the stage in front of about 30 listeners. "I would have loved to have played here."

Pandora is part of the Music Genome Project, a huge database housing detailed characteristics for almost half a million songs. It takes more than 400 musical attributes into consideration, such as melody, harmony, rhythm, vocals and structure, when categorizing a track. In fact, there are so many factors that it can take half an hour to analyze one single piece.

"The genome grows by about 15,000 songs a month," Westergren said, acknowledging the relatively slow pace by which the site's music catalogue expands. However, he stressed quality over quantity – it's better to have a handful of excellent tracks than to dilute the system with a vast collection of mediocre music.

Recommendations on Pandora radio are directly linked to the genome's database. Users input an artist or song that they like, then the genome is searched for similar music. Results are eclectic and purposefully so. Pandora's aim is to refine the perceptions of what we like in music. If Pandora's recommendations are off, users are given the ability to tweak their station to better fit their tastes through a simple "thumbs up / thumbs down" system. If a song gets a thumbs up, the radio station will play more songs that share those genome traits. If a song gets a thumbs down, it will be banned from the station, and its genome's traits will be downplayed in future radio choices. Users can customize up to 100 stations in this manner.

"Of course, Pandora doesn't factor popularity into the music it chooses," Westergren explained, pointing out one of Pandora's key advantages. Songs are selected solely based on their genome properties. Thus, a station serves as an equal platform for all music. This is great news for independent artists. In an industry driven by top-40 radio, unsigned and independent musicians can be like needles in a haystack.

In fact, more than 70 percent of the musicians on Pandora are not signed to a major label. During the meeting, Westergren laughed as he described the albums he receives that are simply CD-R's with Post-It notes.

"But that's what it's all about – getting this music heard when you wouldn't be able to find it otherwise," he said.

Pandora has definitely made waves in the music industry, with both big and indie labels.

"One out of 10 people logging onto the Pandora service end up buying new albums," Westergren said. Smaller artists have also reported significant increases in their iTunes sales after submitting tracks to the genome.

The genome system is not the only thing that might attract you to Pandora. For example, the interface is one of the Web's finest. It is sleek and simple – simply enter your music and start hearing the results.

"Another one of the best things about Pandora is its portability," Westergren said, pointing out that you can log onto any computer and your stations will be waiting for you. With an increase in public hotspots and wireless MP3 players in development, this could be a powerful asset for Web-based radio.

So what's next for Pandora? Charlottesville's staunchest fans brought several suggestions to the meeting. Some of the more interesting ideas included tuning the genome to emotional content or adding forums so users can discuss new music with one another. Westergren, ever devoted to giving exposure to new musicians, offered his own idea – "I'd like Pandora to give little alerts when a recommended artist is playing a gig nearby." The company is also looking into expanding to meet the needs of the international market. At the moment, station content is only licensed for U.S. users.

It's obvious Pandora has a rich future, but can it level the musical playing field? If nothing else, Westergren is confident that those who use his service will find music they love and would not have found otherwise. He also urges us to keep an open mind: "If Céline Dion comes up on your station, then we hope to convince that you actually like Céline Dion."

Ethan

Originally published for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2006/sep/28/dont-look-just-listen-pandoras-web-radio/

Cursive - Happy Hollow

Ever wondered what would happen if an emo-core band combined forces with a brass ensemble?

How about now?

That's right, folks. Cursive, an Omaha-based indie band, has decided to incorporate a brass ensemble into its latest release, Happy Hollow. Trumpets. Trombones. Saxophones. It's the real deal! No, it's not ska. Yes, it is awesome.

When I heard about this new development, I wasn't sure what to expect. The band's previous studio album, The Ugly Organ, used string bass to create lush – at times beautiful – soundscapes. Thinking that Cursive might hold to this pattern, I looked forward to sprawling arrangements of rock and brass in Happy Hollow.

My expectations were shattered with the first downbeat of the opening track. "Opening the Hymnal/Babies" greets the listener with an ugly flare of trumpets and distorted guitar before resigning to a somewhat calmer Latin-style arrangement. The track boldly announces Cursive's new sound and depth of their experimentation on the record. The creepy instrumentation brilliantly sets the tone for the rest of the album – an elaborate investigation of societal hypocrisy, confusion and disillusionment.

This jarring first track segues nicely into "Dorothy at Forty," the album's first single and perhaps the best Cursive song of all time. It is a perfect fusion of Cursive's skittish guitars, rolling bass lines and shiny new brass section, all buoying Tim Kasher's voice over the mess the instruments create. The song's neurotically infectious beat and unique sound is sure to win most listeners over.


Cursive - "Dorothy at Forty"
While "Dorothy at Forty" presents Happy Hollow's clearest high point, there are many other gems scattered throughout the album. "Dorothy Dreams of Tornadoes" comes the closest to topping "Dorothy at Forty," opening with halting guitars and a driving drum line before building to a soaring brass finale and coming pretty close to my initial expectations for the album's sound. "So-So Gigolo," despite its inane song title, is ridiculously catchy and manages to (appropriately) invoke images of Grand Theft Auto. "Bad Sects," a song about a homosexual priest, showcases front-man Kasher at top lyrical form – "Some nights he'd proclaim his preference/ but only flat-back drunk on a bottle of Jameson."

Some people may find that Happy Hollow's abrasive sound grates on their nerves, and the novelty of brass plus emo quickly wears off. However, I was charmed by the juxtaposition of the two genres and found the album to be another solid entry into Cursive's catalog. My enthusiasm for this album might wane in the coming months; only time will tell. But for now, I'm going to be playing "Dorothy at Forty" in regular rotation for at least a few more weeks.

Originally published for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2006/aug/31/cursives-newest-is-happily-far-from-hollow