Monday, October 19, 2009

"I'm talkin' bout music I ain't talkin' bout rap, you talkin' bout who's hot I ain't talkin' bout that"



Although Jeff uses Pandora a whole bunch, usually just letting it stream from his laptop while he attempts to cook or get some work done, I am not at all a fan. In fact, I resent that my musical preference  is being deduced to the predictability of a computer code, written by people who have no idea about me, or what I'm doing during any particular listening opportunity. Listening to music is an intimate experience for me. I listen to a wide array of music, and prefer to let chance direct my own non-virtual steam. The one time I used Pandora, I was more than let down.  Suggesting Taylor Swift because I like Gillian Welch? I don't think so.  Not that Taylor isn't talented, but it's not  so much about the genre as it is about the music. I do love getting suggestions from friends, and finding new artists when I least expect it, but that's just it - I  have to least expect it.   It's impossible to tell me what I am bound to  like because I enjoy Nina Simone, Radiohead, and even at times, Jay Z.   All of the mathematically deduced suggestions completely elude the fact that listening to music, in many ways, is an act of freedom, of self-discovery, and no computer program can come close to the thoughtfulness, coincidence, and even fate, that's involved in that ever satisfying voyage.