Like a Kid in a Candy Store

It recently occurred to me that my senior year is steadily drawing to a close. A bittersweet thought that certainly didn't leave nearly as fast as it surfaced. I found myself sifting through old letters and scanning old AIM contacts that had grown stale in the years of studying, moving dorms and finding new friends. In a moment I can only think to refer to as my quarter-life crisis, I pulled up a contact I hadn't spoken to in nearly a year. Kevin Durand.

A former senior himself, Durand seemed to understand the premature panic I was experiencing and prescribed the only legal high he could think of: Pandora.

"Like the greek myth?" I typed, confused and intrigued.

"No," I could almost hear him laughing as he typed the response. "Pandora, the Music Genome Project."

I clicked the link. "What the Hell is a music genome," I thought, "and why do I not know about this?!?!"

A milky white page with calming blue accents slid into view with a caption: "We have a single mission: To play music you'll love - and nothing else."

"Bold statement," I thought.

A small text field in the center of the screen prompted me to type in the name of a song or artist I wanted to hear.

"All right," I thought unimpressed. "I'll play your little game, but I'm going to pick something obscure. Something you probably won't be able to locate...just to prove a point."

I carefully typed the words "Imogen Heap" into the field, being sure not to spell it incorrectly and gain an unfair advantage over the haughty Web site. I wanted a clean victory.

To my surprise, one of my favorite songs "Hide and Seek" by the artist I had just barely finished typing poured out of my speakers and danced through my ears.

"Lucky guess," I thought, still unconvinced. As my song came to an end, the Web site keyed up an artist I had never heard of before. Interestingly enough...it was good. It was really good. It was time to do some homework on this genome thing.

In the year 2000 a group of musicians and music lovers banded together to create a Web site for the masses of the musically addicted. Noting each song they come across, the ambitious group analyzes each composition using up to 400 musical attributes designated by a trained musical analyst. These attributes are the key to unlocking the musical identity of a song as well as determining the listener's unique taste. With the proper attributes noted, the Web site can locate other songs with similar "musical genetics" and predict the listener's preferences.

I said it before and I'll say it again. Music may be the only legal high left, but it's a damn good one. But could this site supply my need for border rock?

I typed in "Mana" and anxiously awaited the response. After a brief pause that felt like an eternity, the sweet sounds of La Ley wrapped around me like a warm blanket. "El Duelo," is a beautiful duet featuring a soothing array of acoustic guitars, powerful vocals, violins, bongo drums, and oddly enough, some tasteful whistling.



Next up on the Pandora musical adventure: Shakira. Now don't judge just yet. This is not the Shakira the U.S. knows. This is authentic, simply unfooled around with, Shakira. The track is called "Si Te Vas." With an attitude that reminded me of early Alanis Morisette, the song had all the necessary elements to get me out of my chair and dancing.



The playlist went on for hours, a relentless stream of music I could barely understand but enjoyed just the same. Rocking out is a universal language like math and love. There's no one way to go about it, just do what makes sense to you. The Web site is most definitely a MUST SEE. If you're curious about another culture, musical style, or just music in general, this place is heaven.