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February 28, 2007

Curated stations: a few staff favorites

Sometimes people ask us what kinds of music the Pandora staff listens to. Truly, I think every possible genre of music is represented in our office in terms of what employees listen to for fun. I asked around at the office to see if my co-workers had any favorite stations they'd like to share, stations that have been carefully curated to produce pleasing results. Here's a handful of them for your listening pleasure; I'll post another couple rounds over the next few weeks.

If you have a station you're particularly proud of, whether it came together easily or with a lot of work, please tell us about it in the comments and link to the station page so we can take a look/listen!

Matt, our marketing and analytics guru, is particularly proud of his Classic Soul and Go-Go station, which he explains: "Go-Go has nothing to do with Belinda Carlisle or 60s dancers in boots. It's a drum-heavy flavor of soul/funk local to my hometown, Washington, D.C. Chuck Brown and Trouble Funk are some of Go-Go's biggest names. This station plays some classic soul grooves as well as some unique Go-Go that is rarely heard (until now) by folks other than D.C. locals."

Eric, an engineer and Pandora's second ever employee back in 2000, is a big fan of his Digichill station. He says he can work to this electronic station all day long.

Michelle, who is on the music buying team, recently put together a '60s Garage Nuggets station. See the station page for her interesting description and the long list of little-known artist seeds.

"Addi," one of our hip-hop/rap specialists and the professional DJ for the San Francisco Giants ballpark, offers up his favorite station, Pass the Peas, a mostly instrumental funk station that he says is ideal for parties. (now you have an excuse to have a party!)

(Keep reading, there's more....)

Alyssa, who greets visitors as they walk in the door at our office, loves Nerdy Boys Radio, which is based on just one song; she says it's her most fun and eclectic station, and that it was perfect "right out of the box," requiring very little feedback to perfect it.

And me? My favorite station is Radio Lucia, dating back to that fateful night I first logged on to Pandora, back before I worked here. I started by adding every artist that I could think of that I liked. Over time I've done a lot of tuning of the station. I've come to lean more toward song seeds than artist seeds as they're so much more precise. I make a lot of one-artist or one-song stations to check them out (the Benny Goodman station is amazing), but I always go back to my composite station.

Your turn to share!

Cheers, Lucia

Posted by Lucia at 12:56 PM | Comments (41)

February 26, 2007

Play Listen Repeat Vol. 8

Greetings!

Another excellent set of comments from last week's post. Thanks to everyone for such thoughtful and stimulating notions.... We'll definitely get back to lyrics sometime soon.

I've been reading Andy Summers' autobiography entitled One Train Later (which I love by the way), and hearing those early Police tracks again has brought up that mysterious question of what it is about certain tracks that makes them simply work.

What is the magic?

Why is it that a virtually exact replica of, say, Can't Stand Losing You," wouldn't be as good as the original? That song in particular is maybe not a masterpiece, but it's full of raw power and intensity which seems like it couldn't be repeated or imitated.

Anyone care to take a shot at explaining what's happening there and with other irrestistable hit songs?

cheers,
mz

Posted by Michael Zapruder at 10:43 AM | Comments (11)

February 22, 2007

Atlanta Get-together Thursday, February 22nd, 2007!

Looking forward to the meet-up later tonight at the Defoor Centre's Forum Gallery. Stop by if you can - I'd love to meet our Atlanta listeners. Full details below.

Details
When: Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Where: Defoor Centre, Forum Gallery
1710 Defoor Ave NW, Atlanta (map)

Hope to see you there!
Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 2:10 PM | Comments (13)

February 21, 2007

New Pandora Podcast: Drums and Drumming, Part II

To paraphrase Gloria Estefan: The rhythm is gonna get you. The rhythm is gonna get you. The rhythm is gonna... okay, it just repeats from there.

Jeff Anthony is back, and he brought his drumsticks as well as his brushes this time. For this new, absolutely free show, Jeff and I jump into swing and shuffle. He plays different beats that work in reggae, punk, jazz and country, and we show the distinct similarities between these percussive patterns. Hear the subtle variations that make for one-drop reggae and double-time jazz! Marvel at the train beat that gets used in rockabilly and country! Dissect the unique style that Stewart Copeland developed with the Police! Fun for the whole family.

Check it out here, and don't forget to play the audio examples further down on the page.

Jeff and I will be checking out the comments page all day long, answering your questions and talking shop. Please come say hello. Enjoy!

Kevin

Posted by Kevin Seal at 8:25 PM | Comments (0)

Kansas City Get-together Wednesday, February 21st, 2007!

Tonight, I'll be in Kansas City to meet Pandora listeners and music lovers at the Screenland Theatre Crossroads. Very excited to meet Pandora listeners and music fans in the area. If you're nearby and free, please stop by and say hi! Full details for the event are below.

Details
When: Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Where: Screenland Theatre Crossroads
1656 Washington, Kansas City (map)

Hope to see you there!
Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 9:36 AM | Comments (13)

February 20, 2007

Play Listen Repeat Vol. 7

Hello all,

When it comes to song lyrics, there is a lot to discuss. I have some plans for future posts on the subject, but first, as a kind of warm-up for the later questions, I'm wondering what peoples' favorite lyrics are. I have many, but here are a few that stand out:

From Downtown Train by Tom Waits:

"The downtown trains are full with all those Brooklyn girls. They try so hard to break out of their little worlds, but you wave your hand and they scatter like crows. They have nothing that will ever capture your heart. Theyr'e just thorns without the rose..."

And from Houses in Motion by Talking Heads:

"For a long time I felt without style or grace, wearing shoes with no socks in cold weather..."

I'd like to know peoples' reasons, either intellectual or emotional, for remembering and loving the lyrics they do. Very curious...

Tom Waits

Talking Heads

best,
mz

Posted by Michael Zapruder at 8:16 AM | Comments (27)

February 19, 2007

Princeton Visit... recap

Always love the New Jersey Transit rides. California desperately needs this kind of public transportation. Thanks, Lou for picking me up at the train station. Much appreciated.

Another fun evening with Pandora listeners. Particularly pleased to have so many undergrads from the local university present. Thanks to all the student groups that helped put it together - Business Today, the Princeton Pre-Business Society and the Princeton E-Club.

Quite a motivated bunch of students... particularly when I found out it was rush week so everyone had been pulling consecutive all-nighters... oh to be young...

Quite a bit of discussion about lyrics, something I definitely consider a weak spot in the genome. Particularly in country and folk, definitely a sense that we need help. It's a tough one to tackle with music analysis because it's such a subjective thing. Hard to get 50 analysts to agree on a song's meaning.

Also more discussion of user-generated data, in particular the use of more perceptual/sensory terms, rather than musical ones to allow a new dimension of classifications (eg. hot or cold, smooth or choppy, etc). I remain skeptical of this data because I think it's so hard to pin down.

Good long chat after the session. Some concerns about net neutrality - something we're of course watching closely. Particularly engaging youngster had some really interesting thoughts (father beaming with pride...). I always love when father&son show up, or any parent/child. Something particularly cool about a subject that can truly be shared across generations. I hope that happens more and more.

Also pleased to receive a good handful of local CDs.

Back on the train for a late night ride to NYC... (thanks a lot for the ride, Brian)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 12:22 PM

February 18, 2007

New York City meetup recap...

Another great get together in NYC. Started off a little badly as we waited a half hour for the film in the theare we were using to end. One of those 4 hour French epics...

Thanks to everyone who patiently waited in the jammed lobby to be let in. Hope the free popcorn helped ease the hassle...

Very lively discussion (set to the faint soundtrack of explostions and gunfire from the adjacent screening of 'letters from iwo jima..'). One cool idea I heard was to allow listeners to put multiple thumbs up on song to indicate that it was a true favorite. Nice way to get additional ratings without adding a new menu.

Some interesting feedback also about folks appetite for mobile Pandora. New Yorkers commute by subway primarily - so a phone-based service was less attractive as it wouldn't get coverage. The solution there would have to be something more like 'time-shifiting' where you'd have Pandora downloaded onto your device. Tricky licensing issues of course.

There was also a fair bit of discussion about the advertising, and how it was being targeted. We're trying to deliver the most relevant visual ads to listeners. It's the best way for us to build a business and I also think (and hope) that it makes the ads feel less intrusive. Someone asked why we don't charge for the service instead. A show of hands on who would pay I think quickly answered that question!

We could only accommodate a fraction of our NYC audience, so we're looking forward to planning a couple more in the city.

Heading to Princeton, NJ for a town hall on the following night.

Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 12:21 AM | Comments (9)

February 14, 2007

Portland Maine Recap...

Great, albeit short trip to Portland. Drove the steadily more scenic I95 up from Boston.

Portland is a very picturesque town. Cold!

Thanks a ton to Nat for having us at his great 'Space' in downtown - and for kindly spreading the word locally. Space is a great destination for music, art and other cultural events (including a Michael McDonald concert coming soon !).

A little over a hundred folks showed up. Really felt like a true town hall. Combination of wood beams, cold weather and wonderfully friendly people...

Special thanks to Aimsel P., Christopher G. for the great press support leading up to the event. Was very excited to pick up the local paper and see a front page story on pandora. Awesome.

Had a nice conversation as people were arriving with a biology professor right before we started about parallels to the human genome. Some very interesting simliarities.

There we many questions about how artists get paid and a lot of interest in how music is acquired for the music genome.

One very interesting idea was allowing people to record short audio segments into their stations, sort of like DJ'ing. Nice way to add the personal touch.

Nat kept people happy with herbal teas, wine and beer.

There was also some discussion about the licensing issues with some local DJs in attendance. It's a rather complicated landscape, between broadcast, webcast and on-demand services. This was definitely a knowledgeable crowd. Spent quite a while chatting afterwards with the some diehard music fans. Debating he poweruser vs. simplicity tradeoffs.

Wrapped up the night with a late night video interview with 3 hardy souls who had driven down from Bangor. Hope everything turns out great with the project Danielle...

Had to catch a deathly early flight in the morning to New York. What a line at security - went all the way down the hall and wrapped back up along the wall...

Would like to come back in the Summer and do some hiking...

Cheers. Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 3:01 PM | Comments (10)

February 12, 2007

Play Listen Repeat Vol. 6

Hey folks,

Amazing comments last week on the production post. Thanks for the ideas. I'm sure we'll continue that discussion in the coming weeks.

So this week I'm wondering something else. My friend Jen owns a small vintage clothing and goodies store, where she also sells used vinyl. I just bought two records that I used to listen to all the time: St. Dominic's Preview by Van Morrison, and Meat is Murder by The Smiths. So good.

It got me thinking that it might be interesting to ask you listeners to share your most recent music purchases. Along with those two above, my most recent CD purchase was Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.

You?

best,
mz

Posted by Michael Zapruder at 12:04 PM | Comments (35)

February 8, 2007

Princeton Town Hall tonight!

I'll be in Princeton tonight to meet Pandora listeners and music lovers at the Garden Theatre (close to the Princeton campus). Looking forward to hearing what your thoughts are about the service and current trends in digital music. If you're in the area, please stop by! Full details are below.

Details
When: Thursday, February 8th, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Where: Princeton Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau Street (map and directions)

Hope to see you there!

Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 9:22 AM

February 7, 2007

New! Podcast #5: Elements of Salsa

Fresh off the press, and hot from the oven, Episode #5 of the Pandora Podcast Series is ready for you to hear and download. Get ready to dance, y'all. Watch your toes.

This time, we tear into salsa. Pandora music analyst and salsa bandleader Marina Garza brings in the percussionist, pianist, and bassist from her band, Orquesta D'Soul, and they pick apart the classic rhythmic patterns that link together like puzzle pieces to build salsa grooves. They play examples of the older Cuban styles that gave birth to this music -- son and cha -- and show how mambo and salsa beats revolve around the clave. Check it out here.

Marina and I will be fielding questions and comments on the podcast page, and we look forward to hearing what you have to say. Enjoy!

Kevin

Posted by Kevin Seal at 5:25 AM | Comments (1)

New York City Get-together tonight!

Tonight, I'll be in NYC to meet Pandora listeners and music lovers at the Cinema Village. Looking forward to hearing what your thoughts are about the service and current trends in digital music. If you're in the area, please stop by! Full details are below.

Details
When: Wednesday, February 7th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Where: Cinema Village, 22 East 12th St between University Place and 5th Ave, NYC (map)

Hope to see you there!

Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 5:25 AM | Comments (6)

February 5, 2007

Play Listen Repeat Vol. 5

Hey again, folks! Another week, time for another play listen repeat...

I'm in the studio for two weeks, making a new record. Since there have been tangential references to production and studio issues in some comments to the other play listen repeat posts, I'm curious to know where people are on these questions:

Do you like big production? Do you notice how something is recorded or is the music more of an overall experience that either works or doesn't? Why are some things that are highly produced interesting and stimulating, and others just seem bloated and self-indulgent?

cheers,
mz

ps. What a great set of comments from last week's post! Thanks to everyone who posted.

Posted by Michael Zapruder at 10:19 AM | Comments (13)

February 4, 2007

Portland, ME Get-together this Thursday!

This Tuesday, I'll be in Portland, Maine to meet Pandora listeners and music lovers at the Space Gallery. Looking forward to hearing what your thoughts are about the service and current trends in digital music. If you're in the area, please stop by! Full details are below.

Details
When: Tuesday, February 6th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Where: Space Gallery, 538 Congress St, Portland, ME (map)

Hope to see you there!

Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 1:45 PM

February 1, 2007

San-Diego Meetup

Update: We've now have a place and time for our get-together coming up in San Diego, which will be in the Peacock Alley at the Arts & Entertainment Center on University Ave. Full details of the event are below. You can RSVP by emailing tour@pandora.com with "San Diego" in the subject line. Hope to see you there!

Where: Arts & Entertainment Center, Peacock Alley
3026 University Ave, San Diego, CA
(map & public transportation)
When: Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 @ 7 PM

Hey Everybody,

At the end of March, I'll be making a roadtrip stop in San Diego to host a get-together with music lovers in the area. This will be my chance to connect with Pandora listeners and get some feedback from you about the service, as well as hopefully answer some questions you may have about the Music Genome Project.

We're still in the planning stages for the meetup, and would love to get your suggestions of where to hold it. We're looking for comfortable, intimate spaces that can hold at least 100 people. If you have any thoughts, please post them below! You can also email us at tour@pandora.com if you have suggestions as well. No idea is too big or small!

Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 11:34 AM | Comments (10)

Miami Meetup!

Update: We've decided on a place and time for our upcoming Florida meet-up, which will be at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami. Full details of the event are below. You can RSVP by emailing tour@pandora.com with "Miami" in the subject line. Hope to see you there!

Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, Paradise Courtyard
770 NE 125th St, North Miami, FL
When: Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 - doors open 6:30 PM, event @ 7 PM

(MOCA has also generously offered to keep the Museum open for Pandora listeners, so feel free to check out their fantastic current exhibit: "Merce Cunningham: Dancing on the Cutting Edge" before and after the event!)

Hey Everybody,

Next month, I'll be coming to Miami to host a get-together with music lovers in the area. It'll be my chance to connect with Pandora listeners and get some feedback from you about the service, as well as hopefully answer some questions you may have about the Music Genome Project.

We're still in the planning stages for the meetup, and would love to get your suggestions of where to hold it. We're looking for comfortable, intimate spaces that can hold at least 100 people. If you have any thoughts, please post them below! You can also email us at tour@pandora.com if you have suggestions as well. No idea is too big or small!

Tim (Founder)

Posted by Tim Westergren at 11:19 AM | Comments (9)