Adventures in Pandora - Episode 1

I've been listening to endless amounts of Pandora recently. Working on a company computer, I can't listen to my own music, so I have to turn to the internet for my audio needs. I've tried options like myspacemusic, rhapsody, and iMeem but my favorite still remains to be Pandora.

A conversation recently rose, however, between myself and a few friends about how accurately Pandora links musicians and songs. The musical qualities may be similar, but connected songs might come from a completely different genre. How would a 90's alternative song connect to a 2006 hip hop cut? How does rap turn to rock? This feature will attempt to figure out just exactly what goes on in Pandora's mind. Let's ignore their technical babble and simply look at an outsiders perspective to a given playlist.

My first look into the vast caverns of the Music Genome Project comes from the band Flobots. An alternative hip-hop group from Colorado, Flobots brings a sharply political edge to their rock influenced rap. If I had to guess off-hand the artists that would be played, my main assumptions would be Gorillaz, Rage Against the Machine, and Citizen Cope. All of these artists have political goals, rock influences, and rapping vocalists. Here is the breakdown of the station's playlist.

*This is an abbreviated list - I'm listing the keystones that make and break this playlist

Flobots - Move!
The playlists always start with a typical song from the artist. This is normal song for them. Horns, gritty guitars, heavy bass lines, crowded vocals, and political messages. Sweet




Weezer - Pork and Beans
Okay, we're off to a rocky start. I really don't have many ways to connect these two artists. A rap group with political influences skipping directly into the biggest alt-rock stars of the 90's and mid thousands. This song came out on last year's Red Album, discussing how he'll top the charts (or not) using internet celebrities to launch a viral music video. Overt politicos compared to self deprecating perfectionists? Tough comparison. Let's see what else you've got Pandora

Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood
Alright. One assumption present. The song that launched the wildly popular animated rap group. Expected connection for Pandora, readily accepted. Side note: this is the first rap album I ever bought with my own money (Carnival by Wyclef Jean was the first one I owned).



Cake - The Distance
A selection I should have seen coming and was incredibly excited to hear. I've loved this song since I heard my brother's band cover it back when I was around 8 years old. I loved Speed Racer at the time and still always connect the two. To this day I will see the choppy animations in my head everytime John McCrea "sings." I got back into Cake freshman year thanks to the urging of a few friends to whom I am incredibly thankful. The connection can be made pretty clearly. The vocals are spoken in a Subterranean Homesick Alien style rap, while the guitars and horns would feel right at home in a Flobots track. Nice pickup Pandora.

Modest Mouse - Dashboard
Another surprise that I found myself understanding as the song went on. Listen to the vocals on Flobots' "Handlebars" and the end of this song where Isaac Brock starts to freak out and you will see vague similarities. Going along with these two songs, handlebars discusses the dangers of hubris and exerting power simply because of ability. Dashboard dabbles in the idea of turning a wild drive into an optimistic thought. To mash them up... "I could end the planet in a Holocaust, but it could've been, would've been worse than you will ever know."

Rage Against the Machine - Guerrilla Radio
"More for gore or the son of a drug lord. None of the above. Fuck it. Cut the chord." My favorite Rage lyrics, memorized in 6th grade while listening to the song at camp with my friend Phil. Even as kids we knew that this song served a bigger purpose than rocking our faces off. I often find political musicians annoying but for some reason, the blatant ranting always took a subtle backseat to their plays on metallic rap. Tom Morello's guitar drowning out his ramblings. This also takes precedence with Flobots. Horns, emotion, and rock causing the preaching to take a passenger seat.

Citizen Cope - Son's Gonna Rise - THE FINAL KEYSTONE TO COMPLETE THE STATION
The last of my three predictions has come on the station. I wouldn't say I'm the biggest fan of Citizen Cope but I have certainly become a much larger one as of late. There's a certain simplicity to his music. The repetitive heavy-wah guitar on this track. The beat that opens Bullet and a Target. The subtle piano and horns in Mistaken I.D. The clean production with biting social criticism made a perfect close to my Flobots station. The genre came full circle through the different elements of hip-hop, rock, and rap influenced in the tracks of Flobots.

Honorable mentions:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
White Town - Your Woman <- Only song on the playlist I hadn't heard before
Sublime - April 29, 1992
White Stripes - We're Going To Be Friends
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Linkin Park - In The End
Incubus - Midnight Swim