Opening Pandora's Box

Jeremy let me know about a wonderful website recently: http://www.pandora.com/. This internet radio service is officially titled “Pandora, Radio from the Music Genome Project.” I won’t try to explain the Music Genome Project, but, basically, this service takes one song or artist that you like and “matches” it to countless other songs that share similar characteristics. I think there are close to 400 different attributes that can be used to describe a song or artist – pretty incredible! It’s a great way to discover new music – or, at least music new to you. If you like a song enough to buy it, you can do so directly from the site using iTunes or Amazon; the only catch is that you can’t play songs “on demand” (i.e., just like the radio).

While playing around on Pandora the other day, I typed in “Francis Poulenc,” one of my favorite composers. My ears were greeted with several Poulenc tunes, along with some Milhaud, Faure, and Debussy. A little later on, as I kept listening, the “Poulenc station” veered into slightly different territory, and started playing some Stravinsky and Brahms, along with other composers I wasn’t familiar with. Enjoying this musical journey, I kept on listening and working simultaneously. One track made me stop working, though, so I could devote my full attention to my computer speakers – it was John Tavener’s “The Lamb” for a capella voices. The simple yet arresting harmonies grabbed my attention and didn’t let go for the whole three-odd minutes of the piece. I love the way the key and tonality is uncertain at the beginning of the song – is it major or minor? Or neither? I also like the text that this piece uses, William Blake’s “The Lamb” from Songs of Innocence and Experience. I first read this work in college, and it seems to re-appear in my life once or twice a year, a nice reminder of previous intellectual pursuits. Tavener’s “The Lamb” reminded me that great music can stop you in your tracks. As a result of this discovery, I now have a “Tavener station” on my Pandora account.

I don’t think one would immediately associate Poulenc with Tavener; however, now that I’ve listened to them within the same aural context, I do notice their similar penchant for using dissonance in ways that are not jarring, but rather pleasing and, at times, quite fascinating.

If you want to open yourself up to new musical adventures, try Pandora – you won’t be disappointed!