The Music Genome Project has put together something called Pandora, where you enter the names of bands and/or songs you like, and you're provided with a customized radio station that - in theory - plays similar music that you should also find entertaining. You can also rate the individual songs as they're played, either "Play more like this" or "Never play this again." What you're left with, one assumes, is a jukebox that plays nothing but your favorite songs.
It's a laudable concept, but pretty easy to break. For example, my first entries were all fairly comparable: Slobberbone, the Drive-By Truckers, Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo. It wasn't too hard for Pandora to figure out I'd probably like Son Volt and the Bottle Rockets as well.
Time to mix it up. Since you can enter any number of bands or songs to further customize your station, I decided to add some heavier stuff: "Battery" by Metallica, "In My Darkest Hour" by Megadeth, the Misfits, some Iron Maiden.
That goofed things up a bit. Pandora seemed to think this meant I had a taste for newer "alt rock" like My Chemical Romance or Fall Out Boy, which is true, if by "taste" you mean I'd like to sever their jugulars with my teeth. After a frenzy of negative button clickings, it settled into a pattern of providing me with a steady stream of Motorhead and Robbie Fulks.
Much as I like "Ace of Spades," that really wasn't enough variety, and my free subscription was running out anyway, so I threw in some Book of Love and Level 42. That was about when the browswer quit on me.
But thanks anyway to Matt for the link.
Try throwing in Renee Fleming's, Song to the Moon and Pavarotti's, Nessun Dorma and watch the fun.
Okay, maybe it's not perfect, but at least it's not the same 20 crappy songs on rotation on every radio station. I mean, when is the last time that anyone said, "Man am I glad they just played Pat Benetar" without being ironic.
I'm actually thinking about checking out that Fall Out Boy CD.