> The problem is that you can't get this information without throwing the occasional curveball at a listener. This is the problem with machine learning or most

> The problem is that you can't get this information without throwing the occasional curveball at a listener. This is the problem with machine learning or most algorithmic recommendation schemes. There are no curveballs, no randomness. Of course you want one part of the experience to be similarity. I really want the equivalent of visiting a friend's house and them putting on a mixtape and a couple of the tracks or artists suddenly jumping out at you. Or going to a gig and being blown away by a support band. Or a dinner conversation about a new band your friend just discovered, or ... That probably won't ever happen - I can't see an algorithm recommending Julie London if you usually listen to Moby, but some of those bizarre leaps are often the best discoveries.