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I have been messing with genius for music in my iPhone and feel that pandora does a much better job. It might be because genius has limited options and has to s

by ujjwalg 17y ago

I have been messing with genius for music in my iPhone and feel that pandora does a much better job. It might be because genius has limited options and has to search for songs within the library you own, but still, I have seen very weird/not pertinent genius recommendations. I hope the app genius recommendation is better.

unalone 17y ago
Since they're updating Genius today, I'm curious to see if there are any significant improvements. LP looks terrific.
tvon 17y ago
I like Pandora for playing music I don't already have, but usually it seems to end up in a ~20 track loop (I made that number up, but I feel like I hear the same songs a lot). Granted, I have only made a few Pandora stations, and have only made a few Genius playlists, and both were used for "gym" music like Beastie Boys, Eminem, etc., so it's not like I'm pushing any limits here... I guess I'm saying that the new music from Pandora is a big win. Now imagine if Genius could mix in streams of music you don't own, while giving you an option to buy tracks with a click... that would be a killer feature.
- pohl 17y ago
  I had the same problem with Pandora, and ultimately realized that you need to seed your channel with a large, diverse collection of artists in order to avoid getting trapped in a small loop like that. I don't want to futz with setting up channels that much, though. Still, I've discovered some good music with it.
  - potatolicious 17y ago
    Disclaimer: I don't work for these guys. I've found thesixtyone.com to be AWESOME for discovering good, indie music. It's got a very social-networky-MMO sort of feel to it and is really well structured to trying new music.
    - pyre 17y ago
      Isn't a disclaimer for when you do 'work for these guys?'
      - pohl 17y ago
        That's how one usually sees it, but really a disclaimer is just "a statement that denies something, especially responsibility". So one could read the grandparent as 1) denying that he works for them 2) denying that he would know as much about the service as someone who did, and 3) denying that he has any conflict of interest that would call his assessment of the service into question.
  - gojomo 17y ago
    That's a good tip. Also, if you down-rate or snooze a lot of tracks, a station starts to wander more from its core tracks. But it's still disappointing that a station seeded from a a single artist won't at least put all of their tracks in rotation, instead staying tightly around their best-known/best-liked sound. (I think Pandora is a little too proud of their 'music genome' typing project.)
    - tweaqslug 17y ago
      Agreed, Pandora can get a bit one dimensional if you're not diligent. I've heard it's best to upvote sparingly and downvote heavily if you want a good mix. Also adding multiple bands and/or songs to a channel helps.

by ujjwalg 17y ago

unalone 17y ago

Since they're updating Genius today, I'm curious to see if there are any significant improvements. LP looks terrific.

tvon 17y ago

I like Pandora for playing music I don't already have, but usually it seems to end up in a ~20 track loop (I made that number up, but I feel like I hear the same songs a lot). Granted, I have only made a few Pandora stations, and have only made a few Genius playlists, and both were used for "gym" music like Beastie Boys, Eminem, etc., so it's not like I'm pushing any limits here... I guess I'm saying that the new music from Pandora is a big win. Now imagine if Genius could mix in streams of music you don't own, while giving you an option to buy tracks with a click... that would be a killer feature.

pohl 17y ago
I had the same problem with Pandora, and ultimately realized that you need to seed your channel with a large, diverse collection of artists in order to avoid getting trapped in a small loop like that. I don't want to futz with setting up channels that much, though. Still, I've discovered some good music with it.
- potatolicious 17y ago
  Disclaimer: I don't work for these guys. I've found thesixtyone.com to be AWESOME for discovering good, indie music. It's got a very social-networky-MMO sort of feel to it and is really well structured to trying new music.
  - pyre 17y ago
    Isn't a disclaimer for when you do 'work for these guys?'
    - pohl 17y ago
      That's how one usually sees it, but really a disclaimer is just "a statement that denies something, especially responsibility". So one could read the grandparent as 1) denying that he works for them 2) denying that he would know as much about the service as someone who did, and 3) denying that he has any conflict of interest that would call his assessment of the service into question.
- gojomo 17y ago
  That's a good tip. Also, if you down-rate or snooze a lot of tracks, a station starts to wander more from its core tracks. But it's still disappointing that a station seeded from a a single artist won't at least put all of their tracks in rotation, instead staying tightly around their best-known/best-liked sound. (I think Pandora is a little too proud of their 'music genome' typing project.)
  - tweaqslug 17y ago
    Agreed, Pandora can get a bit one dimensional if you're not diligent. I've heard it's best to upvote sparingly and downvote heavily if you want a good mix. Also adding multiple bands and/or songs to a channel helps.