Lab Exercise 9

The Pandora service gave us many personalization and interactive options to use/choose from. We were able to personalize our playlist based on song, artist, album, or all. We were also given the option once we were listening to a song to "add variety" by typing in another artist or song and Panndora would "mesh" our preferences. Pandora also let us interact with the player by giving us the option to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" a song, after which it would bring more songs like that one as well, or bring less songs like that one. Or, you can just skip the song all together. Also on the player is a menu where you can tell Pandora you are tired of the song, ask them why the song was selected, move that song to another "station" previously created by you, etc.
Overall, all of the artists recommended using the Last.FM search option were comparable enough to the original artist in their styles and sounds. No irregularities were found among the recommendations, though using the default search option with Last.FM does not begin a playlist/radio with the artists and their songs, which is what the Pandora search defaults to. Using the radio search option on Last.FM immediately begins a playlist of songs from the chosen artist and similar artists. The Last.FM radio player allows you to tag or ban the current track (thereby removing it from your playlist), stop the playlist, or continue to the next track. There is also an option to enable/disable to addition of songs listened to through the playlist to your personal profile, and you can choose to share the track or purchase it from Amazon, iTunes, or 7digital. The inability to pause the tracks is unfortunate, instead you're forced to stop the entire player and get kicked back out to the initial artist search page.
As we used each service, Pandora and Last.FM, we found that at times each service would suggest the same, or similar, artists. Last.FM gave artist suggestions that one could choose from rather than spitting out a specific song like Pandora did. So, overall, I would say that the services offered comparable recommendations. I would say that within each service, the recommendations were pretty much right on, given that it is a computer technology and all music is different. But, for example, if I typed in Randy Rogers to listen to and the service suggested Eli Young Band or Cross Canadian Ragweed, as each service did, they have hit my interests and music style of choice dead on. Overall, if we typed in a pop artist, we were given pop suggestions, and if we typed in a country artist, we were given country suggestions, so therefore I would say that the recommendations from each service were very similar.

1. Michael Buble: Classic Jazz/Crooner (foreign)
PANDORA:
- Michael Buble: The Best is yet to Come
- Nat King Cole: Unforgettable
- Israel Kamakawi wo'ole: Over the Rainbow
- Frank Sinatra: For Once in my Life
- Michael Buble: Stuck in the Middle with You
LAST.FM:
- Jamie Cullum
- Matt Dusk
- Frank Sinatra
- Tony Bennett
- Harry Connick, Jr.

2. Paul McCartney: Pop Rock (foreign)
PANDORA:
- Paul McCartney: Live and Let Die
- The Beatles: I Will
- Paul McCartney: Band on the Run
- George Harrison: Here Comes the Sun
- Paul McCartney: Too Much Rain
LAST.FM:
- Wings
- George Harrison
- Ringo Starr
- John Lennon
- The Beatles

3. Imogen Heap: Electronica (foreign)
PANDORA:
- Imogen Heap: Headlock
- Sia: Breathe Me
- Imogen Heap: Lonely Little Petunia
- Imogen Heap: Speeding Cars
- Imogen Heap: Swoon
LAST.FM:
- Frou Frou
- Kate Havnevik
- Jem
- A Fine Frenzy
- Regina Soektor

4. Randy Rogers: Country (USA)
PANDORA:
- Randy Rogers: Kiss Me in the Dark
- Eli Young Band: Everything is You
- Cross Canadian: Cry Lonely
- Jason Boland: Somewhere Down in Texas
- Randy Rogers: Lost and Found
LAST.FM:
- Stoney LaRue
- Eli Young Band
- Wade Bowen
- Reckless Kelly
- Cross Canadian

5. Britney Spears: Pop (USA)
PANDORA:
- Britney Spears: Circus
- The Pussycat Dolls: When I Grow Up
- Rihanna: Shut Up and Drive
- Flo Rida: Right Round
- Britney Spears: Toxic
LAST.FM:
- The Pussycat Dolls
- Lady GaGa
- Paris Hilton
- Lindsay Lohan
- Ashley Tisdale

6. Pat Benatar: Rock (USA)
PANDORA:
- Pat Benatar: Hit Me With Your Best Shot
- Blondie: Call Me
- Journey: Don’t Stop Believin’
- Bon Jovi: You Give Love a Bad Name
- Pat Benatar: All Fired Up
LAST.FM:
- Heart
- Loverboy
- Quarterflash
- Stevie Nicks
- The Go-Go's