My hip replacement

Ever since I discovered him writing under a variety of assumed names on the Transom back in 1994, Daniel Radosh has been my connection to all that is hipper than myself. And now, I bring that connection to you....Radosh.net , which is at times SO hip and current that it leaves me a bit baffled (I mean what the hell IS Huckapoo, and why should anyone past the age of 13 really care...don't answer that...please).

But today, Radosh posted a link to Pandora, which is an amazing musical search engine that creates playlists FOR you...all you have to do is input the name of a song that you really like. It then analyes that song based on its various elements (i.e., does it have "trippy" sounds, does it use a femal vocalist, does it have a dance beat, is the bass heavy, does it have a certain "vibe") and it actually comes up with a list of songs that is amazingly on target to your taste. And if not, you can tell them that too, and then it will try again. If all goes well, you then click to buy your newfound musical discoveries on iTunes or Amazon...but you don't have to....you can keep listening to Pandora as if it were the radio.

So, for example, I put in "Un Simple Histoire" by Thievery Corporation. They immediately churned up "Una Musica Brutal" by Gotan Project, which is already on my iPod. Then they found me "Why" by Gus Gus (never heard it before, but I loved it on the first listen) and "Universal Traveler" by Air (Air, a French chill-out band, is a no-brainer for those who like Thievery), among others.

You can click on a menu item that tells you WHY they chose a particular song..."Based on what you've told us so far, we're playing this track because it features electronica roots, rock influences, off beat style, trippy soundscape, a gritty male vocal and an altered male vocal."

Lewis and I kind of feel bad for that altered male.

But aside from that, I am loving Pandora...and I just KNOW that Susan is going to agree...

YC