Outdated

If video killed the radio, then digital brought it back thirty years after the fact. The digital radio that I will be talking about is other-times referred to as web radio, internet radio, streaming radio, net radio, etc. Web radio is audio broadcasting/streaming over the internet. I’m a big fan of this type of digital radio (web radio) because I’m connected online pretty much 24’7.

In today’s world, people are fanatical about creating massive libraries of music on their computer. I know a guy or two who pride themselves on their collection (matty… hehe). There isn’t a song they don’t have on their computer or saved on an external elsewhere! This obsessive compulsive disorder is none other than symptom number one of the digital era. One property of digital media is its’ encyclopedic affordances (what the fuck does that mean???? – It means the computer’s memory power and abilitiy to store massive quantities of data). Because digital media has this power, we feel inclined to collect and document everything. But check it, I’m about to blow your mind… just because we can… doesn’t mean we have to… or we should.

Record Collection

Collecting records was a cool thing back in the day, but records were limited, expensive, and collecting was an art form. A collection was created over time and was an expression of a person’s taste. I don’t recommend wasting your computer’s hard drive on a music collection where you don’t even know half the songs on your playlist, let alone listen to them.

I’ve pretty much abandoned my iTunes Library, and I no longer purchase music. Why the hell would I? Music is free and easy to access. I know it sucks for the music industry because they are losing money… but hey while it’s free… ride it.  I’m sure they’ll think of a great way to steal our money in the future.

Pandora Radio

So what’s my music provider? I use Pandora Radio! Pandora is a FREE internet radio service. The great thing about Pandora is that you can play it on the whim or you can create an account for free. If you create an account you can save radio stations that you create. You create radio stations by searching for artists or songs that you like. The way that Pandora works is that it creates a radio station with similar songs to your search item. When you are listening, you can skip songs that you aren’t feeling and you can thumbs up or thumbs down them. Overtime, Pandora learns what you like and recommends songs closer to your preference (digital things are smart). You can create as many radio stations as you like, each for your different mood. You can also do a quick mix, which is like the shuffle function on iTunes.

Pandora Widget

The greatness of Pandora doesn’t end there. There are lots of apps (applications) for Pandora. You can put it on your iPhone, Blackberry, or other select phones. You can access your stations any where you can access the web (and cloud computing is the future my friends). Also, you can download several different widgets for your desktop if that’s the way you like to run things. I use the Pandora Widget for Mac.

I’ll end on some of my favorite Pandora stations:

Mono Radio

Mono Radio – For my chill reflective mood. It plays music like Zero Seven, Portishead, and Massive Attack.

Just Dance Radio

Just Dance – Alot of Top 40 stuff that is fun to dance to. When I just need to be in an awake state.

File Under Futurism

File Under Futurism – For some crazy electronic/experimental hip hop vibes. Features DJ Spooky (of course) and like artists.

Ting Ting Radio

Also, Urban Socialite put me on the The Ting Tings: The Kooks, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, White Stripes, the Strokes, MGMT

Peace, Love, & Technology > FUTURISTA