My Favorite Things: Pandora

Right now I am listening to the Johann Sebastian Bach channel on my Pandora site. Thru my television.

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." "It's like living in the future..." (name that movie and TV show!)

Seriously, I love that I can identify one artist or composer, and Pandora creates a playlist for me. If I don't like an artist, I can skip or dislike, and refine my own soundtrack. Yet another way my vinyl records are more and more obsolete.

But I like Pandora. In a movement toward minimalism, Pandora allows me to eliminate vinyl, tapes, CDs, and even the iPod, if I want. Of course, one does need a/ a computer with speakers/sound or b/ a Roku player synched up to both wireless and a TV to receive the music... There is less control than an iPod, which contains all your musical holdings/desires and plays them with with a flick of the finger--because I must react to whatever Pandora serves up under my title/rubric--but I actually like that for the most part. The fun of FM radio, for example, is the choice factor of what will a particular DJ play; you can only choose the type of station (classic rock, country, classic, alternative rock) but the DJ chooses the cuts.

And filling my house with endless recordings on my Bach channel or Mozart channel or Creedence channel or French Cafe channel for a couple hours without having to do anything more than turn it on... a pleasure.

And, well, free. Sort of--after the Roku player, wireless monthly charges, and electricity charges.