Eclectic Tunes

So, I discovered the Pandora music project today. How totally cool?

I had mucho paperwork to do so I was in the office most of the afternoon. Pandora lets you set up a custom radio station by choosing your first favorite artist. After that, the site suggests other artists that match the overall musical description of your first artist. That process doesn't really work for me since I have a REALLY eclectic taste for music. I was surprised though at the subtle nuances of the Pandora screening process. After I fed them a few artists, they really hit the mark with several other ones that I loved. It also allowed me to hear a few artists that I was unfamiliar with but matched my general criteria.

Shortly before 5pm, they played one of my favorite songs by David Crowder. This song just speaks to me. It goes right down my spine and I love it. I pulled up the description for this one and now I know why I like it so much.

Here is the description from Pandora for Only You by David Crowder

folk influences (Come to think of it, I do love the folk influence. Love me some classic Dylan or Joni Mitchell flavor in my acoustic tunes)

a subtle use of vocal counterpoint (Counterpoints should be subtle in my opinion)

a subtle use of vocal harmony (I love me some harmony)

a twelve-eight time signature (Crowder is a master of the 12/8. It certainly gives a nice smooth feel to an acoustic song)

extensive vamping (Vamping is basically freeform stuff not written on the page. I totally am into getting off the page once in a while and just letting the music take you on a journey)

major key tonality (Although I do dig a minor tune as well, the major key tones work for this song)

melodic songwriting (Speaks for itself)

a good dose of acoustic guitar pickin' (I like me some pickin' and grinin')

a distinctive male lead vocal (True dat. Crowder has a unique sound that grows on you)

acoustic rhythm guitars (Yep)

upbeat lyrics (The foundation of the song. He is singing praise to his Creator)

triple note feel (This triple note feel goes along with the 12/8 key signature)

With this much detail, I would venture to say that the Pandora folks are on to something. I highly recommend giving it a try and see what kind of musical path the service takes you down. you can give a thumbs up to the songs you like and you can kick the ones that don't match your tastes straight to the curb.

Have fun

Here's a link to my station on Pandora.