Pandora is Run by Snobs

I love Pandora radio. It’s the finest tuned service out there to hear what you like and be introduced to new music based on your preferences. I’ve gotten acquainted with some really awesome bands that I may never have known about without Pandora. However, I gotta make one complaint — they’re snobs. In particular, they are snobs of the variety that believe that music should only be studied from a serious perspective. Never mind that the central purpose of music, just as with all forms of human expression, is to have a good time. You know . . . fun. Remember fun?

It’s not that you can’t find any funny music on there. But you won’t see it cataloged as such. It will usually be noted for its dense lyrics or upbeat rhythm, but humorous phrases or goofy musicality aren’t factored in. I became aware of this problem when I sent in an e-mail suggesting the Poxy Boggards and Merry Wives of Windsor as bands that should be added to the Pandora arsenal. Besides being solid musical acts, they’re a vibrant part of the Southern California folk music scene and have some songs that are funny as hell right along with straightforward traditional numbers.

I received a response promptly that explained that funny songs, those by Weird Al for example, weren’t considered part of the music genome project, because they contained elements of satire and humor. Which seemed bizarre to me. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Shakespeare was as well known for his comedies as his tragedies. Slightly annoyed, I went to read their statement of purpose, snippets of which read:

It’s not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it’s about what each individual song sounds like . . . we’ve carefully listened to the songs of tens of thousands of different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time . . . This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world . . . now that we’ve created this extraordinary collection of music analysis, we think we can help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe.

Well, my favorite part is where the funny lives. Why can’t I explore that? This is really part of a much larger problem of snobbery against humor within the educated ranks. For some reason, “cultivated” got associated with “serious” at some point. If you’re inside the circle of wine glass sniffers, the term is connoisseur. I just call them snobs. To quote the movie adaptation of High Fidelity:

Now, Pandora isn’t quite that bad. They were polite to me in the e-mail, but they did kick poor old Weird Al to the curb as if he weren’t no thang. And indirectly, they disrespected my preference for funny music by saying it wasn’t worth cataloging. To see if I could spite them, I tried to build a Pandora station of funny music only. The system couldn’t seem to figure out what I was doing, and kept suggesting songs that were nothing like what I was looking for. Ignoring the entire genre of comedy is a disservice to academic study of art, and putting limitations on the user experience will only drive people to other sites that allow them more freedom of choice.

Put down your swirling glasses of pinot noir, Pandora. Learn to crack open a beer and crack a smile once in a while. That’s the whole reason we started making music in the first place.