Another quiet session in the office and this time I've gone for a bit of Last.fm. I signed up a while ago and then a friend recommended Spotify, which was getting all the media attention at the time. I was put off by Spotify as it wasn't a web-based service. I found that a bit strange in this age where almost anything that is being developed seems to be adhering to Web 2.0 and beyond! Anyway, clearly when signing up to Last.fm I'd duly inputted my favourite artists and it has formed a radio station just for me. This is what it's played thus far:
Unfortunately I can't be more specific other than to say Louis sang A Wonderful World, as that was the only track I recognised. There doesn't seem to be any feature to look at what has just played, or what is coming up. I find that a little odd. Maybe it's just me, but I like to have some control over what I listen to. I'm naturally suspicious of my 'own radio station' and the first couple of tracks bore that suspicion out. They didn't really seem to fit, complement each other, or follow on from each other. The Belle and Sebastian track (Electric Renaissance) is a better fit with A Wonderful World I suppose. I probably shouldn't compare it with iTunes' Genius which creates a playlist of music that complements each other, but I am!
As this post is something approaching real time (radio playing in the background) we've now moved on to The Magic Numbers and This is a Song. That follows on from Belle and Sebastian quite well.
So, what to make of it all? Having listened to a handful of chosen songs I'm quite impressed: I haven't disliked anything I've heard and it has fitted in with the mood I wanted (background music to work and blog to!). I can see it's potential as a social networking site too. It would be easy to share and recommend music between friends and follow music friends are discovering as well as discuss and debate new music. The problem seems to be that I have to search for each friend! That puts me off a bit. There is a message to suggest that finding friends through Facebook, Gmail etc. is coming soon, but is said that months ago too!
Until there is a general consensus on how to create a single social networking profile for everyone to use across all the different platforms and sites, I think social networking can only flourish if its easy to find your existing friends (and I suppose new friends if that's what you want from social networking).
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We're on Stevie Wonder and Higher Ground now. Normally Stevie would be an excellent choice. Unfortunately I several years ago I used Higher Ground as an alarm call and I've never really recovered from hearing it! Not really Last's fault though so I won't complain!
The more I listen the more I'm impressed. I will hold off judgement though until I've had a bit more of a play. For example, can I select an entire album to listen to, or stream a style of music such as Cool Jazz? These examples would add a lot to the site for me.
A guilty pleasure to sign off with: Dixie Chicks and So Hard. Each to their own I guess!
The more I use Last.fm, the less impressed I am. Even though I have a vast range of artists listed in my library, it seems intent on playing the same artists and songs everytime I try and listen. After a while it gets predictable and boring. Oh well, will try Spotify...
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