perfidy

Warning - that webthing is HIGHLY addictive...

Kathy's right - it's fascinating, and not just because of the seemingly unconnected odd-ball it appears to occasionally throw in.

It also gives the impression of being at least somewhat random. When I typed Gillian Welch, I got "One Monkey" as my first selection.

My only minor quibble - good as it is, it's no substitute for Johno's suggestions.

Interesting toy. I tried "21st century schizoid man" but it didn't come up with King Crimson as the source, but Ozzy and I think April wine.

Not exactly what I expected. But Seems an interesting place to play.

Thanks for the link.

Kinda cool. Its take on "what is like Husker Du" is a little bit superficial, but not bad.

I just want to point out that I would never recommend anybody listen to more Gillian Welch.

I'm thinking THAT could leave a mark.

Where'd I get that first Gillian Welch CD from? I forget... Didn't it have a MA on the postmark?

Hmm.... I hope not, B.

I have to be honest with you, I know that people really dig her stuff, but I can't hear what's good about it. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, I really don't claim to be the *final* arbiter of good and right in music (at least not on odd-dated Tuesdays), and Gillian Welch is exhibit A as to why.

All the ingredients are there: boozy persona, rough-and-ready playing, hard-bitten songwriting, "idiosyncratic" singing voice. I mean, right there you've got Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen (to a point), Hank Senior, etc. etc., all my musical polestars.

Obviously she means a lot to a lot of people, and many folks whose opinions I respect dig her a great deal. So why don't I groove on the Welch?

It's a mystery.

On the other hand, Lesley Gore is underrated, let me tell you!

Hell and damnation. My employer's Big Brother machine won't let me access the site. When I try, my screen says "ACCESS DENIED: THIS APPEARS TO BE A STREAMING AUDIO SITE" in massive red letters, and I feel slightly paranoid now, as if it will only be a matter of moments before a team of ninjas swoops in to snatch me up and cart me off to Room 101 for deprogramming.

Unrequested update:

Among the many genres of music I like is one which might be called "chicks with pipes", and while my preferred choices for inclusion in this group might be subject to debate, it started with Annie Lennox, acknowledged by Pandora with its correct description of the criteria by which it assessed her work.

In between some excellent Lennox pieces, Alanis Morrisette was thrown in by the machine, which I'm fine with, as she fits the genre and if I ignore the more overwrought lyrics, she's quite the vocal artiste. Then Sarah Fimm, Sarah Blasko, and Frou Frou, none of whom are familiar to me, but, whatever. Celine Dion? Skipped - even I have my limits. Anne Murray? I guess so...

I guess I'm not completely surprised, but the auto-inclusion of Michael Jackson ended that branch of my experiment into artificial intelligence.

OK, ok. I finally tried this site out, and it's not half bad!

I tried soul singer Irma Thomas, and the site gave me first an Irma song, and then a bunch of older proto-soul and doo wop by black groups of the 50s and 60s. Not quite what I expected, but very welcome none the less.

Social Distortion gave me songs by former Dead Boy Stiv Bators and by Calipunks Pennywise, which is a good move.

Ladies and gentlemen, within the next decade I will have been replaced by a machine.