Lab Excercise 9

Shakira (Pop Latino):
Pandora

Te Llevare Al Cielo by Mana
Say It Right by Nelly Furtado
Te Aviso Te Anuncio by Shakira
Labios Compartidos by Mana
Poker Face by Lady Gaga
Last FM

La Oreja de Van Gogh by Rosas
Say It Right by Nelly Furtado
Nada puede cambiarme by Paulina Rubio
Volverte A Ver by Juanes
Canela by Fey
When typing in “Shakira,” The recommendations on Pandora and Last FM are very similar probably because we were attempting to find Pop Latino music on American sites. There might not be much of a variety for this type of music on these sites. The same song, “Say It Right” by Nelly Furtado was chosen on both sites.

George Strait (Country):
Pandora

George Strait – Ocean Front Property
Brooks and Dunn – Neon Moon
Alan Jackson – Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow
Garth Brooks – Friends In Low Places
Tracy Lawrence - Alibis
Last FM

George Strait – Check Yes Or No
Mark Chesnutt – She Was
John Michael Montgomery – The Little Girl
Tracy Lawrence – I See It Now
Brooks and Dunn – Neon Moon

Juanes (Rock Latino):
Pandora
Juanes – La Camisa Negra
Shakria – Estoy Aqui
Mana - Si No Te Hubieras Ido
Bacilos – Caraluna
Juanes – Nada
LastFM

Juanes – Que Pasa
Reik – Noviembre sin ti
Julieta Vengas – Andar conmigo
Bacilos – Caraluna
Fonseca - Arroyito
Both of these sites offered similar results for each of the artists. They were both consistent and reliable, providing other songs that had a relevant theme or genre.

The Go-Go's (punk/rock):
Pandora
Pat Benatar “Love is a Battlefield”
Blondie “Call Me”
Duran Duran “Hungry Like The Wolf”
Belinda Carlisle “Mad About You”
The Go-Go’s “Tonite”
Last FM

Animotion “Obsession"
Romeo Void “Never Say Never"
Altered Images “Insects”
Belinda Carlisle “Heaven Is A Place On Earth”
The Romantics “What I Like About You”
On Pandora you can say what you do and do not like, and you can create various playlist stations, and you can also purchase the music. On LastFM I feel like they just gave you a wide variety of artists, but you couldn’t personalize them a lot. However, they do give you the option to share the track, tag the track, or purchase it. LastFM offers similar options, but you have to have the patience to learn about the sites options.

Pandora gave me a bunch of artist suggestions that were popular and I already knew. I am not a big Go-Go’s fan per-say, but I recognized all of the artists, and I liked the music the site suggested. If you just want to create a fun playlist of your favorite bands/genres, this is a good site to use.

LastFM gave me an interesting variety of choices. Many of these artists I had not heard of, but when I listened to them I liked their suggestions for the most part. I appreciate that they showed me music I wouldn’t normally have found. If you want to discover new or less-known artists, this might be a better option.

Beyonce (Pop):
Pandora

Irreplaceable (Beyonce)
Miss Independent (Ne-Yo)
Obsessed (Mariah Carey)
Bootylicious (Destiny’s chilid)
Naughty Girl (Beyonce)
Last FM

If I were a boy (Beyonce)
Pon de Replay (Rihanna)
Obvious (Le Toya)
Comeback (Kelly Rowland)
Emotion (Destiny’s Child)
Searching the artist Beyonce on Pandora and Last FM brought back meaningful results. On Pandora I was suggested two songs from beyonce herself, “irreplaceable” and “naughty girl”. Also three other female artist were suggested, all which are considered to be R&B or hip hop, but all the songs of the artist would be considered hip hop. The other three artists were Ne-Yo with “Miss Independent”, Mariah Carey with “Obsessed”, and Destiny’s Child with “Bootylicious”.

On Last FM my search for beyonce only contained on song from her, which was “If I were a boy”. The other four suggestions were all R&B artist and all females. The only difference in the suggestions from Last FM was one of the suggested artist was highly known in the U.S. but is from another country, making her an international artist, this artist was Rihanna with “Pon de Replay”. The other three artists were Kelly Rowland with “Comback”, and two others which are related. Destiny’s child with “Emotion”, and Le Toya with “Obvious”, who was originally a member of destiny’s child.

Lil Wayne (Rap):
Pandora

Mr. Carter- Lil Wayne
Rubber Band Man – T.I.
Swagga Like Us – Jay-Z & T.I.
Lollipop Remix – Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne
Pussy, Money, Weed – Lil Wayne
Last.FM

Bust It Baby Part 2 (feat. Neyo) –Plies
Cali Love – Tyga
S.A.N.T.A.N.A. – Juelz Santana
Long Lap Dance – T-Pain
Dope Boy- Gorilla Zoe
“Personalization Options” Comparison:

Pandora allowed the listener to adjust volume, pause, or forward their music to the next recommended song. I felt like Pandora was lot more “beginner friendly” because it displayed a clean, organized layout. It also featured the ability to create a new station, share music/stations with friends, edit your current station, like or dislike a song, purchase and/or bookmark a song, explore music through your mobile phone or a video series, and read about the artist and/or type of music you were listening to.
Last.FM featured a lot of the same personalization options as Pandora, such as the ability to start a new station, like or dislike a song, forward to the next recommended song, adjust the music volume, share, tag, or buy a track that you were interested in, and research artists and their music. However, Last. FM did a more extensive job at listing artists, stations, and events related to the music station the listener created. Last.FM also allowed users to post comments and/or slideshows about certain tracks. I felt that one could not use Last.FM without any previous experience with “internet radio”.

“Recommendations under LIL WAYNE” Comparison:

Pandora’s recommendations consisted of more mainstream music and repeated a lot of the same artists, including the searched artist (Lil Wayne) himself. Last.FM, however, suggested a lot of off-the-wall artists and songs that I had never heard of before. It seems like Pandora matched a lot of popular music with my artist search whereas Last.FM dug into a deeper, “less well-known” song and artist library. I think it would depend on the listener’s personal preference as to whether or not he or she would like to hear the artist(s) they searched for and related popular songs or whether they would wish to explore a variety of different and less popular artists and songs.