I don’t use such systems, but my spouse uses Pandora. She has channels ranging from classical to rock, but each one focuses individually on genre. In fact, the choices seem only a little more dynamic than what one gets on traditional genre-specific radio stations.

More impressive would be systems that make more subtle connections among genres, rather than falling back on genre as a safe standby. Instead of recommending Hector Berlioz on the Richard Strauss channel, and recommending Coldplay on the U2 channel (my spouse dislikes both Berlioz and Coldplay), why not have systems that find connections between Strauss and U2? (“Dance of the Seven Veils” and “Mysterious Ways,” anyone?)

There are reasons why we feel drawn to certain types of sounds, and I think the confines of genre are too superficial to understand what we might really enjoy hearing. Not that such leaps are for everyone, but the ability to find unexpected connections across genre should break down the stereotypes of those who still think that rock is “a bunch of noise,” or that classical is too “high-falutin’.”

Jason Neal