Background Noise
I love internet radio. It really trumps commercial radio. God willing, one day it will be available through a portable device fed by wide-spread WiFi. The only stations that can come close are public radio stations that actually play music. A few examples of these are WTMD and WXPN. I could go on about the joys and disgraces of public radio, but that is a topic for another day. I've discovered a few new internet radio options, and I would like to share.
Mainstays to my daily diet have always been Digitally Imported and SomaFM. DI's Deep House was the best house on the net, IMHO. Alas, it seems to be dead. SomaFM's Beet Blender is awesome mix of house, down tempo, lounge, and more. My only compliant is; the station needs some new tracks. I am noticing repeats and lots of tracks I own. New Music Please!
Last.fm - http://www.last.fm/
This listen service is free but requires a download. The application seems to run well on OS X without a lot re-buffering of the stream. You can create custom streams or listen to predefined streams. Users create the database of music via the Audioscrobbler music engine.
Pandora - http://www.pandora.com/
This is a similiar service to Last.fm. It has only been active for a few years, and its backbone is the Music Genome Project. Also, the application runs in a browser window instead of requiring a download.
I haven't decided which service is better at randomizing and introducing music. I tend to use Last.fm more because; it is a stand alone application. I don't have to worry about finding the window that controls Pandora.
Planet Earth Records - http://www.planetearthrecords.com/
I can not take all the credit for finding this station. It is listed under the iTunes Eclectic Radio Streams. Anyway, I've found these lists to be hit or miss. I'm hear to declare, this station is legit! Its a great mix of songs from a number of genres including pop, rock, indie, folk, etc. I've been turned on to some new artists and enjoyed tracks by greats like U2. I do wish they had a running play list. I can't seem to find one. It seems the stream needs to often be rebuffered. I hope they soon increase their bandwidth.
Go enjoy the endless possibilities of internet radio! Its almost enjoyable to work all day with such good music in the background. If you know of any good station, let me know.
