Feb<-- Mar 2024 -->Apr
S M T W T F S
25 26 27 28 29 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6

Disclaimer: The entries you find in these pages are based on my individual opinions and thoughts. Some of the entries may be just plain wrong, and others harmful. Should you choose to act on, or try, anything you find on this site, you assume any and all risks associated with your actions. So there.



 


iTunes Genius

September 12, 2008

Ok, so Apple calls its new iTunes feature Genius. When this was first announced, I thought they would be doing a recommendation based on who was buying what. Or I thought they would be using a Pandora-like (or even Pandora) analysis of the music.

Having used Genius for almost three days now, I know it is something more. I don't know what they are doing, but it seems to me that they must be analyzing the iTunes playback data itself. Specifically, I think that they are using the last-played date/time data to compare what songs you have played next to other songs.

I say this because I setup unusual playlists, where the genre of songs can be quite different. In my playlists, I might have the Propellerheads along-side Nicola Conte. Then I might switch over to a playlist with Devo and Kraftwerk.

So, what does the Genius playlist include when I choose a Nicola Conte song as the basis? Here is the list of artists:

Bill Laswell
David Byrne
Jean-Michel Jarre
Kraftwerk
Nicola Conte
Out Back
Propellerheads
Thievery Corporation
Trio

Now, I have no playlists in my present library with these specific artists together. I can't tell you how Genius knows how to put them together, but I can tell you that the styles range far enough apart that there is no way a Pandora-only style playlist would do this.

And you know what? I like the mix!