One major topic of discussion throughout the adjustment period at WTJU has been whether falling rates of listenership at the station reflect a broader trend towards fewer radio listeners in general. One threat to traditional radio just got a little more threatening, as the online music listening service Pandora announced its first profitable quarter after spending a decade in a state of near-collapse.
Internet radio isn’t going anwhere. And, y’know, we listen to Pandora a lot at the C-VILLE office. As in, nothing but Pandora all the time. So as something of an expert, I can say that one of Pandora’s shortfalls is that it can’t organize songs thematically, instead organizing music according to qualities as identified by a huge team of musicologists (apparently, they spend about 20 minutes analyzing a song), and rarely delivering a surprise that’s worth investigating.
On a day like today, I’d rather not take the Muse-Radiohead express through Pandoraland if I can take the crow’s path to the pleasure center. Which is why—taking a cue from David Hajdu’s great Famous Door blog—I ask: What’s your favorite song for a summer day in Charlottesville?
Kneel before King Jonathan.