UKH

When Welcome to the Jungle was served up by the silicon valley gods and their algorithm underlings, I thought "This is the best track ever" but then Open Eye Signal by Jon Hopkins came on and I knew that "This is the best track ever".

I worry that these algorithms are so attuned with our psyches that they're keeping us placated when we should be out subverting the new world order - as though our minds are suspended in contentment vats and drip fed lies. I'd extrapolate but I Wanna Be Your Dog by The Stooges just came on and I think it could be the best track - ever.

The Algorithm has got my taste in jazz and electronic music nailed, and is very successful in keeping me "on platform" for hours at a time. Which seems totally pointless since I pay for premium/music and have a*block too, so as far as I can see the only people who benefit are me and the artists (shirley some mistake).

But it falls on its arse when it comes to classical. If you listen to something like Zimerman's performance of the Liszt B minor sonata, I guarantee the thing you want to listen next isn't a different performance of Liszt's B minor sonata. Once you've got to the end, you think "oof that was all a bit much, let's have a nice cup of tea" you don't think "I wonder how some other world class pianist brought out the manic drama of the mephestophelian fugue, let's dive straight back in for a repeat". You leave that for another day.

That second paragraph sounds a bit like Adorno's case against popular music and culture. He never got to listen to the Stooges though, poor man.

Is this an early entry for a Pseud’s Corner highlight in the 2020 Private Eye annual?

Also you demonstrate a keen ignorance of the benefits to a platform, of keeping you from visiting other platforms. Did you neck a bottle of “naive pills” at the start of 2020? 

I worry a lot about what the algorithm thinks.  If some teenybop sensation comes on the telly and I want to look up what their music is so I know who they are, I don't do it incase the algorithm thinks that's my thing and starts serving me a diet of similar stuff.  Similarly, if a track comes on which i like, but don't want to listen to right now, I listen to it all the way through for fear that if I skip it the algorithm will think I don't like it and will never let me hear it again!

This really means that you have the same taste in music as a group of other people.

In my case the algorithms get it woefully wrong time and time again resulting in a shriek of "turn that f*cking shit off" and throwing whatever device is at fault out the window before some nasty ear-worm takes hold. It's an expensive business.

That's a rather salty reaction to some light humour that went over your head. Give the b minor sonata a go, you might see what I mean. I very much doubt that you'll want to listen to it again for a while (but it is staggering). 

A while back, the algorithm served up some Meshuga and Dream Theatre, neither of which I had really paid attention to previously. I bought some CDs on the back of that, which I guess is a bit meta.

The best way to gauge the accuracy of an algorithm is to look at the wish.com adverts that FaceBook serves to you.

When you do get to listening to it again, try Lisitsa.

Mine appear to be mainly padded underwear so I would like to think not that accurate !

Au contraire, one of the things I use youtube for most is listening to loads of different versions of the same piece of classical music, often for hours, jumping back to performances I liked and hearing shorter sections in comparison, before buying a proper CD.

This is so much better than going to the shop and lstening to the two or three version they may have in stock, if you are lucky. I will then order the CD via my local dealer if I cannot get the used somewhere.

CB

Well then it's your bloody fault it does it then! 

Tena? I get those too - and Saga cruises 🙄

It (whatever "it" may be) is always my fault, but I slowly get used to it!

CB