Dueling Apps: Pandora vs. Last.fm, Round Three — David Bowie
Having gotten my first iPhone two months ago, my main focus in collecting applications is on music and news, and the music part has been chaotic at best — while I enthusiastically downloaded apps for KCRW and Indie 103.1, I became frustrated at the number of dropouts and buffering issues I faced with both these L.A.-based alt-music powerhouses.
My best music app experiences are currently with Pandora and Last.fm. I downloaded Pandora almost instantly once I got the phone, but I was pointed to Last.fm by a friend this past weekend, and since the two services are fairly similar in format and functionality, I decided it would be interesting to take one artist each day and build stations for them on each service. I will list the first 10 songs Pandora and Last.fm deliver for each artist, and then assess which service offered the best response.
Today, it’s Aladdin Sane’s turn at the challenge.
Pandora
1. David Bowie, “Rebel Rebel” from VH1 Storytellers.
2. The Beatles, “Don’t Let Me Down.”
3. The Rolling Stones, “Ruby Tuesday.”
4. Led Zeppelin, “Fool in the Rain.”
5. David Bowie, “Heroes.”
6. The Beatles, “Norwegian Wood.”
7. The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil.”
8. David Bowie, “Where Have All the Good Times Gone.”
9. The Beatles, “Across the Universe.”
10. Pink Floyd, “Wish You Were Here.”
Pro: All of these bands are unimpeachable — I cannot complain when The Beatles pop up regularly, and Pandora’s initial response is to group Bowie with the true lions of ’60s and ’70s rock. He deserves such treatment.
Con: This plays a whole lot like a run-of-the-mill classic rock station, and when I think of Bowie, I think more of the glam rockers that sprang up around him. Sure, this is all good, but I could have gotten this out of a Rolling Stones radio station.
Last.fm
1. T.Rex, “Jeepster.”
2. Beggars Opera, “Angleus Thread.”
3. Bryan Ferry, “Time On My Hands.”
4. Slade, “Cum On Feel the Noize.”
5. Talking Heads, “Houses in Motion.”
6. New York Dolls, “Gimme Luv & Turn On the Light.”
7. Neil Young, “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.”
8. The Velvet Underground, “The Black Angel’s Death Song.”
9. The Kinks, “Big Sky.”
10. Echo & the Bunnymen, “Pictures on My Wall.”
Pro: Now that’s more like it — a mixture of contemporaneous glam, revered heroes and followers. For extra charm, that Slade track was full of charming vinyl pops and scratches — somebody really wanted the original “Cum On Feel the Noize” in the mix.
Con: No Bowie. And I mean no Bowie. And I’m not sure why I got Wings’ “Mull of Kintyre” later in the mix. Don’t get me wrong — I love “Mull of Kintyre,” but I don’t know how we suddenly got away from androgyny and sleazy rhythms and made a side trip into the Scottish Highlands.
Advantage: Pandora played Bowie but could not capture his spirit in other selections. Last.fm was all spirit but no Bowie. The result? An unfortunate draw.
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