I don't know how many of you noticed this, but I have my very own Launchcast radio station. It's a pretty cool feature where you input music you like and then the station plays back your music plus new music that other people who like your music are into. I've discovered a few bands through the system, but it does have it's quirks. For example, I rated the song "Swing Swing" by the All-American Rejects rather highly. Unfortunately, there are three separate albums in the Launch database which contain this song, so I hear the song, on average, three times an hour. It's a good song, but that's a bit much. Dan said there was something wrong with the "algorithm". I see no reason to bring the ex-vice president into this.
Also, every once in a while, they sneak in a song that they want you to like regardless of your tastes. The other day they tried to play "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen. Nowhere on my list of songs I enjoyed was there a Bruce Springsteen song, or a reference to a Bruce Springsteen song, or probably even any artists who have the initials B.S. I'm not really sure where they got the idea that I wanted to hear that song. Call it Launch's lame attempt to make me a patriotic American, but I tricked the system by restarting it, and haven't heard any good ol' blue collar rock since.
However, earlier today, they did the same thing with a Whitesnake song. Whitesnake! What the hell?! I imagine that in the history of the internet no one has even typed the phrase "whitesnake" into a search engine*, unless they were searching for albino serpents and forgot to insert a space. There's no way I would POSSIBLY request that song. I don't know if this is a 2003 instance of a payola scandal or something, but I am pretty sure Whitesnake wasn't on my playlist due to their overwhelming popularity. Then again, payola requires money...and this is Whitesnake we are talking about. Maybe it was pity placement, or something like that. Poor, pathetic Whitesnake.
*Except for me, who had to find the picture above. However, I swear it was one of the most frightening experiences ever, as Google gave me this dirty look that I could tell meant "Are you kidding me?! Whitesnake?!"
Also, every once in a while, they sneak in a song that they want you to like regardless of your tastes. The other day they tried to play "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen. Nowhere on my list of songs I enjoyed was there a Bruce Springsteen song, or a reference to a Bruce Springsteen song, or probably even any artists who have the initials B.S. I'm not really sure where they got the idea that I wanted to hear that song. Call it Launch's lame attempt to make me a patriotic American, but I tricked the system by restarting it, and haven't heard any good ol' blue collar rock since.
However, earlier today, they did the same thing with a Whitesnake song. Whitesnake! What the hell?! I imagine that in the history of the internet no one has even typed the phrase "whitesnake" into a search engine*, unless they were searching for albino serpents and forgot to insert a space. There's no way I would POSSIBLY request that song. I don't know if this is a 2003 instance of a payola scandal or something, but I am pretty sure Whitesnake wasn't on my playlist due to their overwhelming popularity. Then again, payola requires money...and this is Whitesnake we are talking about. Maybe it was pity placement, or something like that. Poor, pathetic Whitesnake.
*Except for me, who had to find the picture above. However, I swear it was one of the most frightening experiences ever, as Google gave me this dirty look that I could tell meant "Are you kidding me?! Whitesnake?!"
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