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Audio Journal Of A Music Curator
In 2017, I started working as a contractor for Pandora in Oakland. Pandora was creating their on-demand streaming service, integrating it with their classic radio service, and I joined a team optimizing music metadata for this launch. I took to it right away, loved the work and the people there, continued on, and SiriusXM eventually hired me full-time.
After a year or so, I started adding little by little to what is now a 230+ song playlist. Most are songs I've come across while doing my work as a music metadata specialist and catalog curator here. Sometimes a track really stands out to me in some way, and I add it to this personal playlist, Din's Pandora Picks.
In the last few weeks, I've been listening back to it anew, and frankly I'm blown away by the quality of so much of it. It's an extremely eclectic, genre- and era-agnostic listen, with the only common thread being that this is all stuff that rocks me in some way.
It happened that The Specials, on my shortest short list of favorite bands, released their ENCORE album around that time. Track 1 is their reprise of The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum, which I also had the pleasure of seeing them play live at the Fox Oakland on their final tour, just down the street from the Pandora office.
No One Sleeps When I'm Awake by Canada's The Sounds is a stunning rocker with a unique mood, and brilliant vocals and guitar work. I found myself playing it on repeat just soaking up every detail in the car, and on my earbuds and home speeks.
The set runs roughly chronologically from there. Songs I found recently are at the end, with my earlier discoveries nearer the beginning. A great majority of the selections are in the proverbial "long tail." Some started there and then got much more popular, and a few are old favorites I arbitrarily added along the way 'cos they compelled me.
At this point, I'm pleased about the whole playlist and quite delighted to share it publicly. Tooooo many favorites to call out, but that's why it's a PLAYlist! And you may play it.
Hop on in, tune in, turn up, rock out. I'll continue to add to this as time goes on, whenever the inspiration strikes.
Eric Din is a Music Metadata Specialist at SiriusXM/Pandora. This playlist represents his personal discoveries and preferences, not an official Pandora-endorsed selection.
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