According to the internet, April is International Guitar Month. As far as historians can tell, the guitar goes back to 15th century Spain. But it wasn’t until 1987 when the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) established April as the month dedicated to a stringed instrument championed by classically trained musicians, juvenile delinquents, and everyone in between.   I fell in love with the guitar in second grade by accident. Near the top of my Christmas list, in between a remote-controlled R2-D2 and a Gremic skateboard, I had asked for the Superstar 3000, a toy guitar that ran on batteries. But upon tearing the wrapping paper off a guitar-shaped box on Christmas morning, I found, to my surprise, a real acoustic guitar instead. My mom was quick to assure me that it was much cooler to play a real guitar than a toy guitar. She also mentioned that she had signed me up for guitar lessons.     Decades later, I really should be a much better guitar player. Sure, I can keep up with most musicians, but not the ones who are so good that they make a weird face when they’re in the zone – you know that face – mouth agape, eyes closed, brows arched. Thankfully, punk and indie rock taught me about distortion and reverb. My lack of six-string skills couldn’t hide behind an acoustic guitar. But with a quiver of electric guitar effect pedals, I could make my mediocre musicianship sound slightly more interesting. Subsequently, my collection of guitar pedals has inspired me to create a series of Pandora Stories that I’ve titled, “The Pandora Pedalboard.” Of course, there are still various pedals that I have yet to cover in this ongoing series. But I hope you enjoy listening to the history of some essential guitar pedals, along with solid examples of what they sound like in certain songs.     Tremolo   For lack of a better description, this is the effect that sounds like someone is turning your volume up and down at varying speeds. There are plenty of awesome tremolo pedals out there. But my favorite version of this effect comes stock within the circuitry of some tube amplifiers, and it’s often mistaken for vibrato. Here’s the difference: when the volume of a musical note is oscillated, that’s tremolo. When the pitch of a musical note is oscillated, that’s vibrato. Think of it like this – “Crimson & Clover” by Tommy James & The Shondells is a great example of the pulsing tremolo effect, while “Rebel Rouser” by Duane Eddy reveals the rounder scope of pitch-shifting vibrato.     Vibrato   Where tremolo has a back-and-forth strobing fidelity, vibrato has a more swirling sound to it, almost like the three-dimensional sensation of hearing a rotating speaker from a Hammond organ. The opening of Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” is a perfect example of an electric guitar playing through the vibrato effect.     Flanger   Somewhat similar to the confusion between tremolo and vibrato, a flanger is often confused for a phaser. Think of it this way: a phaser sounds like you’re singing behind an electric fan, where a flanger sounds like you’re singing behind a jet engine. Yes, both kinds of modulations can sound alike, but the flanger is a time-based effect that utilizes a delay process, repeating the modulated and out-of-phase audio signal back onto itself. This creates a swooshing, sweeping effect that sounds a bit more exaggerated than a phaser. Listen to Alex Lifeson’s opening solo on Rush’s “The Spirit Of Radio” for a perfect example of flanger.     Phaser   Like the flanger, a phaser (sometimes spelled phasør) creates a delay-like effect. But this effect is a frequency-based process that alters the phase of a signal. So, it sounds a bit warmer and more enveloping. A lot of 20th century outlaw country guitarists made use of the phaser – most famously, Waylon Jennings. You can hear this immediately from the beginning of “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” as he stums his iconic, leather-bound Telecaster through a phaser effect.     Fuzz   Maybe one of the best happy accidents in music, the fuzz effect was born in 1961 when a broken preamp began distorting with an electric buzz that sounded so cool, it was decidedly left in the mix. If you fall down the many online rabbit holes on guitar effects, it seems like fuzz is the most popular one – especially for garage rock, stoner rock, doom, and shoegaze. Ty Segall loves this effect so much, he named one of his bands after it. Although there is a vast array of fuzz box examples in the Pandora catalog, the most iconic is easily the snarling intro riff to “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones.     Delay   Whether you’re trying to get that 1950s rockabilly slapback or the shimmering repetition of dream pop guitar, delay is such an important tool of the guitarist’s arsenal, that the Edge from U2 would sound totally different without it. There are many different types of delay, but at its core, this effect was derived from analog tape echo to make your signal sound cavernous and echoed. Its trailing, reptation effects became popular with dub music producers to create ganja-friendly atmospheres. But ethereal guitarists from bands like Cocteau Twins and Slowdive also found ways to give gossamer textures to their respective sounds via the delay effect. I love how the latter band brought delay’s ‘70s dub roots into their ‘90s shoegaze sound with “Souvlaki Space Station.”   Chorus   What is it about the chorus effect that makes everything sound so rooted in the 1980s? Maybe it was the opening chords to Prince’s “Purple Rain” or the creamy sounds of strummed guitar in Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” It’s hard to describe exactly what chorus does, but let’s try. When we’re talking about chorus in regard to electric guitar, we’re referencing an effect that thickens a sound by multiplying it before modulating and coloring each of the copied sounds so that a single signal comes across like a choir of the same note. Think of it like this – when you hear one chorus-affected guitar strumming on “Vapour Trail” by RIDE, it sounds like more than one guitar.     Wah-Wah   Last, but certainly not least, we must celebrate the pedal that makes everything sound instantly funky. This curious pedal also approximates a human vowel-like voicing by rocking the top of the pedal back and forth with the guitar player’s foot. Like the fuzz effect, wah-wah was born of a happy accident. While an audio engineer was trying to clone the kind of Vox amplifier that the Beatles used, he stumbled upon an effect that sounded somewhat like a trumpet mute. Subsequently, the first Vox wah-wah pedal was released in 1967 – just in time for psychedelic music and acid rock. But the effect really caught on with soul and funk music during the early 1970s. This might be best exemplified with Isaac Hayes’ 1971 recording of the “Theme From Shaft” – a groovy song made even groovier by the bellbottomed boogie of an electric guitar riffing through a frequency-bending wah-wah pedal.     So as of now, our Pandora Pedalboard has eight pedals. This begs the question asked by every guitar pedal nerd – do we have room for more? Welcome to the slippery slope! As we chase down different voicings and effects, it’s also important to remember that if you use too much dressing, you won’t be able to taste the salad. Still, what pedals would you add to this board? Leave a comment! And include an example of your favorite effect as used in a song. Maybe I’ll keep building the board. Because if Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine has taught me anything about effects and the slippery slope, you can never have too many pedals. ... View more

Spring has sprung! Sure, we have to wake up earlier, but now it gets darker later and the spring isn't just in our step but maybe in our music taste as well. Some of us got to go to SXSW and others have been enjoying live music in other capacities. So, if there's a theme for this edition of Pandora Picks, it just might be the celebration of our love for live music, and how going out to shows is maybe the best way to kick off spring and discover the music that you love.   Listen to Pandora Picks – March 2024     The Creator Services team and I were at SXSW a couple weeks ago in Austin, Texas and we had a booth at the Artist Lounge and I met a group called Spyres. They have a new EP out called Karaoke Sellouts and I checked it out and I really liked it. They do a lot of anthem pop, headed by their two frontwomen who also play guitar and they have a bassist and drummer. I went to go check them out at the Shiner Saloon down on Congress and just really enjoyed them. I love women on guitars, and singing harmony, and they're from Scotland to boot. So, three things I love. Hope you enjoy. -Jamie     Before praising my pandora pick for March, I just have to say that there is currently a lot of “big dumb hat” energy coming from an ever-growing pocket of outlaw country revivalists, many of whom seemed to swap out last season’s beard-oiled, stomp-clap-hey! flavor of Americana for warbling, Waylon phaser pedals and faux Nudie Suits. What a relief then, when the real deal comes along with memorable songs, amazing singing, stellar musicianship, and years honed raising hell in honky-tonks, singing on festival stages, and paying dive-bar dues even when those dues have been paid in full a long time ago. Noelle & The Deserters are the real deal and over the years they’ve become one of my favorite bands to see live. And you know, she’s sung for Shannon & The Clams, Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick, Anna Hillburg, and countless others. But I’ve been waiting with beer-baited breath for Noelle Fiore to release her debut single and here it is. If you’re into traditional twang-goddess recordings by Emmylou Harris, Jessi Colter, Margo Price, and Emily Nenni, then you owe it to yourself to dime the volume on “Born in the Morning.” -Eric S     I'm here to share a track from an upcoming historical album release from the Jazzanians, who were a multi-racial jazz ensemble spearheaded by Darius and Cathy Brubeck (Darius, the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck), formed in South Africa under apartheid. Their 1988 album, We Have Waited Too Long has been restored and remastered and is set to be released in April. And let it be emphasized – they were the first multi-racial student jazz ensemble from South Africa to tour outside the country, even appearing on US television. Their compositions like “Bayete” represent the quintessential catchy sound of South African jazz. -Michelle       I am so delighted with my pick for the month of March: “Lightning Drunk” by Oh He Dead. This is a contemporary funk and soul band from Washington, DC, hot off their SXSW appearance. And this song must have brought the house down. -Eric D       I recently saw Anna Hillburg playing tunes from her latest release, Tired Girls, and loved her unpretentiously good songwriting. Each track on this album is like a small universe, so it was hard to pick just one to represent it. But the song "Holdin' On" was memorable from the live show, so that's what I chose. -Diego     My Pandora Pick from March 2024 is Broadcast’s forthcoming compilation of unreleased unheard demos for what would have been their fifth album. The song? “Follow the Light.” Follow the Light. Follow the Light. Follow the Light. -Chris D       I recently got to see Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real live in concert and they were fantastic, just an amazing band. And Lucas is a great singer-songwriter and guitarist… just amazing. My Pick for March is going to be a song he did with his dad, Willie Nelson. The song is called “Just Breathe.” Hope You like it. -John       My pick for this month is a band I did get to see live recently at SXSW. This band Tramhaus played at about 1:00 AM in a small club called the Chess Club on Red River in Austin. They had the entire venue on their feet. The singer was in the crowd and the energy was palpable. They're from the Netherlands and hopefully they'll come back to the United States and you'll get to check them out in your town. Enjoy “Minus 20” by Tramhaus -Noel   My pick for this month is a song called “Minus 20” by the Dutch post-punk band, Tramhaus. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon their set at SXSW this month in a tiny venue called the Chess Club and was completely blown away. I felt like I was watching Wire in their early years. I was buzzing so much after the set that I completely forgot that it was 2:00 AM. They're not to be missed! -Chris N   None of the material by Love Child has ever made it on to streaming until now. This is a collection of all their work, Never Meant to Be : 1988-1993. Alan Licht and Rebecca Odes are the main songwriters in this group. I don't know, I kind of think of it as like Television filtered through Beat Happening. It's got that New York cool minimalism with a little bit of a sloppy naivete but also a little bit of rage in there. So yeah. Check out Love Child. This is a song I like called “Something Cruel.”     My pick for this month is a song called “Know” from the French band Pærish. They play a mix of alternative, indie, pop-punk, shoegaze rock, and they just started their very first US tour. Alternative music has always been heavily influenced by American bands, and it’s every French band’s wildest dream to play in the US. It’s just so hard and rare for that to happen. Pærish worked tirelessly for the past 10 years, they got us three amazing records on SideOneDummy records, and they finally get to play these songs across the US. As a kid growing up in France into that kind of music, this is a very special moment. I am so proud of them and on the influence this will have on the next generation of French bands. I can’t wait to catch them on this tour and I hope you will too! -Julien   ... View more

Like many of you who attended South by Southwest, our team is still recovering from this year’s awesomeness – an entire week of live music, engaging panels, Texas BBQ, drink tickets, delicious Mexican food, and getting to meet some amazing people. We’d like to send a huge thanks to all artists, managers, labels, and friends who stopped by the Pandora AMP booth in the SXSW green room. In addition to signing folks up for AMP, we were also gifting our latest batch of AMPLI-FIRE hot sauce!     But we’d also love to give y’all something else – a Pandora Community SXSW 2024 badge! If you don’t know about our new Community Badges, you can read about them here. They’re a really cool new feature – especially this commemorative SXSW one:     All this said, we really wanted to share some of our most memorable moments at this year’s event. Enjoy!     Often the best moments at SXSW are seeing bands purely by chance. Such was the case when I had the pleasure of seeing Philadelphia’s They Are Gutting a Body of Water at the Mohawk as part of The Empty Bottle’s showcase. They set up on the floor of the venue in front of the stage and proceeded to wow the crowd with their heavy mix of My Bloody Valentine-style wall of sound and post-rock song structures. Don’t miss a chance to see them live in your home town. -Noel Morrison     These past three years attending and working at SXSW, I continually promised myself that I’m going to make it out to more showcases and meet up with more people. Well that didn’t happen this year and I’m okay with it because of where our booth was situated, I had the opportunity to see and hear probably over 50 artists and bands in our area, all of whom where mind-blowingly amazing! One in particular that stood out this year was LA-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Edi Callier whose sultry and emotive R&B vocal skills and abilities (think ‘90s Tevin Campbell) deservedly drew in the largest crowd and left the ladies (myself included) positively swooning. -Michelle Solomon     Although most of my time at this year’s SXSW was spent in the booth, I was still able to see some great live music. One band that stood out was a group from Southern California called Color Green. There was a lot of buzz about them at the New West showcase at Antone’s. And I understand why - influenced by Acetone’s cool minimalism, Spiritualized’s penchant for space-rock astral projections, Beachwood Sparks’ cosmic Americana, and the Grateful Dead’s jamtastic solos, they created their own sound that felt both familiar and new. -Eric Shea     The first day we were at the booth I met the band Spyres from Glasgow. They are a combo of some of the things I love best: two female lead vocalists, both on guitar, and SCOTLAND! I had a listen to their new EP Karaoke Sellouts and loved it. My favorite track is "The Thing" which sits somewhere between Lucius and HAIM. -Jamie Freedman     When I’m at SXSW, I’m definitely there for work, spending the bulk of every day in the artist green room talking to creators, and the rest of my time in meetings or connecting with MORE artists and managers. And don’t get me wrong, I love it. It’s the best part of my job, helping artists do what they do, meeting creators, connecting with artists from all over the world. But the downside of all that is that when evening rolls around, I’m always just way too tired from talking to people all day to even think about going to shows. In fact, in four years of SXSW I hadn’t seen a single show. That is until this year. My teammate Dan finally managed to drag me out, to see Brendan Benson, who we both love and who is responsible for one of our favorite records, One Mississippi. Sadly, he didn’t play any songs from that record. I started thinking maybe going out was actually a mistake. We strolled across the street and into the in-progress Shannon and the Clams performance, smack dab in the midst of their very unique version of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” By the end of their set, I was wiped out for sure, but my music appetite had seemingly been whetted, since the next morning, Dan and I got up early to see two of our all-time favorite bands play their legendary records front to back. Seattle’s Sunny Day Real Estate are worshipped by everyone from rock dads to punk kids, and it wasn’t hard to see why, as they tore through their iconic 1994 record Diary. Thirty years later it still sounded as innovative and as mind blowing as when I first heard it. But it was openers and emo legends the Get Up Kids from Kansas City who really did it for me. Most definitely no longer kids, they performed a pitch-perfect run through of 1999's Something to Write Home About, a super meaningful record for me – and it knocked me out. I can’t remember the last show where I sang EVERY WORD at the top of my lungs. Or actually cried, which I did during at least two songs. And that’s about as emo as it gets! So, thanks Dan for dragging me out and reminding me how much I love shows. And thanks to my awesome team for always making work somehow seem fun. -Andee Connors     The Seattle-based Chinese American Bear stole the show (and stole hearts) at Lefty’s Brick Bar with their delightful blend of bright, deep grooves and Mandarin/English lyrics about tasty treats. Their set had everything from coordinated audience dances, to boba plushies being thrown out to the audience, to a dancing dumpling (seriously - someone came out with a dumpling mask to dance on stage). All of those theatrics were delightful side courses to the main dish, comprising their infectious hooks and stellar stage presence. Catch this band now before they’re playing arenas and shooting plushies from t-shirt cannons! -John Venanzi     I was so close to leaving Hotel Vegas, when I stumbled upon a completely unhinged set by freaky Montreal punk rockers DVTR. The breakneck tempos, chorus-affected vocals, and insane on-stage energy gave me no choice but to mosh. They were the last band I saw that week and it was the manic send-off that I needed. -Chris Niles   If I had to pick one band to define SXSW this year, it would be Corridor from Montréal. They played some of the most interesting and beautiful indie rock-adjacent music I have heard in a long time. They incorporate what feels like math-rock and dream-pop elements, building up to magical moments where each instrument adds its own layer of melodies. During a week where everything goes so quickly, it felt like Corridor managed to stop time. -Julien Benatar   ... View more

Usually around Saint Patrick’s Day, I see a few playlists that mistake the phrase “pub rock” for Irish drinking songs. But pub rock has very little to do with pennywhistles, wearing green, and binge drinking. Its roots vine back to taverns of the United Kingdom during the early-to-mid 1970s. Back then, the pop scene was overrun by the lavish theatrics of glitter/glam rock as well as the hyper-arranged music of progressive/prog rock. Pub rock started as an organic, reactionary backlash to glam and prog. And some music historians say that pub rock helped spark the sound of English punk.   Personally speaking, I love playing in pubs. I’ve had the privilege to perform on a lot of different stages. These include outdoor music festivals, European arenas, and historic ballrooms. One of my bands has even played on the sand dunes of Sardinia, mere feet away from the Mediterranean Sea. Not flexing here – I just want to point out that despite these sweet opportunities, my favorite places to play have always been (and still remain) dive bars and pubs.   Why? They’re more intimate, you don’t have to soundcheck, and there are no bouncers telling people where to stand. Also, many of these places don’t have stages. This allows for a face-to-face connection with the audience, which I prefer over looking down own a crowd. With pub shows, more people show up to dig the music than the scene. Pub shows tend to draw music-obsessed people with record collections. But more interestingly, there is a history behind playing in pubs and a short-lived movement that spawned the genre known as pub rock.   Seconds of Pleasure by Rockpile        Malpractice by Dr. FeelgoodThe original idea was to keep your setup simple and portable – the backline of choice was electric guitars plugged into smaller, tube-driven, amplifiers and a basic rhythm section comprising a minimal drum kit and a bass plugged into a combo amp. Microphones were mostly used for vocals and (sometimes) horns. The music was mostly a back-to-basics style of rock that blended blues, country, soul and early rock ‘n’ roll. Wilko Johnson’s band Dr. Feelgood played a smart, revved-up style of R&B that predated the mod revival by five years. The Stranglers also started out as a pub rock band, as did The 101ers which featured a young, pre-Clash Joe Strummer.   Other pub rock bands like supergroup Rockpile and the seminal Eggs Over Easy flirted with more twangy country rock, while artists like Wreckless Eric and Eddie & The Hot Rods played catchy, power pop-informed songs.       My Aim is True by Elvis Costello Jesus of Cool by Nick Lowe   Pub rock was originally an underdog movement; when smaller bands found it difficult to play bigger venues, they had to start their own touring circuit by booking shows in various secluded British pubs – not too unlike the dark-horse country and blues musicians playing in hayseed American honky tonks during the 1940s and 1950s. Still, pub rock was not without its luminaries and success stories. A lot of people who were there back in the day claim that a young Elvis Costello got his start by imitating such pub rock staples as Brinsley Schwarz-era Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, and Dave Edmunds.  And though pub rock may remain as one of the golden eggs of semi-obscure subgenres, there’s a deep rabbit hole of discovery once you dig past the surface. So this St. Paddy’s Day, pour yourself a Guinness, dime that volume, and dig.   ... View more

  We got an extra day this February, thanks to Leap Year. That, along with Punxsutawney Phil giving us an early spring made for a Pandora Picks that's a bit longer, lighter and brighter than usual. Dime that volume and click here to dig what we've been digging.       Elbow – “Balu” I have a special love for Manchester based band Elbow. It's been a couple of years since they've released any new music and they've got a couple of new tracks out. One's called “Lovers’ Leap.” This one's called “Balu.” Guy Garvey described the new sound as, “…gnarly seedy grooves created by playing in garage rooms.” I love it, love it, love it. Hope you do too. -Jamie   Thrilliam Angels, Helen Sun & d.j. polyplus u.c. – “The Break Up Song” Sometimes you click on something and you don't know what it is and you could get doxed. Or in this case, I just clicked on the cover art for the Thrilliam Angels album, This Sunrise is Brutal. And the first track, “The Break Up Song” is surprisingly catchy and good. This is Latvian producer Thrilliam Angels with d.j. polyplus u.c. and vocals by Helen Sun. This is “The Break Up Song.” -George   Ghost-Note – “Where’s Danny?” I'm so incredibly stoked to share the new single from this Snarky Puppy side project. The percussion and groove-based funk, hip-hop, and fusion project goes to note. “Where's Danny” is a high-energy funk anthem that straight up cooks. So, if you're looking for a get up and get moving or midday slump, burst of energy without having to reach for the caffeine, then look no further. -Michelle   Waxahatchee – “Right Back to It (feat. MJ Lenderman)” My pick for this month is the song “Right Back to It” by Waxahatchee featuring MJ Linderman. It's coming from the new album, Tiger's Blood. Can't wait to hear the rest of the album. It's coming out soon and it's just a beautiful, beautiful song. Hope you like it. -Noel   Biter – “Headlock” My pick for this month is a song called Headlock by the New York Band, Biter. It's kind of hard to put them into a bucket. It could be pop punk. It could be post punk or it could just be a good old catchy rock song. Biter is a good time and I hope you will enjoy it. -Julien   GospelbeacH – “The Dropouts (Part One)” My pick comes from GospelbeacH, a band that I’m convinced might be the one true bookend of the Los Angeles canyon rock sound. Had GospelbeacH’s Brent Rademaker been born earlier, there’s a good chance he would have been in some iteration of the Byrds or Flying Burrito Brothers. I’m not saying the songs on this gorgeous EP are Cosmic American pastiche. But rather, these songs sound like they’re viably adding to the canon of this genre while pushing its boundaries of what’s possible with innovative production, thoughtful arrangements, and memorable songs. The title-track is incredibly catchy - it’s two minutes and 23 seconds of perfect Americana guitar pop, garnished with classic power pop hooks and bubblegum sweetness. -Eric   Siouxie And The Banshees – “Playground Twist” This month I've been rediscovering guitarist John McKay from Siouxsie And The Banshees' first lineup. His work may sound familiar to the casual listener, and that is because of the outsized influence his playing had on a legion of guitarists from post-punk to shoegaze and beyond. Everyone from Siouxsie's second guitarist, the legendary John McGeoch, to the Edge to Kevin Shields cite him as an influence. To give you a taste of his playing, I'm choosing "Playground Twist" from the Banshees' second album, Join Hands. -Diego   NOBRO – “Not Myself” When I saw the title of this album Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar, I thought, “Hmm, something's got to be in here.” Sure enough… I really love this band. They're playing SXSW this year. “Not myself” is my pick for February. The band is called NOBRO. And again, Words to live by: Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar. -Din   Loopsel – “Poison Tree” My Pandora pick for February 2024 is Loopsel and the song “Poison Tree” off the album Öga for Öga. It translates into “an eye for an eye,” which is also my favorite Corrosion Of Conformity record, thank you very much. “Poison Tree” is like Scandinavian noise. A next take on a potential Leonard Cohen song that doesn't exist but actually kind of does and you've heard it before but you've never heard it before. Whatever. It's cool. This came out last year. Slept on it. Sorry. Get weird. Peace out. No more war. -Chris   LA LOM – “Llorar” For my February 2024 Pandora Picks, I chose this little instrumental number by LA LOM. Hope you like it. Thanks. -John   Darkspace – “Dark-2.-2” My pick for Pandora Picks is the latest from Swiss cosmic black metalers, Darkspace. It is titled “Dark-2.-2.” They swap out some of the sci-fi buzz and blast for something much more inward looking. It's a dense swirl of black ambient and creeping atmospheric malevolence that once again perfectly captures the bleak sonic expanse of the unknowable universe. It's one song. It's the whole record. That's just how it is. Check it out. -Andee ... View more

  As a lifelong musician, shoegaze was my first love. I tried to get with the Madchester sound, but as a guitarist, I just never was able to bond with wah-wah pedals. Shoegazing seemed to arrive just in time, back in the early 1990s – when grunge was oversaturating the airwaves. Some of us who never even-flowed or snuffed a rooster turned to this innovative music scene that was emerging in England. At first, the shoegaze sound blended the haunting beauty of ‘80s goth with the distorted six-string experiments of indie rock. But shoegaze very soon evolved to take on many different styles within the genre. The term “shoegazing” was coined because guitarists of the genre have a penchant for hoarding effects pedals and spending much of their performances staring downward as they stomp on them. My friends Mike, Lisa, Mark, and I fell in love with this sound and started our own inspired band, Ozean.     Glider by My Bloody Valentine   But before meeting my bandmates, it was My Bloody Valentine’s 1990 EP Glider that first taught me how electric guitars could be used to build gossamer, sonic cathedrals of beautiful noise. But the more I listened to bands like RIDE, Pale Saints, and Swervedriver, I discovered something beneath the blissed-out layers of ethereal guitar wash – these bands wrote some incredible love songs. So, this Valentine’s Day, I wanted to share my favorite Pandora station, Shoegaze Love Songs.       Mad Love by Lush   Admittedly, this station reminds me of my very first shoegazing-themed mixtape. Back when a girlfriend told me she loved Cocteau Twins, I loaded her up a TDK 90 cassette with Chapterhouse, Lush, Xmal Deutschland, and the more amorous songs from This Mortal Coil. During those first few months of new relationship magic, these artists soundtracked my post-adolescent romance with their dreamy atmospheres, undulating electric guitars, and whisper-sung adorations.         Everything's Alright Forever by The Boo RadleysThis is not to say that classic shoegaze is all petals and flowers. The genre holds many songs of soured sentiments for all you anti-Valentine’s Day folks. I speak from experience - because my favorite shoegazers were just as skilled at crafting songs of heartbreak, I mixed a break-up themed tape as well. After getting dumped my freshman year of college, my newfound ex received a parting gift: a collection of songs by Slowdive, Curve, The Boo Radleys, Swallow, and The Telescopes that I carefully curated to passive-aggressively convey what my bleeding heart (i.e. bruised ego) felt like. Yes, I was that guy. And while my communication skills have come a long way, I still love listening to those dreamy old songs of dramatic infatuation and loveless wallowing. Maybe you will too.         ... View more

New year, new you, new tunes! But per usual, some of us dipped into our back pages. Either way, these are our 2024 walk-up songs. What were yours? You can listen to our Pandora Picks for January, 2024 right here.     Pylon Reenactment Society – “Fix It (feat. Kate Pierson)” Hi, it’s Eric from Pandora. I used to imagine that the best band would be one with Fred Schneider from the B-52’s and Jello Biafra from Dead Kennedys. This band would be called the DK-52’s and would involve a lot of yelling and hollering. Lo and behold, this vision was upstaged by the recent reality of Athens, Georgia’s post-punk matriarch queens Vanessa Briscoe Hay of Pylon and the B-52’s Kate Pierson! “Fix It” is my favorite single (so far) from Pylon Reenactment Society’s upcoming album Magnet Factory. This quirky, herky-jerky hit blends 20th century-era Pylon’s penchant for reinventing post punk with the Reenactment Society’s modern-day dip into melodic indie rock, garnished with the crystalline backing vocals of Kate Pierson. And if you think this song is as awesome as I do, check out the amazing video they made and be sure to catch Pylon Reenactment Society live on tour! -Eric S.       Ariana Grande – “yes, and?” What's up, you guys? It's Lisa for Pandora Music Analysis. This month I'm just gonna go for the straight-up obvious pick - at least in my world, as a huge Ariana Grande fan. So excited for her new record to come out and obsessed with her single “yes, and?” bringing the house vibes completely 100% back. It's been going on for a little while. I mean, Beyoncé's record Renaissance was full of these references. But it's back, baby. So, here’s a song to really pump you up and get you through January. Check out Ariana's “yes, and?” if you've been able to miss it somehow. -Lisa     Frances Chang – “Eye Land” Hi, it’s George from Pandora Content Analysis. I kind of just stumbled on the new work by Frances Chang. I kind of dove into her other albums - she’s a New York-based artist and some of her stuff sounds very singer-songwriter. But some of it reminds me of Helium and Mary Timony’s band from the 1990s. And some of it reminds me of Lily Konigsberg’s new art pop stuff. Yeah, give it a whirl. Here is Eye Land by Frances Chang -George     The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis – “Emergence” Hey Michelle Solomon here, Operations Manager and Jazz Programmer at Pandora. So 2024 is already off to a fiery start with the announcement of collaborative album and tour featuring instrumental trio The Messthetics which features the rhythm section of DC punk band Fugazi (in case you didn't know) and jazz saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. Keep your ears open for their self-titled album, which will be out on March 15th via the legendary Impulse Records, in which according to their label, they widen the reach of decisive instrumental music through their overlapping of jazz, punk, funk, aggression, and innovation. Sign me up - here's a bit of that magic on their lead single, “Emergence.” -Michelle     Sorcerer & Pencey Sloe – “Strangers” Hi, everyone, it's Julien. My pick for this month is one of my favorite songs of 2023 called “Strangers.” It's a collaboration between two French bands called Pencey Sloe and Sorcerer. I'm generally fascinated by this song which incorporates the dreamy and large side of Pencey Sloe and the anger and heaviness of Sorcerer. It truly feels epic and kind of unpredictable and the good news is that with one song you get to discover two essential bands from the very exciting Paris music scene. Bon écoute! -Julien     Sophie Ellis-Bextor – “Murder On The Dancefloor” Hey, this is Jamie from the Creator Services team at Pandora and it is so delightful that “Murder On The Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor is trending because of its being in Salt Burn. What a fun track - 20 years ago, guys…20 years ago! Anyway, enjoy. -Jamie     Raphael Roginski – “Electron” You know, normally I don't get too riled up over guitar players. I mean, guitar…come on, who doesn't play a guitar? Even I play guitar. Give me a break! But this dude Raphael Roginski who hails from Krakow, Poland - he does something pretty neat because you kind of can't tell if it's a guitar or what he's doing. And I'm almost upset that I even know the guy's name because sometimes I don't like knowing anything about this stuff - and it adds to it, an air of mystery! And who doesn't love a good mystery now and again? This is Chris in content curation with my Pandora pick by Rafael Roginski and it's called “Electron” -Chris     SLIFT – “The Words That Have Never Been Heard” Hey everybody, this is Andee. I manage the Catalog and Crater Services team at Pandora. My pick for this month's Pandora Picks is from the band SLIFT - a modern, psychedelic, space rock, math rock, power trio from France. Their latest record is called ILION – loads of cyclical Kraut rock structures, sprawling prog rock arrangements, soaring, almost operatic vocals, tangled mathy rhythms, swirling ambience and grooves for days. This is the first half of a two-part song suite that takes up the bulk of the new record. This is “The Words That Have Never Been Heard” from SLIFT -Andee     Grateful Dead – “One More Saturday Night (Live at the Fox Theatre) (St. Louis) (MO 12/10/71)” Hello - Diego here ringing in the new year with a staple of Grateful Dead New Year’s Eve shows: the song “One More Saturday Night.” This one’s from St. Louis, 1971. Have fun and stay safe! -Diego     100 gecs, Laura Les & Dylan Brady – “stupid horse” This is Eric Din, Curator at Pandora. And my pick for this month is one of the weirdest things I think I've heard in a long time: “stupid horse” by 100 gecs, 100 gecs, Laura Les & Dylan Brady. I hope I pronounced these entities correctly. The YouTube video has some hilarious comments. One of them is, “‘God, this is awful,’ I say as I replay this for probably the 40th time in a single day.” And I get it… there's so many things about this that normally would just not be on my radar, you know? But it's just so bizarre and wonderful and then they come in with this, pick-it-up ska thing out of nowhere. It's just… it's frying my brain. I hope you enjoy it. Stupid horse. -Eric D     Common Hymnal, Jalen Seawright & Royce Lovett – “God Of Color (feat. Bianca White)” Hey everybody. Melissa Chalos here, Curator of Gospel and Christian for Pandora. You know, people of the Christian faith hear a lot about deconstruction these days. And for good reason, it's difficult to find your footing in the culture at large. There's a lot of stuff happening and it's just difficult. So that's probably why I'm so drawn to Common Hymnal. A creative ecosystem of artists who explore praise and protest of the spiritual underground. Common Hymnal is doing a completely new thing in this space. They fuse gospel, hip-hop, reggae, R&B, and spoken word. And if it lived in the Church, you might see more people return to the Church, but it doesn’t. For the most part, they focus more on racial justice, gun violence, compassion, survival on the fringe…and it gives me great hope for the future of Jesus culture. So, listen to their latest, “God Of Color.” Go check out their socials. This is “God Of Color” by Common Hymnal, Jalen Seawright & Royce Lovett -Melissa   ... View more

MLK Day never fails to find us reflecting on Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. But as a lifelong record collector and musician, it also reminds me how the birth of the civil rights movement was a groundbreaking era in music. It was a time that inspired songwriters of many genres to pen some of the most powerful and beautiful songs in the history of recorded music. During this part of the 1960s and 1970s, gospel, folk, rock, funk, soul, blues, and jazz included musicians singing about themes of freedom and equal rights.     To celebrate this incredibly important time in history, I like to raise the volume on an inspiring Pandora station: Protest Songs. Spanning the 1960s to more present-day recordings, this station was programmed with a consciousness-raising collection of music largely inspired by rallying cries for social change. As much as I dig all kinds of new music, it’s the songs from the civil rights era that tend to populate most of my music collection. And although my generation’s musicians have been through many ordeals, the lot of us are lucky that we never had to muse on the draft or the kinds of segregation that existed in the past. Of course, inequality still exists and we all still have a lot of work to do. But to feed my motivational energy, it’s the old songs that inspire new work.   Even though Bob Dylan wore many musical hats, his protest-era songs still grip me most. To this day, I’m still amazed at how much assertion, tension, and strength came from just an acoustic guitar, a reedy old harmonica and a man’s impassioned voice singing out against injustice. Shortly after discovering Dylan in my late teens, I was drawn to the jingle-jangle 12-string interpretations of his songs via The Byrds. I even scored a Rickenbacker guitar and tried to teach myself how to play like Roger McGuinn. But after learning how to fret and pick six extra strings, I realized that I was more moved by the way his voice shook and trembled when he was singing about longing for peace. Since I was never that dexterous a guitar player, I also looked to Neil Young for inspiration because some of his most memorable solos sound like he’s playing them with one finger. But it’s when he’s singing about racism in the South – that’s when the intensity of his music makes my hair stand on end. And if you want to hear an even more intense version, check out Merry Clayton’s fiery cover of “Southern Man.”     Sometimes the fire of funk burns even brighter. The impassioned recordings of James Brown showed me that groovy music could groove even harder when its lyrics empower people to stand against prejudice and hatred. It was music like this and that of Sly & The Family Stone that first made me realize the staying power of songs that fight for equality when the lyrics are hinged to heavy rhythms. And in hindsight, both of those artists were a gateway that opened the doors of discovery to the proto-rap, activist anthems of Gil Scott-Heron. I also get goosebumps from hearing Mavis Staples’ searing vocal inflections when she’s singing against racism. I think one of the most underrated bands of the civil rights movement is The Staple Singers.     Of course, there’s nothing more instantly emotional to my ears than the blues. Muddy Waters has two voices – his singing voice and his guitar’s deep commanding tone. But no matter how hard his guitar solos resonate; it’s his raspy inflections that get me every time he sings about a hard life lived during the Jim Crow era. Billie Holiday originally recorded the jazz classic “Strange Fruit” in 1939. The song’s haunting lyrics about lynching in the American South were powerfully revisited by Nina Simone when she recorded a gripping version of the song for her album Pastel Blues in 1965, the year many cite as the birth of the Black Power movement.     Again – I’ve got nothing but love for new music (I record and release new music, myself). But I also believe much of the music recorded before my time was played with a more palpable urgency. It was music that stoked the fires of change. This MLK day when we recognize Dr. King’s work, I recommend listening to Pandora’s Protest Songs station for inspiration. These songs help me remember that music doesn’t just soundtrack change. Music is change.     -Eric Shea       ... View more

  Long before the inception of Pandora, I can vividly recall the very first thumbs down that I gave to a song. This was during the Holiday season of the then-new decade. But it also happened to be my first-time butting heads with one of my parents on musical taste. It was 1980 and my father had just dropped the hi-fi needle on a scratchy 45-rpm copy of Engelbert Humperdinck’s “A Night To Remember.” Even though I was only nine-years-old, I knew before the first chorus that I wasn’t into this song. “What is this?” I asked. My father replied, “It’s my favorite Christmas song by Engelbert Humperdinck.” I remember suddenly laughing uncontrollably. “What? What’s so funny?” My dad demanded. “That’s not his real name,” I insisted. Now my father’s face was starting to redden as he retorted, “The man has a terrific voice. He’s English…just like the Beatles!” But even before my double digits, I knew that I liked the Beatles more than Engelbert Humperdinck. I also had my own favorite Holiday record. Already a vintage vinyl snob, I picked up my 1961 copy of Christmas With The Chipmunks and pleaded with him to put that on instead.       My parents and I still have differing tastes in music, but the cool thing about Holiday stations on Pandora is that they offer plenty of agreeable middle ground for nights in with the family. Take for instance the Christmas station – it’s easy to imagine Dean Martin sipping on eggnog in between saucy verses of “Silver Bells” or Burl Ives doing the voice for Sam The Snowman on “Holly Jolly Christmas” from the 1964 stop-motion animated TV special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. And every time I hear the Vince Guaraldi Trio play anything from A Charlie Brown Christmas, I want to find the smallest, skinniest, Christmas tree in our neighborhood lot and take it home for a sympathy trimming.     And though my dad might not know many (or any) of the artists peppering our Hipster Holidays station, I’ll bet he’d be into She & Him’s timeless take on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” or Sufjan Stevens plucking the banjo on a slightly countrified rendition of “Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing.” Speaking of hipsters, have you heard our Hipster Hanukkah station? It’s awesome! Tom Lehrer’s “(I’m Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica” just might have inspired Adam Sandler to see how many things he can rhyme with the word, Hanukkah. And Six13’s “Bohemian Chanukah” gives the Weird Al treatment to a Queen classic.   Traversing into the twangy stuff, one genre that the old man and I can both agree on is classic country. Pandora’s Classic Country Christmas station offers both country and western yuletide carols. My dad used to play Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains” in the family wagon and get nostalgic about his own childhood Christmas mornings. And my sister and I used to love watching my mom smile to Faron Young’s “I’m Gonna Tell Santa Claus on You.”   I know my father and I would also be able to agree on Soulful Holidays radio. With smooth gems like Donny and Lalah Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” Jackson 5’s festively funky “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and Whitney Houston’s moving version of “Do You Hear What I Hear;” this is the Pandora station that finds me hitting thumbs up more than any other.   Shoegaze Holidaze   Dad-approved jams aside, sometimes I need a little me time – especially when getting into the Holiday spirit. And no Pandora playlist does that better for my jaded generation X soul than Shoegaze Holidaze. Sure, I might be a bit too old to find a digital delay pedal under the Christmas tree, but Cocteau Twins make up for that with their gorgeous rendition of “Frosty The Snowman.” And even if I’m not waking up to a snowy-white Christmas, My Bloody Valentine has me covered with “Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside).” So, whatever music you prefer, we hope you and your families enjoy Pandora’s Holiday music offerings and can find some songs to thumb up together.   -Eric Shea ( @EricPandora) ... View more

Pandora Picks: November 2023 - Curators' Choice   Good gravy, November was bountiful with some stellar songs! This decorative gourd season found us indulging in comfort food music - the kind of songs that make you want to loosen your belt and put your feet up. But also, some songs that make you want to put your feet down and groove like a new year is just around the corner. You can listen to our Pandora Picks for the month right here.         Aaron Burnham & the Brushfires – “Barnburner” Old time country and honky-tonk is alive, well and swingin’ in the San Francisco Bay Area! Meet singer-songwriter Aaron Burnham and his band the Brushfires who’ve been a fixture and favorite in the local music scene over past few years, perfectly fusing their original tunes alongside Hank Williams, Buck Owens, and Gram Parsons covers. They recently released a fiery album of original music called Barnburner that includes their regular lineup of vocals, rhythm and lead guitars, upright bass, and drums along with special guest harmony vocals, fiddle and pedal steel players. If you ever have the opportunity, check out a Brushfires show and join the two-steppin’ Western Swingin’ party! -Michelle     André 3000 – “That Night In Hawaii…” My pick for this month's Pandora picks is New Blue Sun, the controversial new record from André 3000 from Outkast. I was never the biggest Outkast fan. So, the controversy kind of escaped me. And in fact, I was totally blown away by this new record. I already expected to love it based on all the insane song titles and the fact that it was all flutes, which is my favorite instrument. It was produced by a guy called Carlos Niño who has made some of the most thrilling modern jazz around. And in fact, this almost sounds more like a Carlos Niño record than an Andre 3000 record. Regardless, it's a beautiful, spaced-out droning, hypnotic, peaceful, dreamlike collection of drifting ambience and I love it. Plus, the song titles are crazy. For instance, the song I picked is titled, “That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther And Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control ... Sh¥t Was Wild.” -Andee     The Beatles – “Now And Then” Holy smokes, we’ve got a new Beatles song! And it’s the last Beatles song. Well actually, it’s an old John Lennon song. The other three Beatles added music to it years and years after it was first recorded. Does that make it a Beatles song? Some angry old guys on the internet will say no, it does not. But Ringo, Yoko, and Paulo say yes, it does. So, I’m going to side with them and agree that this is a Beatles song. And it’s a beautiful Beatles song. My favorite Beatles songs were always melancholy and bittersweet. And since we’re living in melancholy and bittersweet times, this new Beatles song is just perfect for the world we live in right now and I just wish they’d go back and give “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love” the same treatment because this mix boasts more clarity and depth and I love it. -Eric Natalie Layne – “Don’t Wanna Know” Right now, I'm all about Natalie Layne, singer, songwriter, producer, indie artist, signed this year to Centricity music. I’m not really into comparisons, but if I had to compare her to an artist that most people would know, I'd say she's got that Alicia Keys, Sarah Bareilles, piano-driven magic that we see so rarely these days - but with perhaps with a bit more joy, which I love. She's played Bonnaroo. She's opened for some heavy hitters in the Christian music space like Chris Tomlin and We The Kingdom and she's kicking **ahem** in the social media space with over 3,000,000 likes on TikTok. So, check out her live shows there because she's really fun to watch live. Anyhoo, we're gonna be seeing big things from this one. -Melissa     Marta De Pascalis – “Blue To Blue” This month I’m sharing the haunting new track “Blue To Blue” by Marta De Pascalis. The Berlin-based Italian composer’s latest work, Sky Flesh, is a deeply expressive science fiction hymn to the cosmos composed entirely on a classic Yamaha synth, the CS-60. At turns agonized and joyful, I find the entire album profoundly moving. -Diego     Trevor Horn (feat. Rick Astley) – “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” When I saw that Trevor Horn from The Buggles released “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” [by Yes] with Rick Astley, I just got really excited. And this is such a cool combo of folks coming together and making a great track. I hope you enjoy it. -Jamie       Dynasty Handbag – “Vitamix Baby” You're not going to hear anything like the new album The Bored Identity by Dynasty Handbag. It's like a studio comedy, parody, character, performance art explosion happening right now. The album just came out and the track I picked for November is called “Vitamix Baby.” -George ... View more

November might be my favorite month. Aside from its overall deliciousness, it offers a post-Halloween hangover hibernation, rife with shorter days, longer nights, turning leaves, comfort food, sweatpants, blankets, and of course, a cornucopia of deep dives into more music. And as someone with Indigenous American ancestry, Native American Heritage Month offers a time to reflect on my roots.   I like to celebrate this month by cranking the volume on some of my favorite recordings by Native American musicians. And with Link Wray’s recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I’ve been enjoying going down a rabbit hole of music that’s rich in culture and history. Many of us know of Wray from his distorted iconic instrumental “Rumble” (a song sans lyrics that was actually banned from radio in 1958 because some DJs thought it would inspire teenage delinquent riots). But did you know that Wray was a musician of Shawnee ancestry? Or that Jimi Hendrix was part Cherokee? I learned this (and much more) from an amazing 2017 documentary, titled Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World.   This film also pays loving tribute to one of my all-time favorite people to wield a Fender Telecaster, the late great Native American guitarist and songwriter Jesse Ed Davis. The first time I fell for his soulful and stylish guitar playing was back in 1995 when The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was released on VHS. Filmed back in 1968, it took nearly three decades for an official release – back then, the rumored reasoning for this was because some folks in the Stones’ camp thought that The Who’s incredible performance had upstaged the headliners. But the song that stopped me in my tracks was Taj Mahal’s hard-grooving version of “Ain’t That A Lot of Love” featuring Davis on lead guitar. I had been a Rickenbacker-obsessed rhythm player up until this point. But watching and hearing Davis pick, bend, and play with equal parts nonchalance and an edge-of-your-seat intensity – all in one lead – was the inspiration for bringing home my first Telecaster.   In addition to writing and recording his own solo albums, Davis was a stellar session musician who graced recordings by other influential musicians like John Lennon, Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, Leon Russell, George Harrison, the Pointer Sisters, Bert Jansch, Albert Collins, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Gene Clark, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen, Jackie DeShannon, Harry Nilsson, Gram Parsons, Captain Beefheart, Cher, and many others.   If you’ve read the Highway To Helloween blog post, it’s obvious that a lot of my listening is thematic. So of course, for Native American Heritage Month, I created a Pandora Story/Playlist titled Native American Rock. This one explores the aforementioned Native American musicians who have helped shape classic and contemporary rock music as well as more modern musicians who sometimes share their stories and their heritage through their music. Give it a listen during this festive gourd season. And of course, please leave us some comments here, especially if you’d like to share any other artists and songs that would fit well with these ones.     ... View more

  October is the month when we start to notice that the sky gets darker earlier than usual. Sometimes it’s hard to find your way in the darkness. But music can always be a guiding light. Fittingly, our favorite songs of October 2023 find us striking a balance between dark and light. All the autumnal feels are here. But listen close and you’ll also hear some radiant levity resonating from our Pandora Picks.   Chuck Berry – “Trick Or Treat” I’m such a sucker for old songs that incorporate the spirit of Halloween – think “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, “Rockin’ in The Graveyard” by Jackie Morningstar, “My Man’s an Undertaker” by Dinah Washington, and countless others! As I continue to expand my playlist of obscure vintage Halloween songs, one of my favorite discoveries this year is by none other than the father of rock ‘n’ roll, Chuck Berry. Released in 1958, “Trick or Treat” could easily stand alongside some of his most notable rock ‘n’ roll anthems with its ultra-catchy melody, lively rhythm, and innocent lyrics that capture the timelessness of childhood fun during the Halloween season. And in case you were wondering, that’s his sister Martha Berry on backing vocals!  - @MichellePandora          Three Quarter Skies – “Opener” Simon Scott may be best known as Slowdive’s lead drummer, but he’s also paid dues in the Charlottes and Lowgold as well as with a few other projects. His latest one Three Quarter Skies just dropped Universal Flames, a gorgeous debut EP on celebrated shoegaze/dreampop label Sonic Cathedral. The seven songs here comprise elements of shoegaze, krautrock, post-rock, post-punk, and ambient psychedelia. Simply titled “Opener,” the first song sets a gossamer tone with elongated trails of electric guitar reverb and delay that timidly dance with sparse synth notes and ethereal drones, slowly and gradually washing over the song like ocean waves unfolding in slow motion. Dottie from the band deary lends ghostlike vocals, recalling moments from Louise Trehy of the early 1990s 4AD band Swallow. - @EricPandora        serpentwithfeet – “**ahem** Gloves (feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Yanga YaYa)” Getting into the Halloween theme, I chose a track this month mostly for its weirdness and creepiness. It's a track called “**ahem** Gloves” by serpentwithfeet, featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Yanga YaYa. It's basically a dirty dance club track but featuring some R&B and African artists (very creepy artwork as well). So, if you feel like getting really weird and a little freaky, check out called “**ahem** Gloves” by serpentwithfeet. - Lisa     Christoph de Babalon – “Demon Glue” My pick for this month's Pandora Picks is Christoph de Babalon. De Babalon was one of the key players in the digital hardcore scene along with Alec Empire, SHIZUO, and others. His record, If You’re Into It, I’m Out Of It sort of defined the whole era for me - just suffocating dark ambience with processed amen breaks. His latest is called Vale and very little has changed. I picked the song “Demon Glue,” which starts out with long stretches of rumble and shimmer, and eventually that cyclical, slowed-down, jungle beat comes in. De Babalon's formula, first cooked up in the nineties, still sounds as good as ever. - @AndeePandora      The Seshen – “Hold Me” My pick for October comes from one of my absolute favorite Bay Area bands, the Seshen. This track is called “Hold Me.” It’s the single and everything that the Seshen does just puts me in this world - they just make a cool world to step right into and I love Lalin St. Juste’s voice. She's so magical and ethereal and sometimes it’s like she's from another planet. I just love her. So, enjoy “Hold Me.” - @JamiePandora      The Slambovian Circus of Dreams – “Very Happy Now” I've been having fun discovering this band called the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. Now, one of the things that I love about them is that they are called the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. But I also really love their cover artwork and I haven't dug too deep into their rather large catalog. So more to come on that. But right now, the song I want to share is “Very Happy Now,” and it's just so pop and so fun and nicely arranged and I can't tell if the lyrics have a deep underlying sarcasm or if they are meant literally. And that's part of the beauty of the song to me. What do you think? - Din     Lync – “Cue Cards” The Lync album, These Are Not Fall Colors came out – what, 30 years ago almost? Now reissued by Suicide Squeeze. It's a great band from Pacific Northwest. Lots of connects to the Modest Mouse world. Great live band. I got to see them one time and I was even in a link cover band. This is a long-awaited reissue originally on K Records. - George       Meat Puppets – “Swimming Ground” My pick for October is Meat Puppets and the song is called “Swimming Ground.” For some reason I find myself going back to the Meat Puppets a lot lately and I really enjoy this era of them from the 80s. They were just such an original band and sounded like no one else coming out of the punk scene. And this song has just been in my head constantly throughout October. - @DanPandora        Nisennenmondai – “A” Nisennenmondai should have been huge. But maybe because a lot of their music sounds best when listened to alone in a dark room… maybe that had something to do with it. Here's 14 minutes of a track called “A.” Listen to it. Alone. In your room. In October. On Pandora. - Chris D.      King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “The Silver Cord” My pick for this month is “The Silver Cord” by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard off their new album by the same name. And as usual with King Gizzard, it's a different direction musically. This song kind of reminds me of a ‘90s video game, crossed with an ‘80s movie soundtrack…maybe. I hope you really like it. I do. - Noel     The Specials – “Ghost Town” For my October Pandora Pick, I have chosen “Ghost Town” by the Specials as a special Halloween treat. I recently got to see a tribute to Terry Hall from the Specials and they played this song. Hope you enjoy it! - John D. ... View more

Every time Halloween comes around, I always remember the one that changed my life. But it also inspired my Pandora Story/Playlist: Classic Rock Halloween Party.   At age six, My best friend Dave and I discovered KISS – this was back in 1977, after I bought Love Gun on 8-track from Tower Records. On the way to the face-painting booth at the pumpkin patch, we would argue about who would get to be Gene Simmons. “Shut up! You can both be Gene Simmons,” his mom would lovingly yell at us between pulls from a Virginia Slim. But by 1978, I’d come to favor Ace Frehley. Sure, Gene sang “God of Thunder” and burped blood all over the microphone, but I always thought that Ace had the better solo album. He also played a Gibson Les Paul that smoked and threw sparks. And after watching the made-for-TV special Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, I learned that Frehley had the best sense of humor and a great raspy laugh, not too unlike that of Curly Howard from the Three Stooges.    2nd Grade   We weren’t the only second graders who wanted to be KISS for Halloween, because a week before it was time to trick-or-treat, we rolled up on a wall of those little prepackaged costumes for kids at the local grocery store – and they had all four members of KISS! As I beelined for a box with an Ace Frehley costume, I saw Dave already pulling the rubber band from an unboxed Gene Simmons mask over the back of his head. It occurred to me that members of KISS would never wear a plastic mask and a plastic bib with their likeness silk-screened on the front. But I was still proud to represent Space Ace around various cul-de-sacs in our suburban California neighborhood.   Walking home on All Hallows Eve, our plastic pumpkins overflowing with copious amounts of candy, I suddenly heard the strained and cracking voice of a teenager yell, “Hey man! Check out these little KISS dudes!” I looked up to see a juvenile with Peter Criss greasepaint pointing at us. He was with three other teenagers, all smoking cigarettes and wearing bell-bottomed jeans, KISS baseball sleeve tee shirts, and painted faces. As they ran over to us, I could feel my heart beat faster and I suddenly wished our parents were nearby (parenting was very different back in the 1970s). The older kids surrounded us and squatted to check out these young new recruits for the KISS Army. A pretty girl with feathered hair and a Paul Stanley star painted over her eye pointed at me and yelled, “Hey man! Look at little Ace, man!” She exhaled smoke in my face and yelled, “KISS Army! Woooooo hooooooooo!” The group insisted we high-five them before scurrying off as Dave and I stood there frozen, not quite sure what had just happened.   I was equally frightened and fascinated with these denim-clad ne’er-do-wells, but I also knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. That following Holiday season, I found a sunburst imitation Les Paul and Peavey practice amp under the Christmas tree. And now, four decades later, I’m still not as good a guitar player as anyone in KISS, but that’s never stopped me from having fun every time I plug into an amp and crank the volume. ... View more

  What songs soundtracked September for you? This time of year, it’s easy to lean into the end-of-summer blues with some fall flavored melancholy or “fallancholy,” as we like to call it. On the other hand, some of us get inspired to wear warmer clothes and crank those earbuds as we walk in a slightly crisper climate. Here’s what some Pandora people were digging on the cusp of Autumn, 2023.     Tommy Guerrero – “Holding the Ocean” I usually associate Tommy Guerrero’s instrumental electric guitar mojo with the ebbs and flows of skateboarding (not too unlike Ray Barbee). But with “Holding the Ocean” from his gorgeous and ethereal new album Amber of Memory, it’s hard not to imagine this beautiful four-minute piece as part of a cinematic score to an old surfing soundtrack - and that’s not just because of the song title. The wet drippy reverb, the undulating tremolo, and the panoramic spatial quality to this song remind me of the sonic backdrops to Thomas Campbell surf movies or even the soundtrack to the epic 1972 Australian surf film Morning of The Earth. -Eric     Gregory Alan Isakov – “Before the Sun” I've been a fan of singer songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov ever since he played a Whiteboard Session at the Pandora office back in 2015. With his lush, atmospheric arrangements and poetic wordplay. I can never stop at just one song or even album of his - I'm committed for the day, maybe even a whole week. That's just how introspective and reflective his music makes me. His newest album, Appaloosa Bones is no exception. “Before the Sun” is a beautiful, banjo-driven song with a gorgeous chorus that really channels the wide-open spaces of the American West and Southwest. -Michelle     Starving Weirdos – “Atheistsaregods” As we descend into autumn, the deep vibes on the new Starving Weirdos album Atheistsaregods are sounding really good to me. Glitchy, dubby, ambient tracks with plenty of drone and shimmer, bells, and chimes. This titular track takes the listener on a journey through wide meandering rivers, haunted forests, twinkling caves, and windswept deserts. -Diego       Kwesi Foraes – “Two Deep” My pick for September comes from Kwesi Foraes from Long Beach, California – a song called “Two Deep” – it sits somewhere between Michael Kiwanuka and Hosier. It's just got a great vibe. This came across my way and when I heard it, it just struck me and I loved it. I hope you do too. -Jamie     Oog Bogo – “Canary” My pick for this month is from LA punk rockers, Oog Bogo. I saw these guys open up for Osees earlier this month and they were awesome and I’m hoping to catch them again. They have a new record out on Drag City. I hope you like this track. -Noel       Andrew & Polly (Children’s) – “Let’s Get Mad (feat. Alphabet Rockers)” Right now, I'm all about the new album from indie kid’s duo and “Ear Snacks” podcasters, Andrew & Polly. The album is called Ahhhhh! and it explores the spectrum of emotions and the power of resilience in all of us. My favorite track is “Let's Get Mad” featuring the Alphabet Rockers. It is a total throwback to the B-52’s and I'm all for it. So go to your mad place right now because when we all get mad, it's a revolution. -Melissa       The Beaches – “Blame Brett” My exciting pick for this month is “Blame Brett” by the Beaches from their Blame My Ex album. Yes, it's track one and it sets the tone. This is a unique new take (I think) on a timeless universal theme and it rocks. I love the vocal, I love the production, and I really love the lyrics. It's worth a read, crank it up and check this band out! They are out there crushing it live and they have some beautiful videos and merch and yes, there is a cat in the video for this song. So of course, I love them. -Din     The Walkmen – “We’ve Been Had” My pick for September is the Walkmen and a song that’s called, “We’ve Been Had.” I got to see the Walkmen recently, on this tour that they're doing - kind of a reunion tour - they haven't played together in 10 years or something like that. And it was such a great show and I realized just what an important band they were to me in the early aughts and beyond. But they've been sorely missed these last 10 years. Everyone check out their tour if you get a chance. -Dan     Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement – “Violent Spirit Forever Looking Out To Sea” My pick for this month's Pandora Picks is the oddly named Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement. It's the long-running project of Dominick Fernow, the man responsible for the much more aggressive and punishing sounds of the group Prurient. But as Rain Forest spiritual enslavement, he crafts a delicate, breathless, often barely there minimalism. The sound on this new record, Killer Whale Atmospheres is all pulsing, ultra-minimal, ambient techno breathed in abstract nature sounds, rain, wind, water… it's a washed-out, new age, dub that belies the fact that that same man is capable of making some of the most intense harsh noise around. So lean back and drift off with Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement’s violent spirit, forever looking out to sea. -Andee ... View more