Pros & Cons
-
- Suggests music based on MP3 and other digital files.
- Concert calendar.
- Unlimited skips.
-
- Lacks lyrics, live content, and the ability to browse by genre.
- Sometimes attempts to launch the Spotify desktop app.
Click here to visit last.fm
I have no patience with terrestrial radio. The medium is controlled by conglomerates, which makes choosing between stations like picking between McDonald's and Burger King. Satellite radio is an option, but in my experience the format doesn't deliver the diversity that it touts—and, if the merger between Sirius and XM Satellite Radio goes through, listeners are likely to have even fewer musical choices. I've always liked the idea of Internet radio, which holds the promise of the same customization we've come to take for granted on the Web, yet I've never found a service that hooked me. Until I started listening to Last.fm at my desk some three weeks ago. Hardly a day has gone by since that I haven't launched the app.
Last.fm seeks to be more than just an Internet radio provider; it also hosts event listings and social-networking functions. You may find the wealth of features is a bit overwhelming when you first visit the site, but soon it becomes clear that the ultimate goal of all aspects of it is the same: discovering new music.
You don't have to create an account or even download the app to get started with the service. It's possible to use the simplest of Last.fm's Internet radio services simply by visiting the site. Type the name of a favorite artist into the query box and the site generates a station of similar music—much like what you'll find at
Also unlike Pandora, the radio stations at Last.fm are based on input from the service's users, not expert opinion. This is something of a mixed blessing. It means that, while the ground that is covered is wider, selections sometimes left me scratching my head. The artist recommendations made sense for the most part. Listening to the Pavement station, I heard safe bets like Steven Malkmus (the lead singer of the group) and Built To Spill, as well as slightly more adventurous but logical selections such as the Velvet Underground and Stereolab. I did notice that certain groups such as Neutral Milk Hotel and the Unicorns had the tendency to repeat themselves, however, likely because of their popularity among Last.fm's user base.
On genre-based stations (a feature not available on Pandora), I found the selections a bit more questionable. More straightforward genres such as Delta blues are pretty consistent, but when I tried to listen to a more subjective category such as "Meditation," (theoretically ideal for work), I found odd selections such as power-pop group Weezer and assorted black-metal tracks mixed in with the usual fare of quiet classical and downtempo electronic music—a bit of a jolt in those early-morning work hours. There are a ton of genre selections to choose from. I found myself frequenting alt-country, Ghanian highlife, freak-folk, and free and baroque jazz. If the seemingly endless supply of subcategories doesn't seem specific enough, you can always create a new one.—
Accounting for Taste
So, if you're planning on using the site strictly as Internet radio, why create an account at all? You'll need one to take advantage of what Last.fm calls "Scrobbling," the key to the site's customized radio station. Last.fm "scrobbles" all the tracks you listen to, both directly through the service and through music players such as iTunes and Windows Media Player. The site offers a plug-in that scrobbles the tracks that you've played on your Apple iPod, as soon as you plug it into the PC. All of these tracks contribute to the recommendations that you receive on your profile. When tracks you particularly dig come up on the radio station, you can mark them as "Love." At the other end of the spectrum, you can block particular songs from playing on any of your stations for as long as you're logged in.
The recommendations seemed pretty accurate for the most part, though the system seems to weigh certain genres more heavily than others. My recent obsession with Jamaican rock steady filled my page full of names like Alton Ellis and Lee "Scratch" Perry. But my similar fascinations with avant-garde classical and ambient music hardly seemed to make a dent.—
A Little Help from Your Friends
Last.fm eases you into the social-networking aspect by showing you your "neighbours" (the site is based out of London). You can check out their sites and see what they've been listening to. Your musical compatibility is measured on the site's Taste-o-meter. Adding neighbours as friends gives you even more opportunities to receive musical recommendations.
The social-networking features are fairly standard. You can add an image, send messages to other users, add comments, and create journal entries. In lieu of adding interests, however, your listening habits are displayed, further enforcing the idea that Last.fm is about discovering music first. For personal info, Last.fm displays only your first name, age, a link to your personal URL (if you have one), and the country you live in. As such, it makes a pretty crappy dating site—all the better for folks just looking to broaden their musical scope.
A newly added Events feature recommends concerts in your area, based on your listening habits. It's a neat tool for music lovers—one I'm surprised more music sites haven't implemented. I found the recommendations to be so-so, however. Those looking for more in-depth listings would be better off checking out a site such as
With the newly Events feature, Last.fm is turning out to be one of the most fully realized Web tools for music lovers. It suffers from a few bugs, including the variety that you see with other user-generated sites such as Wikipedia, but on a whole, it's worth checking out for music lovers and casual listeners alike.
Previous Sites of the Week:
Final Thoughts
Last.fm
Last.fm's redesign radically changes the streaming music service's site and functionality, but the alterations aren't for the best.