Spread the Love

Technology often scares me. Last night I perused iTunes and found some cool music to add to my playlist and suddenly, a toolbar popped up on the side of the screen informing me of some other music I might like.

Now, I'll gladly take tunes suggestions from my friends or even a random dude on the street if offered, but from a computer program? That is just too creepy for me.

And how could the computer possibly be able to know what I might like? I myself can barely figure that out, which is why Kanye West and Alanis Morisette live harmoniously with Roger Miller, Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5 and scores of showtunes - not to mention Frank Sinatra, JET, and Bobbi Gentry. This is either the most open-minded, inclusive compilation or the most schizophrenic. Either way, it's all genuinely me.

My varied tastes speak to what I believe is my ability to appreciate lots of different cultures and standpoints equally. For example, I might really want to sing along with Reba's "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" (mostly because I want to enthusiastically agree "Don't trust yourself to no backwards Southern lawyer!") A few minutes later I could totally be in the mood for angry old Eminem, then suddenly switch to Billy Joel's "Piano Man."

I don't think this is crazy, just wide open for anything that speaks to me. My diversity is one of my greatest assets and quite possibly the one of which I'm most proud.

There is no way iTunes could read me that deeply.