Pandora Invades the Apple Store

Did you ever wish that there was a radio station that would cater to you and play new music based on your likes and dislikes? Well, it exists as an Internet station called Pandora.

Pandora gives you the option to create many different stations for whatever your mood. Each station will play songs similar to your initial request, you give them a thumbs up or a thumbs down, and Pandora will use that information to specialize the station even more to you. It does this based on The Music Genome Project that founder Tim Westegren started in 2000 with other musicians and music-loving technologists. They broke songs down into hundreds of different attributes or "genes" for matching, not necessarily by popularity or genre.

Tonight, CTO Tom Conrad (Westegren himself was supposed to be there, but had to cancel for personal reasons) will be at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue to talk about The Music Genome Project, the history of Pandora, and Pandora on the iPhone (yes, you can take it with you, you aren't chained to your computer). He will also answer any questions you might have about anything Pandora related. It's free, and there's no need to rsvp, just show up! 679 N. Michigan Ave. 7pm.