Mama Manifesto: Open Pandora's Box

Do you remember the days of exchanging mixed tapes? Do you remember the feeling as you sat back to listen to music that was chosen just for you, and waiting with anticipation as each song ended to hear what would be next?

My music loving and musician husband has introduced me to something utterly fabulous that sort of reminds me of the magical "mixed tape". It is called Pandora and in a nutshell it is a website that allows you to make your very own radio station that plays music for you based on your preferences. Amazing concept. -Feeling in the mood for some super mellow tunes? Go ahead and set up a playlist based on Jack Johnson and the music that will be played on your station will be from Jack or other artists similar to him. Want to take a trip to the 80's? Choose an artist from that decade that rocks your casbah and you will be doing the funky head bob across your kitchen in no time. Pandora will also choose songs for you that you have probably never heard before that fit into the genre you have selected because they feature a lot of independent artists. It feels a lot like my very own personal mixed tape making machine! Thank you, Pandora!

Best of all, at least for now, there are no audio ads played on Pandora. Just banner ads. Which means that you can listen to music without any other voices interrupting your musical experience. It is as though they created this station for moms!

-ab

post posting edit:

Lucia from Pandora has shared a station that she has created with us. This is her description of the station:

Music for kids...and their adults. It's a nice mix of music specifically for kids and music not so specific. This station is meant to be family-friendly (but no money-back guarantee that you'll like it!). Parents and non-parents can enjoy this fun station too.

"Children's music" doesn't need to be dumbed down or sappy! Smart, sweet and fun music is appreciated by kids of all ages. ;)

You can find this station at: http://rurl.org/u5s

I am listening to it right now as I write and it does not disappoint! Thank you, Lucia! We heart Pandora even more now...

Kristen

married, mom of 4 : desperately trying to avoid buying a minivan : has a goal to fix her own lunch instead of grazing off her children : resident expert on psychology and sarcasm, regularly fantasizes about sleeping in, blogs at Rage Against the Minivan.

Ali

married, mom of 2 : has googled “developmental milestones” more times than she can count : loves all things truly healthy and organic : resident expert on creativity and healthy living : regularly fantasizes about her kids sharing, blogs at Leaning In.

Heather M.

married, mom of 3 : expecting a baby boy, a fan of organic-living, mess-making, and cookie-baking, blogs at Cookie Mondays

Julie

married, mom of 3 : wife to a drummer-turned-youth pastor, resident expert on crafty goodness, blogs at Joy's Hope.

Heather K.

married, mom of two : has been known to rap to get the kids to do what she wants : over-thinks and second-guesses far too often : working on improving her skills in all areas of “playing cars”, blogs at The Extraordinary Ordinary.

Cari

married, mom of 2 busy boys, professional chef-turned-teacher-turned mom, avid cook, recipe collector, food blogger, blogs at Can I Get the Recipe?

Jessi married, mom of 3, a tasky homebody pastor's wife who likes routine, candles, and strategizing naptimes. Jessi blogs at naptime diaries.

Grace

married, mom of 2. jane of all trades, master of none: constantly battling her pack-rat tendencies: lover of pretty stationary, nap time, and playing hostess: born a New Yorker, grew up a Texan, currently masquerading as a California girl : always gets what she wants but never the way she expects it, blogs at Formerly Gracie

Sharon

married, mom of 3 exuberant children ages 7, 8 and 9; struggling to balance work as a writer with the kids’ demanding schedules; on a mission to get the kids to eat healthy, adventurous “grown up” food; resident expert in pre-‘tween backtalk; blogs at Whatever Things Are True and Be Bold or Go Home .

Michele

married, mom of 2 (one a missionary, the other a hostage negotiator), co-founder of Radiate PR (rad PR skilz used for building harmonious family brand - oh, and for consumer-tech clients too), resident expert on good kid reads, blogs at ReadOutLoud.

Meleesa

resident stylist and beauty expert : has a "costa rican" peaceful vibe flowing through her veins, runs her own salon and spa and creates natural beauty products and candles, she might be speaking English but she thinks in Spanish, blogs at Meleesa, the salon.

Elizabeth

married, three children, former pastry chef who can bake a cake, pretend to love boy sports and be a fierce advocate for her severely disabled child all at once; loves to steal away to daytime movies whenever she can and reads voraciously into the night; blogs regularly at a moon, worn as if it had been a shell.

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9 comments:

Sarah B.June 23, 2008 at 2:02 PM
I love Pandora....I have 4 stations.
Jack Johhson is the most listened too however I also have Newsboys, Sugarland, and Linkin Park depending on my moods. It makes my workday go by sooo quick.
The Mama'sJune 23, 2008 at 2:20 PM
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Mama'sJune 23, 2008 at 2:20 PM
i forgot to mention that if you set up a station with "Dan Zanes & Friends" that it plays cool kids' music that won't drive you totally crazy.
Kristen HowertonJune 23, 2008 at 10:53 PM
I love the Dane Zanes idea! I've been trying to figure out how to make a kid's playlist.

Now if only they would make Pandora for the car . . .
AnonymousJune 24, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Pandora was an absolute blessing! I set it up about a year ago at work and listened to great music all day long and learned about some great new artists I had never heard of. However, about 4 months ago my account started no longer working and all I could hear were a bunch of voices (kind of sounded like I was in a crowded coffee house). It has never worked for me since. I wonder if they boot you off after so long of getting free music??
AnonymousJune 25, 2008 at 8:50 AM
Speaking of mix tapes, check out cassettefrommyex.com. It's an archive of mix tapes submitted by readers, along with the stories of the relationships that inspired the mixes.

And Pandora rules. I was a big Launchcast user (my husband used to work for them), but I'm a convert.
AnonymousJune 27, 2008 at 5:49 PM
Mamas -

Thanks for listening to Pandora! It's great to have you.

Here's a station I made that has some interesting children's music on it, but without being baby-ish or driving parents crazy.
http://rurl.org/u5s

(Don't forget to enable the explicit lyrics filter just in case a wild card comes along!)

Brooke -
You can listen to Pandora for free as long as you like! Sounds like the problem might be related to your IT department at work? You could write a quick email to pandora-support@pandora.com and they'll troubleshoot with you!

Cheers!
Lucia, from Pandora
(Lucia AT pandora dot com)
The Mama'sJune 27, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Lucia-

You are awesome! Thanks for sharing that link with us. I am going to add it to the original post.
I have been searching a ton of children's artists to see if I could get a children's station. You guys should add Laurie Berkner and Milk Shake...they are good ones.

I am listening to this station that you made right now and I love it for me!!! Thanks.

Ali
Kristen HowertonJune 27, 2008 at 10:11 PM
This is the new favorite pandora playlist at our house:

james brown + jackson 5 + bee gees + abba

I love it, the kids love it!

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Open Pandora's Box

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