“What music can you recommend to me?” A question that Pandora.com seeks to answer, by providing a playlist generator with streaming music, but which streams personalized picks based on your selection and input. Surprisingly, it works quite well. Based on a large collection of music, Pandora is able to generate your own streamed music.

Pandora works very well once it’s loaded and running. I typically use a single artist to base my “radio station” on, and it picks songs that are similar to the music style. The genres are currently limited to pop and some jazz, but it’s sufficient to get you hooked.

My main gripe with Pandora is that it’s interface is awfully slow. It runs as Macromedia Flash in my Firefox version 1.5.0.3, and the UI is so sluggish that I have to wait a tens of seconds after the click to see any response. Although there is no software to download and everything is run off their web, it takes quite a while to get started.

As an aside, playlist pickers were popular at a time (I was introduced to MoodLogic that came with my iRiver MP3 player); they index and categorize your music collection and make recommendations. The latest version of Winamp now comes with Predixis Music Manager which works on a similar principle. They allow you to get a personalized pick off the existing music in your collection, so its great for offline use (like creating playlists for MP3 players). But there’s no straying outside your current collection and no way to explore new music, so it’s definitely a separate niche.

When I first heard Kiss Me, the tune was unforgettably etched into my mind. It had a cheery, light tune that was simply enchanting.

So I put the self-titled album from Sixpence None The Richer into my Amazon Wishlist, where it languished for several years. I finally bought it and had it delivered during my last trip to the US, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The album remained true to the light catchy pop genre – nothing overtly religious even though the band started out with Christian music. I’m fond of Christian pop-bands, mostly because these song-writers seem closer to their music than the regular pop-commercial offerings. Matt Slocum does a great job of blending Leigh Nash’s lilting vocals with intriguing lyrics and wrapping these in a compelling melody. That made for great listening.

Unfortunately, I’ve just found out that they have been disbanded. Too bad – they had a promising sound.

This genre might appeal to those who like Jars of Clay.

Four stars.