The iTunes "Genius" Function: Smarter Than Your Average "Genuis" Bar

Apple tends to toss the word "Genius" around kind of casually––evidently in Cupertino it means well-intentioned but fallible customer service delivered by twenty-year olds. Now the latest version of itunes has a feature called "Genius" which pulls together suggested playlists from your library if you feed it a song. (It will also, of course, suggest things you can buy.)  That said, the lists are pretty good. Below, are mine for "The Painted Desert" by 10,000 Maniacs and "Why" by the Byrds   

The Painted Desert       10,000 Maniacs    
Green Grow The Rushes         R.E.M.       
Coming Up Close         'Til Tuesday      
Show Me        The Pretenders       
Torn & Frayed        The Rolling Stones      
Best Friend        The English Beat          
(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear        Blondie      
Solitary Man        Chris Isaak             
Hero Takes a Fall        The Bangles         
Sweetest Decline       Beth Orton                   
Halah     Mazzy Star       
Gold Rush Brides         10,000 Maniacs      
Ignoreland        R.E.M.

Behind The Wall Of Sleep        The Smithereens         
Absolutely Sweet Marie        Bob Dylan       
Radio Song        R.E.M. Feat. KRS-One   
Razor Face        Elton John                  
Dandelion        The Rolling Stones          
Take the L        The Motels         
Maps And Legends        R.E.M.       
The New World        X            
Flying Cowboys       Rickie Lee Jones            
Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis)       Cowboy Junkies         
Shine Like It Does        INXS         
Skyway      The Replacements       

Why         The Byrds         
Think        The Rolling Stones          
We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'        Simon & Garfunkel      
The Loner        Neil Young               
Discovering Japan        Graham Parker            
She'll Drive The Big Car         David Bowie          
20th Century Man        The Kinks         
Once Around The Weekend     Paul Westerberg      
Baltimore       Randy Newman          
I Knew I'd Want You       The Byrds         
Lonely Planet Boy          The New York Dolls          
Same Situation        Joni Mitchell      
She Said Yeah        The Rolling Stones         
Across The Great Divide          The Band                   
See Emily Play        Pink Floyd         
Somewhere They Can't Find Me        Simon & Garfunkel      
Much Too Much       The Who         
Him or Me - What's It Gonna Be?         Paul Revere & The Raiders       
Lonely (Amy's Theme)          The Lovin' Spoonful       
If You Can't Rock Me       The Rolling Stones       
Sadly Beautiful        The Replacements            
Absolutely Sweet Marie        Bob Dylan         
Look Through Any Window        The Hollies       
The Saga of Pepote Rouge         The Band       
Here Without You        The Byrds       

Comments

[Kootch]

Interesting lists. As a non-itunes user, I just want to point out the irony of reading your original post, while listening to an old 10,000 Maniacs CD. Unfortunately, it was on the song before "The Painted Desert" at the time...

[Debby]

I haven't tried this yet, but I was jazzed to see your lists and to be reminded about Graham Parker. I haven't thought about him in years and I loved the tape I used to have.

[K]

Kootch: Was that"Cherry Tree" or :Like The Weather"? Which reminds me of my overall impression of that album: really catchy songs about really down topics.

Debby: I've owned Squeezing Out Sparks, in one form or another, since it came out but there was a long spell where i didn't listen to it and then rediscovered it. I esp like Discovering Japan.

Everyone on the Web: I ragged on the "buy this" recommendations which appear beside your list. But for the "Why" list, that included "Memo From Turner" by Mick Jagger which I'd also almost forgotten but is creepy good.