7 Degrees of John Cochrane

I was recently turned on the online service, Pandora. I cannot exalt enough the awesomeness of this site.

The premise: You type in an artist or a song and a streaming, interactive radio station is tailored to the style of that artist or song. If a golden oldie comes along that you don't like or doesn't fit the genre, you can give it a "thumbs down" or hit the "next" button.

I've literally filled two post-it notes with smallish handwriting listing new artists and songs that I would have never discovered otherwise.

John Entwistle? The Cat Empire? Bruce Springsteen? Who are these people and why haven't I heard of any of them before?

Oh, now Randy Newman is on. (listens for one minute and clicks 'next') You've had your fun, Newman.