Pandora

It's Superbowl Sunday, and my husband...watched the Superbowl! 

You'll never guess what I did tonight. It definitely wasn't watch the game.

I...obsessed over Pandora! 

I'm generally not one to follow the crowd, but in this case, I can't help myself. 

Add me to the billion fans of Pandora Internet Radio.

I love classical music, thank you Florence, and accessing a myriad of "Canon in D" variations, "Moonlight Sonata" and "Fur Elise" along with other pieces in that genre which highlight the piano have been awesome.

It's only been a month since I was introduced to her (Pandora is a she, right?), but I have to say that my infatuation has grown exponentially since.

It all started one morning when I was hanging out with my mom, who was bedridden.  The sun was shining in to her bedroom, and she squeezed my hand when I asked if she could feel the sun on her face.  I knew the only thing more I could do for her at that time was to play the music that she had always enjoyed at home.   

One of her favorite pieces that marked my youth was Dvorak's New World Symphony.  As I looked around her apartment for her CDs, I stopped when I saw that mom had a mix of classical favorites already in her boom box, so I hit "play" and felt momentarily pleased.     

I then mentioned to her caregiver Tina that I wanted her to keep mom's music playing and that hopefully I'd return with a Dvorak CD.      

"Just put it in Pandora," she told me.

WHAT?  Put WHAT into WHAT or WHOM?

Very patiently she explained what Pandora is all about, and how I could download the Pandora app on to my smart phone and have access to all sorts of music.  It took us about an hour to get Dvorak's New World Symphony and like music available for my mom's listening pleasure, but once that was set up, we were in business.

I don't know if my mom heard the music, but she squeezed my hand when I asked her if she did, so I am hopeful that she was comforted by it. Pandora became our most beloved friend for several days.

It took awhile for me to grasp how Pandora worked, as the app doesn't allow for the listener to repeat a song or skip too many songs that are listed under a particular genre, which I always do:  I repeat what I like and skip what I don't.

A different music streaming app, Spotify, would allow me to listen to the same song over and over which is cool too, but I have come to appreciate that the set-up of Pandora will naturally expand my music knowledge. 

Now I can be serenaded all day long (at home) if I want, as long as I carry the phone with me which I tend to do anyway, although my husband doesn't get what all the Pandora fuss is all about.  

He doesn't understand how I could be content with music coming out of my phone when he listens to his high-tech equipment every chance he gets, but the reality is I can't turn any of it on!