Back On My Radar: Last.fm
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I was all about Last.fm when it launched in 2006 (evident in random AIM chat with BFF) but quickly lost interest, despite my original vow that this was going to be the final social networking site for me.
Since late ’07, I rarely visit the site more than once a month BUT today discovered a reason to use my Last.fm account again (well, in some capacity).
I don’t know when they added this feature but I recently came across this this and my interest has been renewed:
Based on your listening history, a customized free mp3 podcast feed is generated just for you. Free tracks from recommended bands are automatically downloaded to your itunes. Depending on the kind of music that is suggested to me and ends up in my ears, I may spend more time following these bands and will probably use Last.fm to do so, just so that there is more diversity in my free downloads.
When I get around to getting a phone that supports their mobile scrobler app I’ll probably use it even more. As far as the site goes, I don’t find it that easy to locate playlists on Last.fm and mostly use imeem and seeqpod to find interesting new music curated by users or editors into playlists.
(More geeky ramblings + a cool “I’m Broke” playlist for you after the jump)
Seeqpod isn’t as pretty as imeem or other music sharing sites, but it’s incredibly easy to use and offers eclectic playlist selections. You can always check out random lists in their blog along with an interesting blurb about the the origin of the music.
A really great playlist I stumbled onto through seeqpod was a group of depression era inspired songs aptly curated, considering the current economic climate in this country.
One of my favorite things to do is to use Seeqpod to create playlists on the fly with my friends while we cook, flip through magazines, etc. soley based on our collective mood. As our mood changes, we make different playlists.
With so many great options on the web like imeem and seeqpod, I don’t want to pay the money to subscribe for additional features on last.fm when I can find everything I need – for free – elsewhere.
For now, the music I find through real life friend recommendations, certain music blogs, features in my favorite magazines and their blogs is more than enough musical help for me.