Further Proof That Spotify Is REALLY A Comedy Site!

I admit it, I love Spotify.

I didn't used to, though.  Of course, this was all due to their pennies-on-the-dollar approach to royalty payments for airplay.  This has led many artists to pull their albums from the service, which does put a bit of a black eye on Spotify's otherwise positive music experience.

It really is an amazing thing to have so many albums at your immediate disposal.  The idea of being able to devour entire catalogs by any number of obscure bands, even Love Tractor (whose long out-of-print catalog has recently been added to Spotify), is a consummate joy (and, yet, just a tad heartbreaking)  for someone who has spent the better part of their life painstakingly amassing such titles.

Thanks to Spotify, they're all right there on my desktop, or my phone, any time day or night.  For free.  Sure, I have to put up with the occasional ad that interrupts my regularly-scheduled Ween fix to beg me to listen to Ke$ha's hot new single.

And that's where Spotify falls short.

See, Spotify knows what music I like, what bands I spend hours listening to on their service, yet they can't resist fucking with me...such as the time Spotify suggested, based on my listening to The Ramones, that I might also like Cream.

That's right, Cream.  Yep, as far as Spotify is concerned, if you like the hammering down-strokes of punk pioneer Johnny Ramone, it's just a natural slam dunk that you would also enjoy the self-absorbed blues-based noodling of Eric Clapton.

If anything, this is just further proof that computers will never replace humans when it comes to, you know, being smart and shit, but if they do, we are supremely fucked.  

I mean, my hunch is that such recommendations are based on their sonic analysis of millions of songs in their database and that there is something in that robotic brain that sees no difference between "Rockaway Beach" and "Layla".

Or maybe Spotify is a comedy site a la The Onion.  I mean, there's this:

"You listened to The Cars yesterday. Want to try Styx?!"  Granted, both bands had five members and sang in English, but to prove its point even further, Spotify includes a photo of Styx in matching, uh, boxing outfits? I dare somebody to show this picture to Tommy Shaw.  If you do, wear a helmet.

Then there is this pic of the prog band Yes that Spotify hipped me after I listened to Camel.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but is that - or is it not - the first camel toe you've ever seen on a dude (far right)?!

If only The Onion was this consistently funny!