At Last(.fm)!

Fri Mar 17, 03:16 PM by

You probably have a myspace. You’ve grown old of friendster. You check gmail every 2 minutes automatically with googleChat. You’re even an avid reader of launchcommit. Of course you’re blogging. But do you last.fm? It’s doubtful. Right now, this very second, there are only 1407 users on the last.fm radio. That’s nothing. Many no name bands have more so-called friends than that linked to their myspace profile.

But why bother?

Because launchcommit.com says so that’s why.¹ And because we love it, so why wouldn’t you? Last.fm is like a social revolution for music. It’s not trying to save the world. It just wants us to appreciate the music and share the music with one another. You don’t need to watch the news, know a variety of textbooks, be in tune with all of society, you just need to have a love for the music.

Imagine that – a revolution sans violence, hard work, petitioning, marches, idealistic tendencies, defeat, the government, enemies, theology, philosophy, religion! No blood, sweat, tears and toil. Just a computer, an internet connection quicker than dial-up, a music collection, a stable browser and a bit of software. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

The next thing you know, you’re at www.last.fm building a profile and seeing the music you’re currently listening to appear on a website. Wow, your musical taste just went global! Be proud citizen!

So what does it all mean? Upon your first visit to the site, you will be asked to install a plugin called “AudioScrobbler” to your mp3 player of choice. This plugin sends your song choices to the last.fm database. What this means is that last.fm is plugging away, always vigilant regarding your musical choices. It means it’s figuring out new music for you to listen to. It’s trying to enlighten you, trying to brighten up your life. The next thing you know you’re playing “My Recommendation Radio” on the last.fm audio player and listening to tracks you’ve never heard. Oh wait, you’ve heard this song? You don’t like it? Fine, skip it. Hell, mark it with a slash and it’ll never be played again if that’s just how much you hate it. Personally, I’m grateful to last.fm for groups like Songs: Ohia, Architecture in Helsinki and Nouvelle Vague among others. Last.fm is on your side and you should side with it.
ed. note: I’ve been using last.fm for a little while now, and it is incredibly easy to use and devoid of anything bloated, slow, or spy-y.

That’s not all. There are other features. Too many to mention. Some totally worthless. Some less so. There’s the ‘Recent Tracks’ list it keeps for you, noting the last 10 songs played by each user. Who cares right? Your friends do! I do! Example:

Me: Dude, you’re listening to the new Darkness album?² That’s embarrassing.
Friend: Fuck you man, I saw you listening to Travis³ the other day.
Me: Uh, it brought back memories, that’s all. Hey, what’s up with Of Montreal? Never ‘eard ‘em.
Friend: Oh man. You, my friend, you would dearly love this band.

No more having to ask. And the weekly tally keeps everyone up to date. It doesn’t stop there. After you’ve played about 300 songs, you’ll start getting “Neighbor Radio” – radio based on the music currently being played by users with a similar taste to you. It’s the new shuffle button with a few surprises thrown in to keep it interesting and once again, expand your musical mind. And you can access it anywhere without needing your music collection there to back it up.

Still unsatisfied? Fine, play music based on keywords like “indie,” “pop” or “post modernistic bullshit bluegrass.” Whatever you desire. Either way, you’re sure to find something. Or someone. That’s right, search band listings and preview tracks. Search user profiles and find your next date. Search groups and find yourself more imaginary friends.

But most of all, we want you to join for us. We’re being selfish and we realize that. But the more people who join, the more last.fm can refine the profiles of each user. The more my last.fm neighbor becomes more than a neighbor but my fucking last.fm roommate. Love thy neighbor. Don’t get left behind. Join the revolution and more importantly, join the launchcommit.com group. We want to get to know you. Musically.⁴

¹ I will save you the hassle of figuring it out yourself, but this is an article designed to get you to sign up to last.fm and ultimately join the launchcommit.com group. This way we can build a music profile of our readers and learn more about you. We are not shameless. We’re trying to bond with you OK? Just. Give. In.
² I don’t knowingly have any friends who listen to this. So if any friend of mine is reading this article and you have the new Darkness, don’t worry because I don’t know.
³ It’s true. Travis came up on my “Neighbor Radio” while I was taking a piss and I wasn’t able to stop it before it was logged on my “Recent Tracks” list.
⁴ As I came to write the final sentence of this piece, The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” played on my “Neighbor Radio.” One of my favorite songs. A true classic. It brought a smile to my face amidst my otherwise lesser than average day. Thank you last.fm, thank you.

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