In 2017 I started working as a contractor for Pandora Radio in Oakland. Pandora was working on creating their on-demand streaming service, integrating it with their classic radio service, and I joined a team optimizing music metadata for this launch. I took to it right away, loved the work and the people there, continued on, and they eventually hired me full-time.
After a year or so, I started adding little by little to what is now a 230 song playlist. Most of it is songs I’ve come across while doing my work as a music metadata specialist and catalog curator. Sometimes a track really stands out to me in some way, and I add it to this personal playlist,
Din’s Pandora Picks.
In the last few days, I’ve been listening back to it anew, and frankly I’m blown away by the quality of so much of it. It’s extremely eclectic, genre- and era-agnostic, with the only common thread being that this is all stuff that rocks me in some way.
It happened that The Specials, on my shortest short list of favorite bands, released their ENCORE album around that time. The song that inspired me to start this playlist journal, was track 2 on that album, B.L.M. It was a brilliant return, and I found it so right on.
By contrast, No One Sleeps When I’m Awake by Canada’s The Sounds is a stunning rocker with a unique mood, great vocals and guitar work, and brilliant production. As a songwriter I wonder with great fascination about the possible story behind the song, and wish I had written it.
The set runs roughly chronologically from there. Songs I found recently are at the end, with my earlier discoveries nearer the beginning. A great majority of the selections are in the proverbial “long tail.” Some started there and then got much more popular, and a few are old favorites I arbitrarily added along the way cos they rock me.
At this point, I’m pleased about the whole playlist and quite delighted to share it publicly. Tooooo many favorites to call out, but that’s why it’s a PLAYlist! And you may play it.
Hop on in, tune in, turn up, rock out. I’ll continue to add to this as time goes on, whenever the inspiration strikes. 
