So I've had Pandora going in the background while at work, and I've noticed something: When I start a station with an artist featuring a male singer, Pandora never suggests anything sung by a woman. So far, having started a station with a female singer, it's suggested only women.

Does this mean that men and women make fundamentally different music? I seem to recall that starting with Suzanne Vega, a woman, does get me some men (though a relatively small number)--so is it just that some musicians are more gendered than others? What about genres? Is Mirah automatically "angry chick rock/singer/songwriter" and Voxtrot nothing but "vaguely classic-sounding-but-still-fresh dude rock" while Suzanne Vega is working in a less gendered genre (folk)?

Hmmm.


Just in case everybody missed this, oil passed $140 a barrel the other day. It came down again, but still--remember when we were all freaking out about breaking $100/barrel? HA.

Also, apparently John McCain doesn't (didn't? I hope) know the difference between the Sudan and Somalia.

It fits perfectly with not knowing Who's Who in Sunnis and Shi'ites--they're all brown anyway, who can tell the difference, right?

...right?