Dylan Jones: 'Last.fm has started dictating the soundtrack of my life'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.If the prefix du jour in the Eighties was "designer", and if the prefix du jour in the last decade was "luxury", then the current prefix with the most traction is "bespoke". Bespoke clothes. Bespoke music. Television. Holidays. Food. Books. Magazines. For many of us the world looks like a very different place to the one we knew only five years ago. And thanks to the joys of ABC (Automatic Bespoke Culture), it will look even more different in five minutes time.
The wireless (as my father still calls it) hasn't escaped this spring clean, either, and just when I thought I had outgrown music radio, Last.fm has started dictating the soundtrack of my life. Just last night, as I was compiling a playlist to accompany a business trip (the Maccabees, Jeffrey Foskett, Joey Scarbury, Jeff Larson, Milt Jackson, etc), I punched Burt Bacharach, the Eagles and Hall & Oates into my Last.fm radio, and my bespoke station began pumping out Little River Band, Peter Thomas, Dan Fogelberg and Chicago. Suddenly, the light that traditionally pours into a southern Californian garden came pouring into Bayswater, as my room swelled to the sounds of Dennis Wilson, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Glen Campbell.
Now, while I realise that early adopters have been all over Last.fm since it launched eight years ago, it makes Apple's Genius function appear rather old-fashioned, if not completely redundant. Founded here in the UK, Last.fm is one of the best internet radio sites, and currently claims over 40 million active users based in more than 200 countries. Users can create custom radio stations and playlists from any of the audio tracks in Last.fm's library, and are able to listen to some individual tracks on demand. Occasionally it thinks I'm too perverse for words (or music), and when I recently punched in Steely Dan, Miles Davis, Kraftwerk and Malcolm McLaren, it rather annoyingly said my station didn't exist. I had better luck with David Bowie, Dionne Warwick and Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66... And much as I enjoy your company, and while I'd like to sit and chat, I'm going back in.
Dylan Jones is the editor of 'GQ'
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments