In the spirit of the Kaminski Test, I have been burrowing into those social networking sites that seem to engender creativity. For example, I have spent a bunch of time over the last four or five days fooling with Last.fm and AudioScrobbler. AudioScrobbler is a plugin that accesses and uploads what you are playing on iTunes, and Last.fm is a social networking site that builds a neighborhood of those folks who have similar musical tastes, so you can socialize or simply discover more music.

If you visit my Last.fm account you can now listen to a radio station based on my music preferences. You can also browse into my top albums, or walk around in my "neighborhood" -- the music preferences and listening habits of people with similar tastes to mine. Turns out my tastes are most similar to women in their early 20s!

I had an interesting exchange with a 16 year old from the UK, after I noticed his avatar was derived from the album cover for "Solid Air", a John Martyn album I have had since the mid 70s. He wondered that a 50+ year old would be listening to John Martyn, Massive Attack, and Thievery Corporation, instead of Mozart; he is now exploring some of the other recommendations I gave him. I have a similar influence on my 16 year old, Keenan.

I have discovered a batch of really great music through this neighborhood wandering: Lali Puna, Ms John Soda, Mogwai, and a compilation disc from Morr Music. So, even if you don't like what I am listening to, the system seems to do exactly what it is intended to do. I love it!