Ever felt clueless in the record store because you didn't know Jesus Lizard from Jesus Jones or - more importantly - didn't know whether either artist's CD was worth 15 bucks? Meet Ringo, a free Net-based "personal music recommendation service," which rates music based on your tastes.
When you send e-mail to Ringo, it replies with a list of musicians and groups for you to rate from 1 ("pass the earplugs") to 7 ("can't live without it"). Evaluating this info and data, culled from users with similar tastes, Ringo recommends artists and tells you whom to avoid.
Part of an MIT master's thesis, Ringo improves as more users - 2,400 were using it by September - fill out surveys.
How accurate is Ringo? It recommended two of my favorite bands, Rodan and Big Black, but predicted that I'd score Tom Waits - whom I would give a 7 - with a way-off-the-mark 4.7. Still, that it suggested John Zorn bolstered my confidence about trying artists I'd never heard. To Ringo's credit, it hit several personal faves spot-on and may well improve with increased data.
To subscribe, e-mail ringo@media.mit.edu with only join in the body; you'll receive your first survey within an hour. Subsequent mailings include command overviews, answers to frequent questions, and newsletter/charts of Ringo's highest- and lowest-rated artists (Pixies and NKOTB, respectively, the day I joined).
And how do the two Jesi rate with the Ringo gang? Lizard: 6.8; Jones: 3.2.
ELECTRIC WORD
Mandatory Videogame: Play or No Pay
Ringo: Personal Tune Picker
