Last.FM has been around for a long time – ever since I was still relatively new to this whole “social networking” business, I thought that Last.FM was going to revolutionize the world. It’s just that after the five years or so it’s been around, it’s gotten a bit stale. Besides, I’ve usually used Last.FM to discover new music, not new people. I’d much rather have Pandora – which is dedicated to finding new music (somewhat a personalized “internet radio”). When I first heard of Jango, I don’t know why, but it felt exceptionally refreshing. I’d also like to say that Jango is somewhat like Pandora and Last.FM combined together, to give us the best of both worlds. Just what is it that Jango does so darn well?

Jango plays music.

First and foremost, Jango plays music without needing users to register prior to such a service. Just enter the name of your favourite artist, and be prepared to discover music just like it. On occasion a little box might pop up asking you to register, but it’s optional and you can simply close the box and continue listening. I’ve found the music to be great – I’ve heard some great tunes along the way, including Def Leppard (whom I have only heard of before).

Jango learns what you like.

Jango gives three options when rating songs: Don’t Like it, Like it, and Love it – in the form of three emoticons. Clicking the Don’t Like it emoticon will ensure that you never hear the song again. Clicking the Like it button will stir up the number of times you hear the song, and the Love it’s grinning face will etch the fact that you love the song into Jango’s memory. Mostly songs you Love or Like will appear in your Song History, which moves us on to the next point…

Jango plays what you like.

Combining the information from the first two statements will result in this third one, and you are able to play certain songs that are on other users’ radio stations at the current moment. This ability is limited purposely, as it would be violating the Digital Media Copyright Act otherwise (no “music on demand” allowed). I found this feature much more fulfilling than Pandora’s and Last.FM’s abilities. Not to mention you can skip as many songs as you want per hour (take that, Pandora).

Besides those three, I’ve still got a bit to say, but I’ll spare your eyesight and just have a nice little list.

• It looks great.
• It incorporates album art well.
• It integrates social networking arguably as well as Last.FM, if not better.
• It requires no downloading!
• It’s a much more “custom-tailored” experience than Pandora or Last.FM.

The only thing I’m worried for Jango is its ability to continue playing in Canada. Pandora was forced to relinquish its “airwaves” from Canada, and I’m definitely a bit frightened that the same thing will happen to Jango as its popularity continues to increase. However, I’m willing to milk what I’ve got for now and listen to it as much as I can. Remember Jango, if you ever need an advocate, I’m here for you.

Visit: http://jango.com