This popped up on my Pandora page, and I couldn’t help but be distracted by it.  Playtex’s current ad campaign is based on the idea that “every woman’s body is different,” and at first glance it’s a pretty standard tampon ad. Lots of pink and girly girls – note the skirts and long hair. But if you look at this ad, you’ll see that two out of the three female figures depicted here are almost identical, just posed differently. The woman in the middle and the one on the right are both very slim. They are ideal according to the “thin is in” mentality glorified in the media, but in all likelihood quite a bit smaller than the average American woman. The woman on the left is the only who looks “different,” as her silhouette is significantly more curvy than the others featured in the ad. (I’ll be using “curvy” as a very relative term – obviously, the “curvy” woman here is really pretty average, but she’s rather curvy in comparison to the other women in the ad.)

This is a tampon ad, and obviously a woman’s physical appearance has nothing to do with what type of tampon is right for her. But because it presents a picture of female silhouettes, in which we can see only the superficial outlines of three bodies, the focus of this ad becomes female body size and shape.

Each female figure in the ad is paired with an adjective. The curvier woman is described as “empowered,” while the other two women are “chill” and “bubbly,” respectively. This ad is supposed to be about “different” body types, and yet the female figures we see are characterized using adjectives that describe their personalities. What does a woman’s body type have to do with her personality? The prominent placement of these adjectives directly above the women’s heads presents this strange connection between physical appearance and personality as obvious and simple.

What really got me thinking was the fact that the ad’s token curvy girl is described as “empowered.” This isn’t a negative adjective. In fact, I would be flattered if someone used it to describe me. But “empowered” is very different from “chill” and “bubbly.” “Chill” and “bubbly” are adjectives that sound fun and friendly. They make the thinner girls seem like they’d be fun to hang out with (if they weren’t cartoons). “Empowered,” on the other hand, is more a state of mind or state of being. While it might be a positive description, it says nothing about whether this woman is friendly, or if she would be fun to hang out with. “Chill” and “bubbly” are light, casual words. But “empowered” carries more weight. And this ad is all about fun, pink girliness. So what makes the curvy woman so different? Why didn’t she get a fun adjective? Is this curvy girl “empowered” because she is confident despite the fact that movies, magazines and the internet tell her she should be different?

Maybe Playtex’s intent here was to celebrate all body types, and say that curvier women should feel empowered, because they’re beautiful. But if that’s the case, then why doesn’t the ad actually feature a range of body types? What I see here are two skinny girls and one “alternative” body type. This ad says that curvy is ok, too, but skinny wins out two to one. If that’s not the case, then why create this skinny vs. curvy dynamic, with one clear outsider? It’s just too coincidental that the one different-looking girl was assigned the unusual adjective.

Finally, the point of the ad is to promote three sponsored Pandora stations that listeners can choose from. You are supposed to drag one image/word combination to the box to play the station. The image and word cannot be separated. So, potential listeners are not choosing a body type or an adjective, they’re choosing a body type and an adjective together.

What does that say to women who identify as curvy and bubbly? Or skinny women who would rather be empowered than chill?

Obviously Playtex could never design an ad that would really include all body types, because they’re right, every woman’s body is different. But this is a product designed for and marketed to women. The very least they could do is treat us as intelligent, individual consumers and stop equating outer appearance with inner attributes. That might make me interested in their product.

We no longer live in a world of fashion designers and magazine editors. With the growth of the Internet and free blogging platforms, girls and boys from all corners of the globe are becoming fashion icons. Sure, Coco Chanel and Marc Jacobs and Betsey Johnson still make any fashion-savvy individual swoon, but these days it’s the random bloggers who are influencing style and changing the face of fashion. And even designers and magazine editors are seeing this shift in power and acting on it.

Bloggers, once considered to be wannabe fashionistas, are now being treated like celebrities by editors — they’re included in big editorials and even interviewed for features.  What does all this mean for the average college girl? Well for one, fashion is increasingly becoming more about individual style and less about what’s ‘in style.’ It also means that if you’ve got a passion for fashion and an Internet connection, no matter who you are, you could be the next person influencing style worldwide!

Here are five bloggers who have helped change the face of fashion simply by showing their own individual faces! What’s great about these bloggers is that they make fashion close up and personal. These are all real girls who express their individualism through one of the greatest mediums — fashion. Enjoy!

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, TFLN…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Ebates, Keep Me Out, and Hot List) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

Music is a huge part of life for most of us college students–it makes walking to class more interesting, provides background noise for sexy timefor study sessions, sets the mood for hook-ups, and pumps us up for a night of partying.  But keeping your music collection up-to-date can get kind of expensive–at 99 cents or $1.29 per song, those download fees can definitely add up!

But what if I told you there was a way to listen to the full-length version or practically any song, whenever you wanted, for absolutely free (without illegally downloading it)?  Pretty much everyone already knows and loves Pandora Radio for free music listening that’s catered to your tastes.  However, it does have a few pitfalls: you can’t hear a particular song exactly when you want to, you can’t replay or rewind songs you want to hear again, you can’t hear specific songs or artists or make playlists.  But there is a site that makes it possible to do all those things: Grooveshark.

Grooveshark lets you search for and stream music online for free, without having to pay any sort of subscription or pay-per-download fees.  Basically, users can upload their own music libraries, and other users can search and listen to them.  You can even mark songs as favorites so you don’t have to search for them again and create and save playlists.

Since you can’t download anything from Grooveshark (they do however provide links to Amazon and iTunes where you can), you have to actually be online and connected to the site for it to work.  However, it’s a great way to listen to songs you don’t actually want to spend your money on or to listen to an entire album to decide if it’s worth buying.

Seriously, though, Grooveshark is pretty awesome.  It’s so awesome, in fact, that we use it here at CollegeCandy to make all our awesome playlists (like the most recent groovetastic October Pre-Party playlist).  So once you get a Grooveshark account, make sure to follow “collegecandy”!

Check out what other awesome websites have been getting us all hot and bothered.

You don't need a beard and a ship to discover something (sorta) new.

One fateful day back in the pre-Facebook days,  Christopher Columbus “discovered” America.  Much like you discovered that wearing a scarf around campus on a 75 degree day would not stop the hickey rumors from floating around. And we’re sure that’s not the only discovery that you’ve made since attending college. Just like Columbus discovered America and thought he was onto something pretty big, we’ve all found a few things along the way that wowed us as well. We rushed home, told our roommates, and sat there in shock when we realized that they already knew that it’s smarter to change into sweats before going to a booty call.

So here are a few more awesome discoveries that every college student needs to make:

1. Finding the secret bathroom so you can poo in private: We’ve all been victim to the poop wars in college dormitories.  You enter the community bathroom at the same time as another innocent pooper and each of you sit in the stall waiting for the other to make the first move.  It’s disgusting, but don’t begin to admit it hasn’t happened to you.  I’m guilty as charged, so finding the secret bathroom to do your business is a dream come true.  Nobody goes in there and you have hours to shadoobie in private. Glorious.

2. Finding the class where the prof puts the entire lecture online: This is one of the most wondrous discoveries. Attend class from the comfort of your bed. Just make sure to show up to the exam.

3. How to make a panini in the waffle maker: Or other fabulous cafeteria discoveries. The caf is a place to let your imagination span mountainous regions.  My freshman year, I discovered how to grill a sandwich on our waffle maker. My sophomore year I discovered how to mix the different kinds of cereals (preferably Cheerios and granola). My junior year I discovered the art of burrito making and bringing a Tupperware to the caf for leftovers.  You get the idea, now get out there and be your own Sous Chef.

4. Utilizing the library the 20th Century Way: This is a nerdy revealing moment for me, but while we are so hung up on internet research for projects and papers, we forget about the goodness offered in college library books. My senior year I discovered what it was like to do research from real books. And tell you what: it’s a lot better than crossing your fingers and praying your Wikipedia research is legit.

5. Finding studying serenity in Pandora.com: Seriously, Pandora was one of my most amazing discoveries ever in college. It’s free and you can download your own radio stations based upon artists you enjoy.  I had everything from a Disney Movie radio station to Enya (I’m not kidding, that shiz is relaxing.) You bring your headphones to the library and lose yourself while studying. Or turn it on while you’re pregame in your dorm – whatever, it’s great and I’m so glad I stumbled across it.

6. The Glory that is The Greyhound: Need a cheap drink of choice in college? Chelsea Handler taught me well: grapefruit juice and vodka (otherwise known as ‘The Greyhound’) is the pagan amongst mixed drinks.  It’s relatively healthy, tasty and cheapo.  Those three words pretty much sum up my college career.  Oh and another great drinking discovery?  At your local gas station, fill up a Coke slushy and mix it with Jack – it’s really fun!

7. Discovering Google Docs: Google Docs is a group project savior in HTML disguise.  We all know group projects in college are completely bogus and meeting up totally sucks.  But if you download Google Docs, you can work on one document, in separate locations, at the same time. It’s so amazing and creepy because you can see other group members typing their information.  It’s also fun, because you can type inappropriate words (i.e. FART) to make group members momentarily uncomfortable.

8.The outlet of time nobody is working out: It’s not my number one favorite thing to go bust a move in the workout room when the entire student body is also getting ripped.  I love finding that small snippet of time (usually between 1 pm and 3 pm) where nobody else is working out and I can sweat in my lonesome glory. Not to mention the dude with the B.O. who farts every .3 miles on the treadmill isn’t around either.

9. The Ultimate Hangover Cure: Which usually revolves around something like a Vitamin Water, a multi-vitamin, and a trashy reality TV marathon. And if you can roll out of bed, a solid workout usually helps sweat out that vodka collins.

10.Making the most out of college: This is the number one discovery in my book.  You have to take a moment, sit back and make a blatant attempt at making the most out of your college experience.  Learn from the inevitable moments of misunderstanding, bask in the awkward moments, and benefit from differences.  College is a great place for growth and constructing who you are so live it up.  Four years go by fast and suddenly you’re living in your parents’ basement. Take the time to truly enjoy!

While ya’ll were sippin’ on your mojitos and checking out the cute bartender, yesterday, after a long day of interning, I spontaneously decided I was going to wait in line for my new iPhone 4. So at around 6pm, I hopped in my car and  drove to the closet store (Old Town Pasadena) where I was flabbergasted by the line that formed around, yes around, the Apple Store. The crowd had literally snaked past three other buildings and people were camped out with their fold out chairs, magazines and electronics.

No joke, for a moment I thought I took a wrong turn and ended up at the Eclipse premiere.

By the time I had parked, the line had tripled. But I knew that if I didn’t wait in line for my iPhone then, my reservation would be canceled and I would have to wait till the second week of July to get my electronics fix.

Which was not going to happen.

Not feeling defeated, I added myself to the end of the long line and began waiting. Initially, the Apple “geniuses” (AKA crowd-control) had predicted a 2-3 hour wait. Ugh. I was hot and sweaty and really wasn’t in the mood to stand in line in my prickly flats for so long. But by the time I got inside and sat down with a Genius behind the counter, it had only been about one hour. 15 minutes later, I was down $325 and had the newest iPhone 4 in my hand and I was happy as a clam. While I was initially annoyed at the longs lines, the wait was surprisingly fun and a real eye-opening experience. (Revelation #1: Apple fans are really weird.) I think everyone who was waiting felt a real sense of camaraderie, knowing that everyone there in line was just as crazy excited about the iPhone as they were.

Now onto the iPhone itself…..

Disclaimer: First things first, I don’t consider myself an Apple junkie (or tech savvy). I was actually opposed to the idea of getting my first iPhone two years ago because I felt I would always be “juiced” to the phone. I hated how much I relied on my computer on a daily basis and did not want a phone to become another crutch. Well, 2 years and a new iPhone later, I am absolutely in love and seriously cannot imagine having another type of phone. Apple has consistently made a product that is reliable, chic and super user-friendly. As I always tell my friends:“once you go iPhone, you never go back.” (Yeah, it doesn’t have a nice ring to it, but whatev.)

Feel/ Touch/ Look: The only way I can accurately describe the newest iPhone is that it feels like a really well-made candy bar. No longer round and curvy, iPhone 4 is blocky and rectangular. Instead of the plastic that used to encase the phone, Steve Jobs added actual glass to the front and back layer of the phone, making “Jose” (I name all my iPhones, puh-lease) visually appealing. A silver band now wraps along the edge of the new phone, allowing multitasking users, like me to hold coffee and text at the same time have a sturdy and firm grip on the phone.

Use: Compared to the wonderful 3g, “Lupe,” that I had for two years, “Jose” is significantly faster and, of course, smarter! The interface is basically the same, but wow, I really felt and saw the difference in terms of applications loading, filming HD videos and surfing the web. The flash added onto the camera is very bright (almost too bright) and the newest addition of the front camera reallllllly makes taking those self-portraits that we girls love so much easier.

Another great addition to the phone is the use of “multitasking.” Remember all those time when you wanted to listen to your Pandora station while going on Facebook? Now you can! Two simple taps on the Home button, and you’ve got yourself an array of previously opened apps that you can revisit at anytime. It’s honestly pretty freakin awesome.

The Bad: I can’t find anything bad to critique about iPhone 4 other than one tiny detail: the reception can be spotty at times. I discovered that if I held the phone in the palm of my hand, with my fingers “wrapped” around the phone, the reception and 3g connection was generally pretty poor. But if I used only two fingers (thumb and index) and held “Jose” on its side, the reception was significantly better.

Overall, I am very pleased with the newest iPhone 4. I know some people are stringently against Apple because they think it’s just another company out to get more dough in their pockets (which is sadly, very true), but you can’t deny the fact that those people at Cupertino really take the time to build a great phone or, what I consider it, a companion.

If you’re in the market for a new phone (or even if you’re not), you should definitely throw down some cash for the iPhone 4. I haven’t felt this strongly about anything since Edward Cullen hit the scene. Well, minus the desire to grab this by the cheeks and make out with it…..

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Zappos…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Voyij, ShopStyle and MappyHour) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

You’ve most likely already heard of online radio websites like Pandora, Last.fm, and LaLa. But you might not have heard of Musicovery, a radio-type site that helps you find new music.  And this is definitely a site worth knowin’ about – Musicovery brings something different to the online radio scene.

What really sets Musicovery apart from other radio-type sites are its incredible customization options. Like similar sites, Musicovery lets you specify what type of music you want to listen to based on genre (such as Country, Classical, R&B, etc.).  However, what makes Musicovery unique (and in my opinion, pretty awesome) is that instead of choosing the artist you want to listen to (like most other sites), you choose the “mood” of music you want to listen to – from energetic to calm, positive to dark, and everything in between – and the site creates a playlist of songs based on what you choose. 

Furthermore, you can create a playlist based on energy level using the “dance” tab: between either low energy (Dance -) or high energy (Dance +), and by tempo.  You can also determine the span of years or decade you want to hear music from, and can also choose to hear hit songs or to discover less popular ones.

If you create a free account on the site, you can save your favorite artists, which will be used to personalize your radio stations in the future.  You can also choose to ban a song that you don’t particularly like and never have to listen to it again (I’m lookin’ at you, Aly & AJ).  Musicovery also has a “Premium Account” (AKA paid) option with better audio quality, the ability to skip songs on radio playlists, and the option to listen only to songs you’ve previously indicated as favorites. (Because we all know how frustrating it is to find a song we love on Pandora…and never hear it again.)

Another great feature of the site (but is only available to Mac users right now) is a plugin you can download that lets you create Musicovery playlists from the music that’s already in your iTunes library.  Sure, you won’t be discovering any new music that way, but it’s still a cool and easy way to make quick easy playlists for any occasion and mood.

See? Aren’t you glad I introduced you to Musicovery? Next time you’re in the library (like now), check it out. It will totally change the way you listen to music…. and pass time in the ‘brary.

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really great local band? An awesome website? A product that truly changed your life? Personalized snacks? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

This might be the most important “The Know” you will ever read.

Really, this piece of information is life changing.

I know on this website time and again we talk about how we should put in a little more effort for class, not roll out of bed in baggy sweats and at least put on jeans. But we all know that in the winter months even jeans seem like a lot of effort. Not to mention the uncomfortable factor of your jeans digging into you after weeks of late night pizza fests. Face it: there is nothing cute, comfortable OR put together about a muffin top.

It’s a mind boggling situation – how does one look put together yet still achieve maximum comfort?

Well, friends, I have finally found the answer. Someone Tweeted about this yesterday in jest, but Pajama Jeans are no joke to me. Much like Channing Tatum, Pandora’s Teen Pop station and chocolate chip muffins, Pajama Jeans make me believe in God.

You can wear these “jeans” to class, to a long night of studying, or even to a house party in the middle of the winter when the thought of squeezing into a pair of real jeans is just too much to bear. And when all the other girls are sitting uncomfortably, you can take comfort in being comfortable… and looking cute in the process.

It’s truly magnificent.

I know, I know – you love me.
Hell, after this discovery, I love me!

Every college library is similar – always too hot or too cold, smells kind of bad but you aren’t sure why, phrases etched into the tables, and a mixed population of students either writing on each others’ Facebook walls or writing 20 page term papers in a single night.

Good times!

I used to be very anti-library (who isn’t), but this semester I have found ways to make it more comfortable, enjoyable and conducive to a productive day/evening/month of work-doing. It’s all about being prepared (for anything) and as long as you have these essentials in that backpack of yours, you can be successful too.

Water bottle: This seems obvious but you’d be surprised. I once pulled an all-nighter without bringing a water bottle and because I was so into the work I was doing, I never felt like going to get water. Stupid mistake! I got tired and sick, and spent my night drooling on my laptop instead of researching on it. The next time I filled that sucker up a few times per hour, got everything done, and felt great the next day. Also, drinking only coffee, tea or Red Bull (or Bawls...) will almost definitely dehydrate you, cause you to crash sooner than without caffeine and probably give you a terrible stomachache (which may explain that weird smell in the libs….).

Personal hygiene products: I’ll admit that I’m a little weird when it comes to hygiene – I carry toothbrushes with me wherever I go – but I highly suggest anyone going to the library for an extended period of time should have at least a toothbrush thrown in their backpack. Some other products that always come in handy for me are hand sanitizer, lotion, tissues, chapstick, and deodorant. Trust me, it’s better for everyone if you smell like a “Satin Pear” (whatever that is) than whatever 10 hours in a dirty library smells like for a 9:35 Italian class!

Oh and don’t forget the gum! Studies show that chewing gum helps jog memory and you are much better off bringing your own than being forced to bum it off someone you may or may not of (you just aren’t sure…) hooked up with freshman year (FML).

Electronic accessories: Bring them all. There is nothing worse than having your computer die halfway (or 90%) through a paper, or your cell phone dying and not being able to text your friend about which book you were supposed to have read for Competitive Authoritarianism in the Middle East (Oops?). You are also going to want to throw in a pair of (noise canceling) earphones to block out the loud whispers, Swine Flu sneezing fits and vibrating cell phones of those (RUDE) people around you. If listening to your favorite jams distracts you, set up a Pandora station with Ludwig Van Beethoven or any other classical music that will give you some relaxing surround sound.

Fruit*: The natural sugar in fruit will pep you up a little bit and not make you too full when you are working diligently in the library. Sometimes when I don’t feel like eating anything (which rarely ever occurs) fruit is less daunting than say, a sandwich, and makes you feel healthier than devouring a bag of peach rings. The asterisk next to fruit stands for whatever the hell Starbucks sells in the middle of the night when the last fruit cup is sold. If they don’t have fruit, go for something that has fiber or protein. Scones, bagels and other carby snacks will give you a quick fix, but aren’t what you need for the long haul on that paper (or your FB Scrabble game).

Protection: A very sophisticated study was done (aka a group of my friends chatting last week) and turns out, many students have fantasized about/have had/would be willing to have sex in a library. Put these curious students together with a desperate need for procrastination and a relatively isolated spot in the stacks, and well, all I can say is throw some of these guys in your bag too…

Parka/Bathing Suit/Etc.: I am quite certain that they put the temperature on random numbers each day just to keep the students on their toes. If you cannot personally adapt to arctic or tropical studying conditions at the drop of a hat, I’d say prepare. Just yesterday my library was pumping heat into the study rooms and it was 92 degrees outside. Trust me, I wish I had that bathing suit… and one of those ghetto sprinklers to play in while I did my Italian homework.

“Going out clothes”/supplies: Many a time, I or people I know, will spend obscene amounts of time working on a very important assignment, all the while fighting the urge to party. My post-assignment celebrations are kind of like the carrot that keeps me going and my GPA where it is supposed to be. Best to be prepared. Throw a few evening essentials (accessories, shoes, makeup, flask?) into your bag for a quick change in the bathroom. Just please do not wear your leopard stilettos and “club wear” to the library; even my earphones can’t cancel out the sound of bangles running across a desktop.

I hope I helped you pack your backpack for the library. While I (attempt to) joke a lot, seriously take care of yourself during finals. Keep eating, sleeping and getting fresh air – humans need those things! If you have major procrastination problems, consider deactivating your Facebook account during this time, or, better yet, try not to bring your computer at all if you can help it! Happy studying.

Time for me to fill up my water bottle and get to the ‘brary.

Apple released a brand new iPod on Tuesday and while the rest of the nation was captivated by all the pretty colors and the new gizmo’s shake-to-shuffle feature, I was a little busy geeking out about the other announcement: iTunes 8.

Unlike previous incarnations, iTunes 8 is shaking up the application for the first time in years, this time with the introduction of a better visualizer, a new way to peruse your library and a handy little feature called Genius.

Apple developed Genius to effectively change the way we browse our media. It uses a smarty-pants algorithm to scan and analyze all the music in your iTunes library. The first time you fire it up, (you’ll need an Apple account to get started, by the way) Genius scours the dark corners of the internet for all of your album art.

Once its done scanning, Genius is set to go to work. When you select a song, iTunes creates a 25, 50, 75 or 100 track playlist based on that song’s genre, speed, and general mood. It’s essentially Pandora with all of your own stuff. It’s a fun tool for making a quick work-out playlist, getting ready for a party, or discovering just how much of your music sounds a lot like “Brick” by Ben Folds Five. Or, if you have thousands of songs in your library, it’s is a great way to re-introduce yourself to old favorites.

And since Apple wouldn’t be Apple without trying to sell you something, there’s Genius Sidebar, which suggests other artists or songs you should pick up from the iTunes Store.

Don’t listen to music on the computer anymore? Genius is also available on-the-go on all of the new iPods. Badass!

So try it out and let me know what you think. If you make an awesome playlist based on “Brick,” let’s talk.

[Photo courtesy of pcmag.com]

Now a days, it seems like if you don’t have an iPod and an iPod speaker system, or a very large collection of CDs either in disc form or hanging around on your computer, there isn’t a whole lot you can do for music variety. The radio stations play the same song every ten minutes or so, and unless you have a laptop, even iTunes’ handy Party Shuffle option can leave you in the musical dust. So what do you do?

What if I told you that there was a service online where you could enter a song or artist of your choosing, then get an indefinitely long playlist with songs that have similar sound? Not just any songs, mind you; these are songs like you’ll like, songs that you’ve never heard of before and songs that you adore. Above all, what if I told you it was absolutely positively free?

No, it’s not an e-mail scam that’s going to give you free software as long as you sign up for about fifty different sponsors. It’s Pandora, and she wants to be your friend.

Say I really want to find some bands like My Chemical Romance. I head to Pandora first, of course. You’ll want to sign up, because after a few tracks, they interrupt your groove and pretty much make you. Pandora asks me for an artist or song I happen to like, and I plug in MCR. Immediately, she plays “Vampires Will Never Hurt Me”. I’m pretty happy because it’s just the kind of song I was looking for, and I give it a thumbs up. Based on my gleaming feedback, Pandora plays “Over My Head”, by Sum 41. I’m not crazy about it, but I don’t hate it, so I don’t give any feedback at all. Next comes “Calm Before The Storm”, by Fall Out Boy. Normally I adore the Boys, but I’m not so crazy about this song, so I give it a thumbs down. Pandora totally sympathizes and skips the song entirely, going on to “You Won’t Hear This”, by Envy On The Coast. I’m diggin’ the song, so much so that not only do I give it a thumbs up, I click the up arrow between thumbs up and thumbs down, click the iTunes link, and buy the track. In about ten minutes, I’ve discovered a new band and heard some awesome songs – and it’s all totally legit.

Your Pandora stations are totally customizable, based on the thumbs ups and thumbs downs you give. You can make stations based on either a song you dig or an artist you dig. The best part about Pandora, though, is that it never ends. Ever! You might get a repeated song ever two or three hours, sure, but it’s perfect for background music or party music. I like to bring it up on the computers in the campus library and jam along while doing research (quietly, of course). You can pay for your membership if the ads annoy you. If you feel like getting especially fancy, you can even get Pandora in your living room with snazzy radio systems or on your phone for easy transport, but our focus is on the slightly less expensive – and by less expensive, I mean free – entertainment.

Being a music fan is all about branching out, and Pandora does that better than any internet radio I’ve ever used. I’ve open Pandora’s box, and I like what came out.