Waiting for Pandora

In the Greek myth, Pandora is both the recipient of gifts from every god, and the giver of "gifts" to mankind. Once the box is opened, Pandora is unable to stop the emergence of every kind of pain and hardship.

Our modern Pandora, however, seems to fall a little short of her namesake.

It is probably the case that I need some advice on how to adjust and modify what she has to offer. Still, I expected that on Pandora I would hear all kinds of music related to the seeds I name, especially songs and artists not typically heard on the radio or highlighted on CDs. If the ancient Pandora releases every variety of trouble, the contemporary Pandora should play every variety of a seed or genre, right?

I could understand if I didn't like the songs played, especially if I weren't providing enough feedback/seeds. But my complaint isn't about the genre of songs, but their commonness. What I especially don't understand is that I don't hear on Pandora the songs and artists that aren't regularly played on the radio. I would think that with so many artists and songs out there, there would be no need to repeat a song for days. I also would think that besides playing the popular songs of artists that we are already familiar with, they would try to introduce songs that aren't as well known, to expand my horizon. You know, the infinite variety thing. Yet both of these happened to me:

I create a new station with the seeds "Yes" and "Rush." Within a few hours I have heard the Who song "Behind Blue Eyes" not only once, but twice, even though I didn't click on the thumbs up sign the first time it came through.

I have a another rock station with a number of band seeds, Van Halen, Def Leppard, yada yada yada, and it plays "Jump," but nothing from 5150, Diver Down, Fair Warning, High 'n' Dry, etc.

I still have Hope, though. Today on my local radio stations I heard "Best of Both Worlds" and "Whip It."