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Plug In - The Guide to Music on the Net
Ted M. Gurley and W.T. Pfefferle Ph.D.
ISBN: 0-13-241050-8
Prentice Hall P T R
http://www.prenhall.com
The Similarities Engine
http://www.webcom.com/~se
We didn't know where to put this, but since you've just finished finding out how to locate and purchase new CDs, maybe this is as good a place as any. (Also see our blurb about this kind of technology in Chapter 5.) Anyway, Dave Whiteis has got this very interesting tool called the Similarities Engine. In a database function that is a mystery to us (fess up, Dave), he is able to generate a list of albums you'd like based on a list of five current favorite records. Just for fun we entered a collection of stuff we had sitting on top of the CD player and waited about 12 hours for our E-mailed response. The following table shows our input:
| Artist | Recording |
| Dylan, Bob | Slow Train Coming |
| Zevon, Warren | Mutineer |
| Springsteen, Bruce | Tunnel of Love |
| Morrison, Van | Wavelength |
| Jones, Rickie Lee | Pirates |
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We got back this list:
| No. | Artist | Recording | Weigh |
| 1 | Holly, Buddy | Collection | 41 |
| 2 | Lewis, Huey & the News | Four Chords... | 41 |
| 3 | Mellencamp, John | Lonesome Jubilee | 26 |
| 4 | Bach, J.S. | Cantatas | 16 |
| 5 | Bardens, Pete | Big Sky | 16 |
| 6 | Brandon String Trio | Bustin Out... | 16 |
| 7 | Ellington, Duke | Blanton-Webster... | 16 |
| 8 | Everly Brothers | Heartaches & | 16 |
| 9 | Kottke, Leo | My Father's Face | 16 |
| 10 | Marley, Bob | Reggae Legend | 16 |
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Key to Weights: The Wt. (Weight) column indicates how likely it is that you would enjoy that particular recording. Use this chart as a guide:
* 100 or more: Highly likely to be a CD that you would enjoy.
* 30-99: You would probably enjoy most of these CDs.
* 17-29: You would probably enjoy about 2/3 of these CDs.
* 1-16: You would probably enjoy about 1/2 of these CDs.
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The engine showed us a total of 73 suggested CDs and we were a little astonished at how many records we actually owned of that list. If you're a frequent buyer of CDs and are always looking for some new stuff (and who isn't?), we think this engine will prove to be a very valuable resource.
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