I ran into the Perceptron the other day while perusing MBV, a one-stop shop for
music blogs, and ever since then I’ve been toying with it.
 
I can’t see how this is any better than what I get out of last.fm
based on my listening habits, or out of amazon.fr recommendations
based on my buying habits, or out of the New York Times Arts section
(based on my reading habits), but it’s noteworthy nonetheless to see
someone jumping into this recommending business with a brand shiny new
model. Comforting, actually, in a Eureka-bathtub-moment kind of way.
 
I think part of its appeal is the stripped-down design of the site. It
brings me back to the old days of feeding in punch cards and getting
little strips of tape with unevenly printed letters out. Plus it
doesn’t overwhelm you with recommendations; it provides only three at
a time.
 
My current output on the perceptron’s Automatron consists of Don
Pullen , Hugh Ragin, and Enrico Rava. Worth a listen to the latter
two, although I am already a big Don Pullen fan and have been ever
since nearly 18 years ago I walked out of the Thelonious Monk movie
Straight No Chaser, showing at the Quad on 12th St, into the Village
Vanguard around the corner on 7th Avenue South and saw him playing
there with Ben Riley, Monk’s longtime drummer and a feature of the
movie. It was like black-and-white come to life, and sounded
fantastic.