[…] the anonymous programmers who write the algorithms that control the series of songs in these streaming services may end up having a huge effect on the way that people think of musical narrative—what follows what, and who sounds best with whom. Sometimes we will be the d.j.s, and sometimes the machines will be, and we may be surprised by which we prefer.
Pandora, MOG, Apple, and online music’s future : The New Yorker – Good New Yorker article by Sasha Frere-Jones on streaming music services, with a final nod to the Roland TR-808. See also: The Echo Nest and their Swinger