I know my GF is going to start playing Christmas Music ad nauseam before long.
I can't complain because her enthusiasm and excitement over stuff like Christmas are definitely endearing qualities to me, but at the same time, I spend a lot of time over there, so I started thinking about how to best deal with this!
I am new to Pandora (about 1 year actually using it on a regular basis), so some of you can probably help me, but for those that have not been down this path, I will share what I am doing.
First, you need to know that on your computer, if you log into Pandora, you can check and uncheck stations to include in your shuffle. These settings will carry over to your Roku, etc. This is really handy. Her daughter listens to Megadeath type stuff, so her daughter can add a station to the list and listen to that station specifically when she is alone, but my GF has those stations unchecked and when she shuffles stations her serenity is not broken by screaming chaos.
This is also handy if you listen to any of the comedian stations. Generally, you don't want a 6 minute Jeff Foxworthy stand up clip in the middle of your music.
So back to the topic at hand. I don't mind Christmas music, but I was the stock boy at McCrory's 5 & 10 in high school and the mix of Christmas Muzak looped about every 3 hours developing my aversion to repetition of seasonal music. However Pandora has a deep playlist, So I am going to help the GF find stations of tasteful Christmas music which ideally will be pulling from over 24 hours (more is better) of music to reduce repeats. If a group has done Christmas music, they are also entered in Pandora with "(HOLIDAY)" after their name.
Also, if you are mostly new to Pandora understand that a station is not restricted to the group. For example,"Dean Martin Radio" is very likely to play Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, etc. Be sure to "Thumbs Down" anything you don't like. IME, Pandora does a pretty good job of adjusting to your preferences.
Also know that there will be mainstream (not exclusively Christmas) song by these artists showing up on occasion.
Here is a link to pull from to get started (you might start with the "stations" link as these are categories of artists):
http://www.pandora.com/search/holiday
So far, I have these on the list (just so you can get an idea of the variety).
Please add suggestions as you find them. I am amazed at all of the groups that have done Christmas albums along the way!
Coldplay (holiday)
The Eagles (holiday)
Bruce Springsteen (holiday)
John Lennon (holiday)
U2 (holiday)
Norah Jones (holiday)
Steve Morse (holiday) - Guitar
Alex De Grassi (holiday) - Mellow Guitar
Canadian Brass (holiday)
Stan Kenton (holiday) - big band jazz
Christmas Blues Radio
Vince Guaraldi Trio (holiday) - Charley Brown
Smooth Jazz Christmas - this would get too close to Muzak if it was the only station, but mixed in with the others, it is nice!
Classical Christmas - Nutcracker Suite, Boston Pops, etc.
Christmas Blues Radio
Count Basie (holiday) - will also cover stuff like Louis Armstrong
B.B. King (holiday)
Bob Marley (holiday)
Bing Crosby (holiday)
Bonnie Raitt and Charles Brown (holiday)
Sting (holiday)
The Beatles (holiday)
Miles Davis (holiday)
Eric Clapton (holiday)
Lynyrd Skynyrd (holiday)
The Drifters (holiday)
Johnny Lang (holiday)
Stevie Wonder (holiday)
Donny Hathaway (holiday)
Sheryl Crow (holiday)
Maroon 5 (holiday)
Jason Mraz (holiday)
Colbie Caillat (holiday)
Etta James (holiday)
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (holiday)
Earth, Wind, and Fire (holiday)
John Mayer (holiday)
Sarah Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson (Holiday)
Los Lobos (holiday)
Spyra Gyra (holiday)
Dexter Gordon (holiday) - Saxophone
All of the above will fly with GF! As you can see, there is enough depth and breadth to break the monotony; as a matter of fact, I am looking forward to seeing what comes next!!!
Now that they are on the list, all I have to do is check/uncheck them for Christmas every year.
