Say goodbye to the next few hours. You are headed down the rabbit hole known as Every Noise at Once. According to creator Glen McDonald:

“This is an ongoing attempt at an algorithmically-generated, readability-adjusted scatter-plot of the musical genre-space, based on data tracked and analyzed for 1387 genres by The Echo Nest.”

I don’t know what any of that means. All I know is I clicked, then I clicked again, then it was four hours later and I had a list of new music I wanted to buy and a slight headache.

The music is divided into a staggering 1,387 genres arranged as a word cloud, with broader, more common genres like “alternative rock” appearing in larger type than the weirder, more specific ones like “speed garage” (bad) and “deep darkpsy” (worse). The type is also color coded from shades of purple through red and orange, though I haven’t really figured out what the colors mean, either. If the navigation and look of the thing is bugging you, you can also switch to list mode, though I think the map is ultimately more satisfying. The list feels like cheating.

Once you click the double arrow next to a genre, you will be met with a new map of artists that fit that category. You can preview genres and artists for free. The website is owned by Spotify, and many of the site’s features don’t work unless you’re logged in to the music service. Since Spotify is only free if you’re using the mobile app, I recommend you play with the site on your phone. Nonetheless, while the site navigation is a little overwhelming at first, I think it’s ultimately really fun. Go cancel your afternoon and click around.

Check out Every Noise at Once on their website. Good luck.

By the way, Etsomnia™ will be back next week. Thanks!