New Dating Site Unites Music Geeks

We’re digging this new trend in online dating, in which you zero in on certain enthusiasms. First there was the bookworm meet-n-greet, ALikewise. And now, for the Rob Gordons amongst us: Tastebuds. (Get it?)

The concept is simple: you list music you like, and the site shows you a bunch of people whose tastes match yours. The process of selecting your own choices is not so fraught as you may think, since you can have an unlimited number of picks. I promptly set a trusty good sport friend to the task of giving the site a Real-life whirl, but in the spirit of inquiry, also signed up myself (the work of two seconds) just to see how it worked. And here I encountered some problems. Because I realized, Did I want to date the guy who also liked “Hounds of Love” and Scott Walker? And so what if someone liked Pavement: everyone likes Pavement! Besides, why didn’t anyone else list the Pastels?

Then, of course, I got to thinking more: my ex-boyfriend liked the Pastels, and look where that got me. And what if I’d run across my current fella on this site? I’d have scoffed at his love of Tori Amos and “Rainbow Bridge” and never gotten to know someone whose differences have so enriched my life!

And yet, in the overwhelming universe that is the Net, every little bit of common ground helps. And my friend’s report confirmed this. “The interesting thing,” she wrote, “is that I was able to meet completely different guys. I met one who also loved Al Green who looks promising, but I’ve also been chatting with this Debussy guy who I’d never have met otherwise. And the really good part is, you have like two hours worth of icebreaker right there. Plus, it’s not that hard to weed out the hard-core music snobs, which I was afraid of.”