The Infinite Jukebox: Your Favourite Song Mixed To Last Forever

Let's be honest, we call our music tastes "diverse;" but there is always that one favourite song that deserves multiple uses of that Repeat button.  The Infinite Jukebox takes this concept in a new, algorythmic direction, remixing said song to continue playing forever.

Built as part of a Music Hack Day at MIT in Boston (created by Paul Lamere), this webapp analyses songs at an individual beat level and matches up rhythmic patterns throughout.  This creates different pathways that the song takes and, while playing, the app will attempt to seamless branch across these pathways to a different point in the tune.  

So technically, there are an infinite amount of routes for the song to play and, left to its own devices, will never stop.  If there was ever a desire to drive yourself to the point of hating that favourite song of yours, we can't envision a better way than The Infinite Jukebox.

For when your favorite song just isn't long enough

Data is represented visually via a 'chord diagram' circle, displaying the course of the song and any possible interlinking paths identified by the algorithm.  A yellow highlight shows the progress of the song, along with where and when the song jumps to an earlier or later point.

There are a couple of situations where the app is confused by some polyphonic issues: beats with trailing vocals are a particular issue (Radiohead’s Karma Police is a good example of this).  But play a simpler tune with repetitive hooks and the Jukebox works extremely well.

Upload your favourite, and enjoy.

Source: The Infinite Jukebox

Jason England