Why genre is a terrible way to recommend music.

Genres were invented to organise record-store shelves. They were never a good description of how music feels to listen to. A late-night jazz pianist and a Norwegian ambient producer can live happily on the same playlist if their mood coordinates line up — and they almost always do.

The two dials that actually matter

Energy is how loud and dense a track feels. Valence is how positive it sounds. Plot any song on those two axes and you have a better recommendation than any genre tree can give you.

What this means for picking music tonight

Don't start with "what genre am I in the mood for?" Start with "how do I want the next 30 minutes to feel?" Then let the catalog match. The song quiz does exactly that.