"Dude, I didn't pick this. It's on random"
"Well then why the f**k do you have it on your computer?"
"G.P."
if you've ever had this conversation with a friend, know this: you are not alone. like many others, i've reached a breaking point in my relationship with my itunes library. this is the make or break part of the relationship where the library either straightens up, or i send my musical concubines packing. it's not even itunes itself. it's the sum of the parts. as i am typing this, "phil collins - against all odds", is playing, randomly. is this really necessary? why would i want to listen to phil collins when there is a slew of new music that deserves my attention. i incessantly curate my itunes library, but only in a punctuational, grammatical way, not a varsity/JV/your-ass-is-cut way. this needs to change. i hope the 5 steps i offer can be implemented to impact your library in a positive way. i hope these steps serve to squelch the frustration associated with maintaining a listenable library, while facilitating your musical maturation process, in the process. and i hope you note that this post is not intended to berate or belittle any artist, or the music they crappily create. i've come to realize that not every band/artist/style of music is for everyone, and that is fine. so i am not here to tell you who or what to keep on board your sonic ship. if you're anything like me, chances are your music acquisition modus operandi has been dominated by a quantity over quality mantra for some time now. in my case, a 2008 new year's resolution had me gunning for 10K songs before the year was out. maybe you had similar aspirations. i made it, but was i a lesser listener because of it? of course. the shear volume of songs in my possession clouded my ability for musical recall of such albums that are worth the listen i oft forget about. albums such as "dodos - visiter", haphazardly lost in a vast sea of uninspiring and tired music. the time for change has come. brethren, we have sojourned through our own ragtime dark ages only to behold the musical renaissance and resurgence that is uncheck/transfer/delete.
preamble aside, legitimate questions forefront. how many times have you responded when questioned about your listening tendencies of so and so by saying "no, but i've been wanting to." what's stopping you? a year ago my answer would have been Harry Chapin, or Rage Against the Machine. yeah, 90's alt rock was sweet and all, but for me, there is a time and place for them, like say, 1995. now i say new, bad ass music is stopping me from listening to new, bad ass stuff i've been meaning to listen to. after a few minor steps / library reflection, you could be saying this too. i see a few potential outcomes of personal library reflection, with differing degrees of polarity. some are dramatic in their extremity; some are not. the first option i propose is to simply "uncheck" blocks of music that you wish to exclude from your existing randomly playable song population. doing so will get the message across, "bon jovi - we need to listen to other people," but still gives you the "if we're both forty and haven't found the band we like" option. the second option is a tad more harsh: transference to an external hard drive. if you have this luxury, it is an extremely viable option. if one day you're in the mood for Sir-Mix-A-Lot, then just grab that hard drive and jump on it. this also ensures that you will have secondary copy of your crappier music in case your computer crashes. the last option is the most hardcore: deletion. deletion frees you from the musical shackles that once hindered your musical maturation process. it absolves you from the 80's hair bands and early 2k's mtv pop that once dominated your musical sphere. now how do you go about choosing what to uncheck, transfer, or delete? the following 5 steps will guide you. just remember, it's a personal choice.
1) if you have music that reminds you of who you used to be, and you do not like who you used to be, get rid of it. you can be all that you can be, if you want to be, who you want to be. whatever. the army says so, kanye west says so, and i say so.
2) if you tell yourself, oh i'll get into them one day, odds are you won't. deal with it. just remember, you have three options at your disposal. uncheck. transfer. delete. you make the call.
3) some albums maintain high critical stature in the current music scene. take "Muse" for example. i don't particularly care for their music, but that doesn't stop them from regularly being one of the most listened to bands on last.fm. i am going to keep them, unchecked. future people i may encounter, that become active in my life may want to show me a song on "Absolution". for this reason, i see potential hidden social value in music i acquire. when you are determining the fate for many of your artists, this reasoning may come in handy.
4) use the genius playlist. it will mesh current artists with other similar artists (generically speaking), you most likely have forgotten about. this will help you regain control of your library. your library will play songs using both LIFO and FIFO methods of play. this step is a must.
5) check out playcounts. less than five plays for a single album, yet you've had the album five years? you know what it's gotta be.
believe me, you do not want the Macarena to play randomly when you're hosting a Super Bowl party; i've been there. pruning your music library makes sure musical mood killing music doesn't creep up on you when you least expect it, or even when you do expect it. and when that happens, it's a super sonic-sized kick to the balls. a wise man once said "the unexamined library is not worth listening." or something to that extent. so go, examine. listen. curate. and remember that you are the decider of which method to employ: uncheck/transfer/delete.
"Well then why the f**k do you have it on your computer?"
"G.P."
if you've ever had this conversation with a friend, know this: you are not alone. like many others, i've reached a breaking point in my relationship with my itunes library. this is the make or break part of the relationship where the library either straightens up, or i send my musical concubines packing. it's not even itunes itself. it's the sum of the parts. as i am typing this, "phil collins - against all odds", is playing, randomly. is this really necessary? why would i want to listen to phil collins when there is a slew of new music that deserves my attention. i incessantly curate my itunes library, but only in a punctuational, grammatical way, not a varsity/JV/your-ass-is-cut way. this needs to change. i hope the 5 steps i offer can be implemented to impact your library in a positive way. i hope these steps serve to squelch the frustration associated with maintaining a listenable library, while facilitating your musical maturation process, in the process. and i hope you note that this post is not intended to berate or belittle any artist, or the music they crappily create. i've come to realize that not every band/artist/style of music is for everyone, and that is fine. so i am not here to tell you who or what to keep on board your sonic ship. if you're anything like me, chances are your music acquisition modus operandi has been dominated by a quantity over quality mantra for some time now. in my case, a 2008 new year's resolution had me gunning for 10K songs before the year was out. maybe you had similar aspirations. i made it, but was i a lesser listener because of it? of course. the shear volume of songs in my possession clouded my ability for musical recall of such albums that are worth the listen i oft forget about. albums such as "dodos - visiter", haphazardly lost in a vast sea of uninspiring and tired music. the time for change has come. brethren, we have sojourned through our own ragtime dark ages only to behold the musical renaissance and resurgence that is uncheck/transfer/delete.
preamble aside, legitimate questions forefront. how many times have you responded when questioned about your listening tendencies of so and so by saying "no, but i've been wanting to." what's stopping you? a year ago my answer would have been Harry Chapin, or Rage Against the Machine. yeah, 90's alt rock was sweet and all, but for me, there is a time and place for them, like say, 1995. now i say new, bad ass music is stopping me from listening to new, bad ass stuff i've been meaning to listen to. after a few minor steps / library reflection, you could be saying this too. i see a few potential outcomes of personal library reflection, with differing degrees of polarity. some are dramatic in their extremity; some are not. the first option i propose is to simply "uncheck" blocks of music that you wish to exclude from your existing randomly playable song population. doing so will get the message across, "bon jovi - we need to listen to other people," but still gives you the "if we're both forty and haven't found the band we like" option. the second option is a tad more harsh: transference to an external hard drive. if you have this luxury, it is an extremely viable option. if one day you're in the mood for Sir-Mix-A-Lot, then just grab that hard drive and jump on it. this also ensures that you will have secondary copy of your crappier music in case your computer crashes. the last option is the most hardcore: deletion. deletion frees you from the musical shackles that once hindered your musical maturation process. it absolves you from the 80's hair bands and early 2k's mtv pop that once dominated your musical sphere. now how do you go about choosing what to uncheck, transfer, or delete? the following 5 steps will guide you. just remember, it's a personal choice.
1) if you have music that reminds you of who you used to be, and you do not like who you used to be, get rid of it. you can be all that you can be, if you want to be, who you want to be. whatever. the army says so, kanye west says so, and i say so.
2) if you tell yourself, oh i'll get into them one day, odds are you won't. deal with it. just remember, you have three options at your disposal. uncheck. transfer. delete. you make the call.
3) some albums maintain high critical stature in the current music scene. take "Muse" for example. i don't particularly care for their music, but that doesn't stop them from regularly being one of the most listened to bands on last.fm. i am going to keep them, unchecked. future people i may encounter, that become active in my life may want to show me a song on "Absolution". for this reason, i see potential hidden social value in music i acquire. when you are determining the fate for many of your artists, this reasoning may come in handy.
4) use the genius playlist. it will mesh current artists with other similar artists (generically speaking), you most likely have forgotten about. this will help you regain control of your library. your library will play songs using both LIFO and FIFO methods of play. this step is a must.
5) check out playcounts. less than five plays for a single album, yet you've had the album five years? you know what it's gotta be.
believe me, you do not want the Macarena to play randomly when you're hosting a Super Bowl party; i've been there. pruning your music library makes sure musical mood killing music doesn't creep up on you when you least expect it, or even when you do expect it. and when that happens, it's a super sonic-sized kick to the balls. a wise man once said "the unexamined library is not worth listening." or something to that extent. so go, examine. listen. curate. and remember that you are the decider of which method to employ: uncheck/transfer/delete.
Posts
I just showed Carmen the door. I hope he can forgive me. Let's just say where he is going no hard drive will be able to recover.