tunequest

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putting mothballs in the beef stew

my ipod loves it some sonic youth. and beck. and pearl jam.

one of the recurring subplots here at tunequest has been the tracking the seemingly non-randomness of the selections my ipod chooses to play and lately it’s starting to draw my aggravation. you see, part of my goals for  tunequest is to get to know some of the vast swaths of under-appreciated tunes resting in my library. so i made it a policy that my most listened to artists wouldn’t be eligible for play.

it’s july; there are six months left in the year. filtering my top five artists, in terms of total playcount, should help ensure that those lonely souls get the attention they deserve. this is a recent change however. for a while, i just excluding the blanket top 10 from my profile at last.fm.

But I eventually realized that i’d eventually get to the point where i’d have left nothing but those top artists and i’m pretty sure that i’d get sick of listening to the same things for a couple weeks toward the end of the year. so i adopted a new method. using both last.fm and super analyzer (at least until the iTunesregistry is functional once again), i’ve put stitched together a new list of exclusions. the result being that a lot of formerly mothballed titles were now available for play, including a bunch from sonic youth, beck and pearl jam. (radiohead was available, but quickly earned its way back into the exclusion list).

and this turn of events apparently pleased my ipod to no end, because all of the sudden, it’s been one those three bands played every other album, usually as the first or second random selection. i’m not really complaining about it. i do, of course, enjoy the music. it’s just that i’d rather not have it all crammed together.

at any time, the tunequest pod holds about 300 separately tagged albums. in aggregate, including singles,
live shows, albums proper, etc, those 3 have had about a 10% chance of being randomly selected as the next album played and i’m telling you it certainly feels like they’ve been getting more they’re 10% lately.

of course, each time one of those heavy-hitter does get played, their chances for future play drops.

here’s to a more diverse listening experience.

i’m dr. cheeks, and i’m a little behind

dr.cheeks

this is the most definitive progress report i’ve been able to give to date, and it’s rather grim. july 22 will mark the halfway point, chronologically speaking, of the tunequest. it makes sense that i should have listened to 50% of my songs by then to be on track to listen to every song in my library by the end of the year.

well some quick math shatters that hope. using the current play numbers at the top of the page, we see a difference of 1955 songs before i reach 50% played. to do that by july 22, i’ll have to listen to 122 songs per day. at an average of 4 minutes per song, that’s more than 8 hours per day.

so two words: not likely.

but all these number do, really, is confirm what the projection graph has been telling me, that i’m going to fall short by about 1500-2000 songs by the end of the year if i don’t pick up the pace somehow.

Popularity Graph

Have a graph.

years of release

This chart excludes film and classical music, focusing on popular releases. The blue line shows the total number of songs from each year of release in my library. The green line shows the cumulative playcount for records released that year. Make of it what you will, but apparently 2001 and 2003 were very good years for music.

my date with density

I’m a big fan of text clouds, where a list of topics, keywords, tags, etc are displayed at various sizes based on how popular those words are. the artist cloud is one example. it shows how often a particular artist has been mentioned during the course of the tunequest.

Well, the other day, i was playing with some of these search engine optimization tools, one of which is a keyword density checker. it scans a webpage and displays a cloud of word popularity from that page. after playing with it, i hit upon the idea of seeing a visual representation of the most numerous artists in my library.

Using iTunes’ Export Song List function, I made a tab-delimited text file of all my library information. I then opened that text file in excel and removed everything but the artist column.

Since the density checker looks at individual words, I had to remove all the spaces from the artists’ names, which were copied into a basic html page and submitted.

The results can be found below. it reflects the number of songs from each artist, which gives a decent, but skewed impression of my tastes. it shows what i have, not what i listen to the most. even for just showing the contents of the library, i think a better metric would be the total time of each artist rather than total song count. but that’s beyond my current capabilities. i guess i’ll just have to wait until the iTunes registry is back up.

Yeah, I know it’s so middle school to “brag about” the bands you like, but I think this is neat:

50cent aforestmightyblack aarhussymphonyorchestra addntox aelters afterthefire aimeemann air[frenchband] akiraifukube algreen alhirt alyankovicwendycarlos alanreevesphilsteeleandp alansilvestri albertobaldanbembo alecempire alessandroalessandroni alexandercourage alfclausen alfredwaitzman aliceinchains alisonkrauss aluminumgroup americanmusicclub anaprilmarch anandashankar angelobadalamenti anthrax antonellopaliotti aphextwin applecomputer aquanote arcticmonkeys arlingcameron armandotrovajoli arthurlyman asone atmosphere attilioanthonydonadio augustomartelli autechre badlydrawnboy barbaramanning bardopond barigozzigroup basementjaxx basilpoledouris bavarianradioorchestra bbcphilharmonicorchestra beastieboys beck beckandtheflaminglips beegees benfoldsfive berlinphilharmonicorchestra bernardherrmann bertopisano bethorton betterthanezra billconti billdoss billevans billperkins billyidol billymay billymayandhisorchestra birdie bis bixio frizzi tempera bjork blackbrown blindmelon blondie blueshammer blur boardsofcanada bobdylan bobmould bonobo boredoms bostonpopsorchestra bradfiedel bradmehldau bradspitzbryantari branvan breakbeatera brentspiner brianeno brianreitzellrogerjmann broadcast brokensocialscene brothersjohnson brunonicolai bt buffalospringfield buffalotom buffythevampireslayer burntfriedmanjakiliebezeit burntfriedmanthenudubplayers bustarhymes cafetacuba cake calexico cameo cameraobscura cannibalox cannonballadderleysergiomendes capuano carlcarlton carlysimon carmenvillaniamurri cartoonnetwork catpower catherinespaak cell cescoanselmo cex charlesmingus charliefeathers charliehadenpatmetheny cheeverjloophole chicagosymphonyorchestra chicagoundergroundtrio chingon chriscornell chrisisaak christhomasking christophebeck christopherfranke christophero’riley christophertyng christypiccioni cibomatto clarencecarter classicalthunder claudedebussy clemek clevelandorchestra cliffeidelman clinic clintmansell coil coldcut combustibleedison controlmachete coolio cornelius cornershop countingcrows craigventresco cschulz curtismayfield czechphilharmonicorchestra daedelus daftpunk dallasstringband damonalbarnmichaelnyman dancastellaneta dannakamura dannyelfman dariog davegrohl davegrusin davematthewsband davidarnold davidarnoldkevinkiner davidbell davidbowie davidcarradineandumathurma davidholmes davidkitay davidnewman dazzband deadoralive deathcabforcutie deathinvegas delarosaandasora dennismccarthy devo dexy’smidnightrunners dickdaleandhisdel tones dickhyman digitalunderground dimitrifromparis dinahshore djkrush djshadow djsmash dmitrishostakovich dntel dominicharlan donjulian donaldbyrd donniedarko doristroychaumont drdre dressybessy duncan dustyspringfield dustytrails dynastiecrisis evax earthakitt eastflatbushproject edwardshearmur elastica elbow electricdiva eliacmiral elliotgoldenthal elliotsmith elmerbernstein elvispresley eminem emittrhodes emmylouharrisalisonkraussandgillianwelch englishsymphonyorchestra enniomorricone enochlight ericserra erikaelgen esem esquivel eta everclear explosionsinthesky extendedspirit fxrandomiz fairfieldfour faithless fantasticplasticmachine fatboyslim faust filabrazillia filter fineyoungcannibals fionaapple flacojimenez florindabolkan fluke foofighters fourtet fowlkes francescodemasi francislai francislaipierrebarouh francobixio francodegemini francomicalizzi francopisano frankblack frankmills frankapotente franzwaxman fredbongusto freedompower fumiohayasaka funkstorung futurama gangoffour gapband garbage garyhoey garyjules geinohyamashirogumi genekelly georgedavidweisbobthiele georgemartin georgeshearing geraldfried gershonkingsley gianpiereoreverberi giancarlogazzani gianfrancoplenizio gianniferrio giannioddi ginomarinacciensemble glennnbranca glittermini globalcommunication goblin godspeedyoublackemperor goldenshower gomez googoodolls gorillaz grandaddy greenapplequickstep greenfuture grooverider guidoemauriziodeangelis guineo gunsn’roses gustavholst gyorgyligeti hajimeyoshizawe hal handsomeboymodelingschoolfeaturingtrugoydelasoulanddelthatfunkeehomosapien hankjones hanszimmer happyend harrybetts harrymcclintock hectorvarela helmet homie hooverphonic hotchocolate houstonperson houstonpersonandroncarter howardroberts howardshore hum igres ipulsar idesofspace iggypop inonzur interpol ironandwine irvingberlin isaachayes isaotomita isotope israelkamakawiwo’ole jacquesdutronc jamescartertheprisoners jamesclarke jameshorner jamesnewtonhoward jamiroquai janwernerfxrandomiz japanic jaychattaway jazzanova jeanjacquesperrey jeromepatrickholanchuckberry jerryfielding jerrygoldsmith jet jimo’rourke jimvenable jimwhite jimihendrix jocelynpook joecalicott joegravesthediggers joehisaishi joeporter joelgoldsmith joelmcneeley johnbarry johnhartford johnmcentire johnottman johnpowell johnwilliams johnnycash josephloduca julielondon julien juniopisanojaqueschaumont juno kcthesunshineband kanyewest karate karma kashmir kevinmanthei kevinshields kidloco killbill kingblackacid kingfloyd kirovorchestra klausdoldinger koichisugiyama komeda kontraquartet koolthegang koop ko wrecktechnique kraftwerk kruderdorfmeister kuniomiyauchi larevoluciondeemilianozapa ladytron laloschifrin larasaintpaul laurindoalmeida lcdsoundsystem leeselmocoorchestra leespencerjohnnyklimek leftfield lenvorsterrobertchamberlain leningradphilharmonicorchestra leonardcohen leonardnimoy leonardrosenman leroyholmes lesbaxter lesiman letterstocleo lilychou limpbizkit lionelbelasco lippsinc lithops littlehatjones littlerichard littlewilliejohn loleymanuel londonsymphonyorchestra loustein louisaldebert louisandbebebarron lovespitlove lovemongers ltjexperience luisbacalov lukevibert lulu mdoughty madseason malcolmmclaren mamasthepapas manorastroman manitoba marcoantoniosolis marcyplayground mariamckee mariomolino marionascimbene mariusconstant markdegliantoni markjonathandavis markmothersbaugh marksnow marseillephilharmonicorchestra martindenny martinfry martino’donnellmichaelsalvatori marvingaye marvinhamlisch masamichiamano masarusatoh maserati massiveattack mastercylinder masurusatoh matmos mattmonroe matthewsweet mauricejarre mcgeebros meatpuppets medeskimartinandwood megadeth meikokaji meltorme mellow meloman mercuryrev methodman michaelandrews michaeljackson michaeljohnson michaelkamen microstoria mikepostpetecarpenter mikhailpletnev milesdavis minibosses mkl moby mogwai mohammedrafi moloko molotovvsdubpistols moneymark montrealsymphonyorchestra mooneysuzuki morcheeba morphine mortonstevens mortonsubotnik mouseonmars mrfreddie mroizo mudhoney multisofa mybloodyvalentine mystikal nerd nancysinatra nathanvancleave nationalskyline nautilis neilnorman neilyoung neu neworder newyorkphilharmonicorchestra nickcaveandthebadseeds nico nicolaconte nicolecroisilleanniegirardot nineinchnails ninodeluca nintendo nintendogamecube nirvana nobukazutakemura djspooky noelgallagher noraorlandi normanblake oasis oglio operationphoenix optiganallyyours orbital ornellavanoni oslophilharmonicorchestra outkast oval paolovasile parade patrickdoyle pattismith paulmccartney paulpiot paulvandyk paulwesterberg pavement pearljam peggyleegeorgeshearing pennywise peppinodelucaeimark percyfaithandhisorchestra perrycomo peterhughesorchestra philadelphiaorchestra philharmoniaorchestra philipglass phoenix photek pieropiccioni pieroumiliani pierrebarouh pills pinkandersonsimmiedooley pixies pizzicatofive pjharvey plaid plastilinamoshtoninoc plastycbuddha plug poe poison porterricks portishead prefuse73 pressuredrop primus prince prodigy propellerheads puffy pushbuttonobjects queen quincyjones quincyjonesbillcosby rem radiohead rageagainstthemachine ralphmoore ralphstanley ramones randyedelman raniertrubytrio ratatat ravishankar rayanthony rayparkerjr reccentre redhotchilipeppers redsnapper renegarriguene rentals rickjames rickrizzotarakey rickyford rickynelson riichirohmanabe rilokiley rizortolani rizortolaniandhisorchestra robertjohnson robertwilkins robertopregadio rogermiller rolandvincent romanomussolini ronjones ronisize ronisizereprazent roygerson royorbison royalconcertgebouworchestra royalphilharmonicorchestra royalscottishnationalorchestra rubinmitchell rufuswainwright rundmc russellgunn saintetienne sammybarbotadrianifabi sanfranciscosymphony santaesmeralda sarahmclachlan sarahshannon sarahhannahandleahpeasall savath savalas scandinavianbrassensemble schlammpeitziger scottwalker screamingtrees seanlennon seatbelts sebastientellier senorcoconut sergionilo sheenaeaston shirleybassey shivaree shonenknife sizentner sigurr–s silverapples sirmixalot skeelo skipjames sloan slutaleta smokeymiho snoopdoggydogg snowpony solkaplan sonicyouth sonnystitt soulasylum soulcoughing soundgarden southpark southerncultureontheskids

spacehog spacemen3 spiritualvibes spiritualized squarepusher squirrelnutzippers stlouissymphonyorchestra stgermain stjohnny stangetz stangetzbobbrookmeyer stankenton

startrekhumor stefanotorossi stelviocipriani stephenmalkmus steppenwolf stereolab stevemillerband stevereich stonetemplepilots straightjacketfits straycats stringtheory stuttgartscholacantorum styrofoam suburbanshakedown sunelectric supercar supremebeingsofleisure susievandermeer system syv

teenagefanclub teitowa telex tenaciousd teousuelli theÕs theamps theapplesinstereo thebarkays thebetaband thebreeders thecardigans thecenturians thechemicalbrothers thechurch thecinematicorchestra theclash theclebanoffstrings thecommodores thecoxfamily thedandywarhols thedismembermentplan thedustbrothers theevilgeniusorchestra thefaint theflaminglips theherbaliser thehighllamas thehollywoodpersuaders thehumanbeinz thejesusmarychain thekelleydeal thelaziestmenonmars thelivelyones themercuryprogram themonkees themoogcookbook themountaingoats themutatomuzikaorchestra thenotwist theoffspring theohioplayers theorb theoscarpetersontrio thepizzarellis theposies thepostalservice thepresidentsoftheunitedstatesofamerica therefreshments therentals therevels therza theseaandcake thesimpsons thesmashingpumpkins thesoggybottomboys thestanleybrothers thestaplesingers thestatlerbrothers thestrokes thesudwesfunkorchestra thesundays thesuperplastic thetornados thevelvetunderground theverve thevictorsilvesterorchestra theviscounts thewhites thex ecutioners theymightbegiants thieverycorporation thisheat thomasnewman tied tickledtrio timhardin titanlamalarodriguez torococorot tokyosymphonyorchestra tomjones tomandandy tommieckart tommytallarico tomoyasuhotei tone loc tortoise tosca toulousecapitoleorchestra tounge towatei transam travis trevorjones tricky trottertrio turnon tweak tykwerklimekheil unkle uakti umathurman uncletupelo underworld unwound urgeoverkill vanmorrison vanillajadeandebony velocitygirl verlaines vert verucasalt vibenations viennaphilharmonicorchestra vincegiordanoandthenighthawks vinceguaralditrio wallaceroney waltdisneycompany waltergieseking walterrizzati walterwanderley wandadesah wandadesahsergiomendes wangchung warrant warreng warrenzevon wdrorchestra weezer weirdalyankovic weivedecrepon wildcherry williamshatner wojciechkilar wool worldlesspeople yanntiersen yellowhammer yolatengo yokokanno yoshinorisunahara yo yoma ysayequartet yujikoseki zamfir zerodb

a quixotic endeavor?

returned from florida today. a couple highlights: air’s moon safari. that record gets better everytime i listen to it, like a fine wine that improves with age, or how the fox theatre seems to keep getting cooler just by continuing to exist. every song on that album is a masterpiece.

then there was kish kash, the most recent (2003) basement jaxx album (hey isn’t it time for a new one?). when i first got this one, it took me a while to really get into it and i continue to think that it is drastically uneven in its quality, but, ‘good luck,’  ‘right here’s the spot’ and ‘plug it in’ are among the best tracks in the duo’s catalog. ‘plug it in’ manages to succeed in spite of the n*sync connection.

::

in tunequest news, i figured out how to use excel’s linear regression tools to calculate more precise trendlines.

tunequest graph 6/7/06

as you can see, the results aren’t pretty. this newly-accurate line predicts that i’ll have listened to 12,000 songs by the end of the year, about 2000 short of my goal. and, at the rate i’m going, i’m not weeding enough from my library; i’ll still be 500-1000 short. i guess all i can really do is re-double (quadruple?) my efforts again.

For a drive to Florida

It’s about a 350 mile drive from Atlanta to the florida panhandle (represent!) and it, without fail, rains in alabama every time. That’s not hyperbole; i’ve made the drive there and back 3-4 times a year for the past 4 years and literally, it rains at some point on I-85 or I-65.

as the skies went from downpour to sprinkles along the route to montgomery, my ipod provided a most suitable soundtrack: Saint etienne‘s b-side album fairfax high.

At this point, i don’t really remember how i stumbled upon the band, though i think i may have confused them with etienne de crecy from a remix of air’s ‘sexy boy.’ irregardless of the source, fairfax high was the first saint etienne album i heard (march 2000) and it impressed me enough that i was hooked.

i’ve always liked b-sides and b-side albums because of the new perspective they provide on a band. some of my favorite songs in many bands’ catalogs are b-sides, and saint etienne is no different. ‘hit the brakes’ and ‘hill street connection’ are both standout tracks from this collection.