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Genre's not for everyone

cleversimon:

I have 45 GB of music in my iTunes library.

I don’t really use the Genre tag

How do you keep your music library organized?

Or rather, Genre is only useful if you LISTEN within genres.

If, instead, you are the sort of person who is content to shuffle among SONGS YOU LIKE then Ratings are what matter.

In this case I recommend creating two (smart) playlists:

  • Songs I Like (rating = greater than ★★★)
  • Songs to Rate (rating = less than ★)

It will be useful to spend an evening starring some of your favorite songs so that “Songs I Like” contains some content.

When you are in a task-oriented mood, listen to “Songs to Rate”, and rate-as-you-listen. This can work while driving if you have a dashboard cradle for your iPod/iPhone.

Recommended ratings:

★★★★★ = favorite; never a letdown

★★★★ = like very much

★★★ = fine enough

★★ = novelty songs and deep album cuts; hard drive space is cheap

★ = delete me

Plan on spending two years actively rating songs before you can start to have a decent handle on your collection. (I’ve been rating mine for five.)

I currently use nested versions of these smart playlists to give me greater control.

For the Road (aka “Songs I Like”) meets ANY of the criteria:

  • playlist <is> Recent Faves
  • playlist <is> Old Faves
  • playlist <is> All-Time Faves
Recent Faves meets ALL the criteria:
  • rating <is greater than> ★★★
  • last played <is not in the last> 1 week
limited to 500MB <sorted by> most recently added

Old Faves meets ALL the criteria:
  • rating <is greater than> ★★★
  • last played <is not in the last> 6 months
limited to 200 MB <sorted by> random

All-Time Faves meets ALL the criteria
  • rating <is greater than> ★★★★
  • last played <is not in the last> 3 months
  • last skipped <is not in the last> 3 months
limited to 100 MB <sorted by> most often played

Hot List (aka “Songs to Rate”) meets ANY of the criteria:

  • playlist <is> Recent Rate Me
  • playlist <is> Rate Me (Random)
  • playlist <is> Lost and Unrated
Recent Rate Me meets ALL the criteria:
  • rating <is less than> ★
  • last skipped <is not in the last> 1 week
limited to 500MB <sorted by> most recently added

Rate Me Random meets ALL the criteria:
  • rating <is less than> ★
  • playlist <is not> Recent Rate Me
limited to 200MB <sorted by> random

Lost and Unrated meets ALL the criteria:
  • rating <is less than> ★
limited to 100MB <sorted by> least often played

That all said, I myself DO use thinly-sliced Genre tags to create thematic smart playlists. I also use del.icio.us-style tags in the Info field for the same purpose.

But then, in the 90s I used to program my mixtapes using Filemaker.

So bear in mind who you are dealing with.

  1. willotoons answered: I swear this man & you were separated at birth or something. Or maybe your new alter ego is named Dick? So appropriate.
  2. hagwaar reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    old Data. Time to start over…
  3. factchecker reblogged this from nostrich
  4. osakasteve reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    Richard Dunlop-Walters
  5. Charlene answered: I prefer listening to genres and radio, not just specific artists. I dig Last.fm, Sirius, and XM, bot iTunes nor illegal downloads.
  6. kbkarma answered: My organisation method is simple. Music folder, containing folders for artists, which contain folders for albums. On an external HD.
  7. kubi reblogged this from cleversimon and added:
    do: (in response to cleversimon) 1) Genres: I only use the broadest names for my genres. Jazz, Rock, Electronic,...
  8. flemieux reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    Very interesting post
  9. mrdarcymurphy answered: Here’s what I do: iTunes to organizes my music on an external drive, then I sync anything 3 stars or better to my iPod - about 4GB of music.
  10. qualls answered: Agreed! If your tastes are fluid, you should be constantly trying new things anyway. Save favorites, and ditch the rest.
  11. alexpornota reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    I see your point, nostrich, and I guess that’s my reasoning behind not having a hard disc iPod, but instead relying on...
  12. romancandles reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    I do this. More out of an obsessive compulsive impulse than disk space, but still. What do y’all think?
  13. alancfrancis reblogged this from nostrich
  14. jeffgiddens answered: i use my ipod as the organizer. I think of itunes as the main library, and what is on my ipod as what i have “checked out”.
  15. lilzet answered: Oh, good. This is what I do. Solidarity.
  16. pootytang reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    I love it. I would never delete anything (I’m a horder, I’ll admit) but removing it from itunes sounds like a great...
  17. eush reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    cleversimon’s post. Read...whole thing. This may...several...
  18. respondr reblogged this from jhnbrssndn and added:
    going from 200+GB down...20GB. A 20GB library...essentially...
  19. cheerschopper reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    agree with “just fucking...certain extent. And, actually,iTunes can be very helpful with...
  20. teejayhanton answered: I need to delete some, but really enjoy hitting “shuffle” and just listening. I keep a couple “fave” playlists, but am otherwise unorganized.
  21. praavda answered: too much text, nostrich
  22. jhnbrssndn reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    Although RDW merely hints at the autism which is hard-wired into the male brain, and hence explains why a lot of men...
  23. thinkdrastic answered: I ignore Genre. I make sure the Artist, AIbum Artist and Compilation tags are correct. I sort with “Album by artist”. And playlists are fun.
  24. jakec reblogged this from nostrich and added:
    do this, keep my library under 4GB...regularly listened
  25. inthefade answered: I’m so hopelessly behind on organizing that I gave up and just shuffle my way through my music.
  26. nostrich reblogged this from cleversimon and added:
    My advice regarding library organization is always unpopular and always ignored, but hear me out here: delete most of...
  27. tbmimsthethird answered: Simple, easy album playlists. Scroll until you find something you love but forgot you had. Press play. (And screw shuffle.)
  28. chrisereneta reblogged this from cleversimon and added:
    Or rather, Genre is only useful if you LISTEN within genres. If, instead, you are the sort of person who is content to...
  29. jebro answered: Poorly.
  30. snarkysarah answered: I’ve found customizing genres first (e.g. a “rawr punk” and “old-school” punk instead of all-encompassing “punk”) is a great first step!
  31. theseinfeldchronicles answered: I like the genre tag. I organize by album. Definitely use the compilation tag. It will help with soundtracks, mixes, etc.
  32. delgrosso answered: My iTunes library is >400GB. Genres are your friend, trust me.
  33. kurafire reblogged this from cleversimon and added:
    Couldn’t fit this...a Tumblr-answer: I organize...as...
  34. Susan answered: Use Pandora, free the memory!
  35. christopherattle answered: Really broad genres and consistent Artist names. Clear out anything ‘feat.’ another artist — the primary artist gets the billing
  36. weselec answered: Genre tags are the clear first step but are useless alone. Smart playlists that reference other smart playlists will help you refine.
  37. ryannerocha answered: I’ve got a 48 GB library and I don’t find myself needing any more organization than browsing by artist.
  38. hellamike answered: I spent days organizing my 67 GB library and it’s finally where I want it. I use genre tags, and smart playlists.
  39. valhallaisland answered: 5 stars for songs I love, no stars for anything less. Two listening options: shuffle on highest rated smart playlist or shuffle on music.
  40. yhf answered: Ratings, and playlists based on the five different ratings. I use 2 through 5 - 5 is must-have on the ipod, and on down. YMMV.
  41. rachelarogers answered: I don’t. *sheepish grin*
  42. steelopus answered: First figure out what specific task you’re trying to accomplish, then tag your files to reach that goal. Don’t tag for the sake of tagging.
  43. cleversimon posted this