Friday, September 03, 2004

Random Playlist

I have a somewhat varied and extensive music collection. Much of it is now stored on my PC and I use RealPlayer to manage it. I have been a Real user for a very long time, and I actually license the product, even though they get worse and worse by the day. No matter how bad Real is, they are much better than iTunes, which is the most hateful player and music management experience available.

I don't purchase digital music online anymore because it is encoded in a way I find objectionable. Real, Apple and Napster have become slimey tentacles of the RIAA. The RIAA does for the free market and capitalism what the Vatican did for European Jews in the 1930s: Nothing! The RIAA is one of those organizations working to build socialism for the rich while maintaining an almost cannibalistic free market for the middle-class.

Of all the jukeboxes available, I prefer Real and I use it to generate 80-minute playlists of random music from my library to burn to CD. I think it is a fun way to enjoy my music collection. Sometimes, though, the mix is odd.

I wonder if I will listen to this list twice? Would you?

Comme Moi - Edith Piaf
It Ain't Necessarily So - Ella & Louis
Siren Song - Brave Combo
Flesh And Blood - Roxy Music
(Dawning Of A) New Era - Specials
Jocko Homo - Devo
You Want It Back - Propellorheads
The Twilight Hour - The The
Lorelei - Tom Tom Club
Submission - Sex Pistols
Avenues And Alleyways - Rancid
Rolls Royce & Acid - Jack Nitzsche
Geisha Boys And Temple Girls - Heaven 17
You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
Bernadette - Four Tops
All In Love Is Fair - Stevie Wonder
Love Is Stronger Than Justice - Sting
Heat Wave - Marilyn Monroe
Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody - Judy Garland


I mean, I think my taste is rather eclectic, but this might be a bit TOO eclectic!

Can a random mix include Edith Piaf AND Judy Garland and be considered random? Doesn't there seem to be something oddly UNrandom about that? I dunno. Why did no David Bowie song appear? No Stones. I dunno. It's unlikely I will listen to this mix twice because it includes Sting. I don't really like him; but Mrs. Mac is a big fan, so my library includes most of his work.

Do you use a digital jukebox on your computer? Do you use it to generate random playlists? Do you have one to share? Leave it in the Comments section below.






2 comments:

reef said...

i feel the exact opposite - i've always hated real for music management. i only use them for streaming (obviously), and now for the real store since everything is so cheap there now. itunes is easily the best choice in my opinion, though it doesn't take much to best windows media player.

DM said...

I find that Real has a much better randomization engine. When I program iTunes to give me 80 minutes of music, I will often get 15 songs by only four or five artists. Though Real will sometimes duplicate artists, it never does it as lamely as iTunes.