simple steps to a perfectly crafted music database

I have maintained a digital-only music library since 2003 (which currently boasts over 22,000 songs), and have used iTunes every step of the way. And as much as everyone likes to complain about iTunes - myself included - there are a few simple ways to tweak iTunes and turn it into something much more useful than you'd think. Here is how I organize my iTunes library, which significantly upgrades its functionality and ease of use.

Clean up your artist names:
Make sure that spelling and capitalization is correct for every song by one artist - does your library really need separate artists for "Iron and Wine" and "Iron & Wine"?  This will make sure your iPod won't have those pesky artist duplications. Secondly, consider changing artist names like "The Decemberists" to "Decemberists, The" - although this doesn't really serve a purpose within iTunes (I still think it looks nice), it will help you find your artist's folder more easily on your computer's hard drive when browsing your music library:



Artist associations:
I use the composer field to list bands or band members that are associated with the artist. For instance, in the White Stripes' composer field, I can type Jack White, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather, and do the same for the other bands. That way, when I do an iTunes search for any of those band names (or just the name Jack White) their associations will also appear. I tend to be very methodical about my composer field. For instance, in The Beatles' composer field I have John Lennon listed, but in John Lennon's composer field I don't write The Beatles; because when I'm in the mood for The Beatles, John Lennon will suffice, but not the other way around.

Get rid of those pesky compilations and soundtracks:
Compilations and soundtracks are fun, but they can really mess your iTunes up; a soundtrack with 20 different artists will have 20 different artists on your iPod, and I've never been convinced that the newish iTunes feature of "Album Artist" is worth the effort.  Instead, I have only two artists - "Various Artists" and "Official Soundtrack".  I put the artist's name in the song title with a dash between them (MC Hammer - Can't Touch This) and leave the album as the name of the soundtrack or compilation.  It cleans up the whole album while remaining searchable in iTunes.


cleans up nicely, doesn't it?

Album release dates:
Getting accurate album/song release dates is crucial for setting up playlists. I love creating playlists based on a certain year; it's an instant way to transport yourself to a time period, and subsequent nostalgia. Another great idea is to create a playlist for albums that are from a certain year that you didn't add to your iTunes library at the time. It's a great way to play catchup:



A better way to rate your music:
The iTunes rating system is seriously flawed - five lousy stars are no way to give you an accurate rating of your music.  Instead, I use the BPM (Beats Per Minute) field, and rate my albums 1-100.  If you're not up for rating your music yourself, this system still works because metacritic.com's metascores are from 1-100 as well. Or you can use pitchfork.com's rating system (9.1 = 91). Either way, you can kiss those five stars goodbye. Better yet, you can use them to create a mood.

Create better moods:
Although I'm a fan of iTunes' "Genius" feature, I've been creating my own atmospheric playlists well before its appearance.  Since I have no use for the simple five-star rating system embedded in iTunes, I use it in another way: I use it to refine the intensity of my music.  This helps me to create playlists that are friendly to whatever situation I am in.  One star would be acoustic music fitting for a card game with my wife's parents.  Two stars would be dinner-friendly music.  Three stars would be your average rock band (the majority of my music is three stars).  Four stars would be punk rock or aggressive rock.  Five stars would be heavy metal and hardcore.  That way you can set up a shuffled playlist based on intensity level that won't kill whatever mood you're looking for.

Geography:
I'm very geographically-minded when it comes to music. Therefore, I use the comments section to list the location of bands (city, state, country). This allows me to set up Smart Playlists based on location - all Canadian bands, all NYC bands, etc - which creates an interesting variable when selecting music. This may seem like a lot of work, but it becomes second nature to check on a band's location while checking Wikipedia for accurate track listings or album release dates.

Create an constantly-interesting playlist:
Here's a sure bet, using all of the features found in this article. Make a playlist of songs with a BPM ("rating") over 80, and hasn't been listened to in the last two months, and hasn't been skipped in the past six months. After that, you can set other variables (location, intensity) as you see fit:



That's it! With these simple steps (and ensuring you have accurate tags every time you add new music to your library), you'll soon have an iTunes library that's worth its weight in gold.

Fact! Games are becoming increasingly robust. Open worlds are taking over as the norm in gaming, so much so that anything that's linear gets a bad rap. How many trolls were in a uproar over Final Fantasy XIII and its extreme linearity? Approximately one cubic butt-ton.

I have one small issue with creating open environments in games, which is that they often lack consequence. For example, I've been playing Batman: Arkham Asylum lately, where you have one helluva night on Arkham Island. There are some moments of tension, like when Commissioner Gordon is captured and you have to find and free him. As you race to find him before they start pulling out his fingernails and pubic hair (at the same time, mind you), the game's deliberate open world simply has too many options. Instead of jumping to the next area, I was tempted to scour Arkham's grounds for clues and secrets, all of which are placed there by the game to distract you. Any time you find a secret item or solve a riddle, you get experience points, which better prepares you for the battles ahead, so why shouldn't I find them all?

I've spent several key minutes - nay, hours - combing ridiculous places for stupid question mark icons. During that whole time, Gordon could have ended up fingernail-free, and there was no consequence for my tardiness. Sure, Batman would grumble to himself, "I've got to find Gordon!" every few minutes, but apparently, he could wait. I had secret treasures to find!

The same thing happened to me while playing the most-excellent Shadow Complex. I played it all the way to the point of fighting the end boss, and then took two hours off to explore the rest of the game's environment. That's a total tension-killer, son. I find this a lot in games, and it's annoying. Shouldn't the developers time these exploration elements a little better? Have a lull in the storyline and allow you to do your research at that point. The way it is now, I feel like I have too much freedom to do whatever the hell I want - which ultimately reminds me that I'm simply playing a "game" - and as games get more immersive, this isn't a good thing.

I finished Heavy Rain yesterday, and it was a fine, fine experience. It was a thoroughly rewarding feeling to see all of my characters make it through without a premature death. The story was functional, and a little more conventional than the ridiculous reveal of Indigo Prophecy. I can't wait to play it again and see all the different directions I can go within each scene.

But what troubles me is just how freaking racist this game is. I chalk it up to the fact that the Frech-based developers Quantic Dream don't quite understand the intricacies of race here in the United States, and some shoddy localization (further demonstrated in voice acting that was all over the place). Two examples:



1. Mad Jack. The moment this guy jumps down from his bulldozer (what a weird mix, chop shop and junkyard - this guy can do it all!), he calls my character a cracker. Being a cracker myself, I've heard that word from time to time, but not with that much pure hate for a perfect stranger. Considering that this game is set a year into the future, maybe reverse-racism will have reared its ugly head by then?



2. Paco Mendez. This fucking guy. I'm okay with him being a pervert (you know, the kind that is okay with achieving sexual fulfillment at gunpoint), but does he have to have such a sleazy, ridiculous hispanic accent? And don't get me started on his outfit. Lemme guess, he climbed the ranks of organized crime to own a nightclub by being the best dressed guy around?

Other than that, great game.

My site, theeasymode.com, is currently giving away three beta codes for Blur on the Xbox 360. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Good luck!

Me, back when I was a little blonde girl.

If there was one invention that I could make, after a bonafide holodeck complete with a sex room, it would be the ability to keep our hair from growing. I absolutely abhor my triweekly ritual of haircutting - the blubbering directions, the tension, that almost-boner-inducing hairwashing (depends on the stylist, of course). I'd trade it all in for the ability to not cut my hair.

Before you ask - I have to keep my hair short for work, so I can't just forgo the whole thing. And no, I'm not quitting my job.

Most of the problem is my fault, I'll admit that. I have some weird rules - no dudes (nullifying most barber shops), and no super girly places. So I find myself going to those chain salons - Hairmasters, Supercuts, etc - which we all know is not the place that masters of hair go, nor is it the place to go for a super cut.

Today my wife, young child and I ran to the nearest Hairmasters for a quick cut at 11am, when the mall opened; we got there are 1105 only to be greeted with a line of ten people and one stylist working. We then drove home because I had to record our podcast at 1200 and silly me for thinking an hour was enough time to get a haircut! We went BACK to the mall (I know, like one time at a mall in one day isn't enough, right?) at 4pm only to be greeted by a packed-full parking lot and a bunch of angry Marylanders. After much driving and walking, I got my hair cut by a very nice lady at Hairmasters.

Best thing about my adventure? Although the stylist was very nice, she gave me a totally shitty haircut.

My wife bought a Flowbee on Amazon when we got home. More to follow. Maybe.

I wasn't a fan of red wine until recently, but that changed when I visited Italy a couple of months ago. Also, two fun facts:

1. I hate it when beer gets warm, and since red wine is already served warm, it never goes bad while you drink it.

2. As far as I can tell, there's no such thing as "wine shits".

Since getting back from Europe, my wife and I have been experimenting with various red wines. Our only rule is that we're trying to buy bottles that are under $10. We tried out all of the Yellowtail brand wines (too sour), and we read about this brand called Red Diamond, based out of Washington state. I spent the first 20 years of my life in Washington, so we decided to try it out.

It has a sweet initial taste and it goes down really smoothly. That's about the extent of my wine tasting skills. We're a quarter of the way through the bottle. More to come. Maybe.