• 
  200710010600: 32579 songs
  Finished
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  200709270600: 27926 songs
• 
  200709182054: 26118 songs
• 
  200709032054: 21605 songs
• 
  200708262201: 18567 songs

Grand Perspective

I started the project with Disk Inventory X, but switched to Grand Perspective. It is faster for rendering, but doesn't have quite the navigation features.

The Global Marketplace
I'm selling CDs that I don't feel some deep attachment towards. My venue is Amazon Marketplace. Here's a map of where these things are selling.
View Larger Map

Tiny Mix Tapes
There is something very different about encoding every CD I have and my nostalgia for making a mix tape. A friend recently pointed me to iMixes on iTunes. I'm not sure I get the point of the iMix. Digital music makes the experience a lot easier, but I'm not sure it doesn't make it less rich too. When I made an analog mix tape, I had to plan out a list, track down the songs, set up my equipment (maybe borrow another tape deck from my friend if the only source was another analog cassette), check for level on nearly every song, cue up the song (more work than it seems), and then make some guess as to whether the last song might fit on the tape. Of course, all of this was in real time. A 90 minute tape took at least 120 minutes to make, probably closer to double that. I also could not multitask. My stereo was in use and I couldn't get up to do something else and make it back to change songs. So, I listened on my headphones (the very best pair of Sony's I could afford at the time) and I listened again. I knew these songs. I knew the liner notes. I knew the bands. Now, in a digital world, I don't have to do that. Too bad. Info snacking is part of our entertainment. We don't have to go to Wax Trax to dig through the stacks of dividers to find the "See Also" underneath The Chruch's divider to realize that Hex was a two year side project. We can use everything online to find out just enough data to make sure that we don't have to spend too much time with Dirty Three's back catalog or decide if Trashmonk really is a continuation of the Dream Academy.

On the other hand, digiterati does make it possible to have a strange connection with the artist. Miracle Legion keeps plugging along supported by a cadre of loyal fans. Maybe it is worth it, maybe not.

During the encoding project, I've been taking a chance to listen to this back catalog. I'm certainly not listening to everything (CD to MP3 is a lot faster than real time). I get to travel back and listen again. So far, it's been nostalgic and remained fun.

Stumbling Along
I didn't pay much attention to Cover Flow until I started the encoding project. After the project started, I found myself using it more and more. It's a little frustrating because in the name of progress, Apple has changed the behavior of iTunes. In previous versions, the correct level of ID3 tags inside the MP3 file would allow pictures to be stored in the file. Pretty nifty. Data, meta data, all in the same file. With iTunes 7, Apple has decided to build a somewhat proprietary database of album cover art. Apple still shows their fascination with the file system as database, but the "*.itc" file is a JPG or PNG with additional data stored at the front of the file. You would need a hex editor to see the data. So I downloaded one called 0xed. Here's a snapshot of one of the *.itc files.

There are some folks out there trying to provide tools for the new format, but so far, I don't think they've worked so well. The hard part about iTunes 7 is that the old MP3 files will keep their images in the MP3 file, while tracks that use the "Get Album Artwork" from within iTunes will retrieve an image from Apple controlled servers and then store it in the new format buried on your file system.

This is important because it makes harder to share your MP3 library from a common disk source. Each separate iTunes will retrieve it's own artwork, duplicating much of your work. When possible, I've been trying to provide my own images and have them stored in the files. Tracking down artwork isn't easy, but the usual suspects help: Amazon, Google. However, a couple of good sources include Amazon UK (they often have the imports that Amazon doesn't have screen shots of), All Music guide, and the Eyesore database for the 4AD portions of my collection.

I use Cover Flow to track down albums that need album art. I also use Cover Flow with various sorts to uncover duplicate songs. When an album cover shows up several times, I could have multiple copies, or the album could be miscategorized as "Compilation". For iTunes, "Compilation" means multiple artists, not greatest hits collections.

The "Find Duplictes" inside of iTunes has been disappointing. It seems to find tracks with the same title, but not really duplicates. Here's an example of a true duplicate buried next to several different versions of the same titled song.

I tried MrClean, but it ran forever and didn't seem to find much. I've thought about writing a simple for loop around my mp3 storage device and building an md5sum check of each file. However, I haven't taken that step yet.

I've started using Disk Inventory X to help me understand the relative size of the directories. This has helped me clear out directories that iTunes did not remove while it kept my library organized. I've also found unusually large directories and with further exploration, removed duplicate copies.

During the encoding project, I've been using Delicious Library to inventory my library. This helps me decide if I should sell my CDs once they get encoded. See resources for more links.

When I get odd information from Delicious Library, I often go to GEMM to double check prices. GEMM reassures me that in a free market, if you can sell it to the right audience, you can charge what you want.

Resources

1. 0xed - http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/development_tools/0xed.html
2. Eyesore - http://eyesore.no/
3. Cover Flow at Apple - http://www.apple.com/itunes/jukebox/coverflow.html
4. MrClean - http://www.arcobaleno2001.it/
5. Delicious Monster - http://www.bruceandmo.com/b/gear/DELICIOUS-MONSTER/
6. GEMM - http://www.gemm.com

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