On Organizing Digital Music Libraries

One of the things that has always bothered me about utilizing my numerous MP3 players is that they never seem to be able to port album art from MP3 player to MP3 player and system to system.

So, needless to say, it's frustrating when synching from one iPod to another and so on. Thanks to Lifehacker and a few of my own tricks, I've been able to find album art very, very quickly when I find holes in my cover art library, whether it's on my Shuffle, my Nano or on my various iTunes library at work or at home.


One of my favorite sites for finding art very quickly is Albumart.org, which serves as a search engine for album art. It indexes everything from blogs, to shopping sites and random web pages to find high resolution art for album covers.

If you're an indie music buff like me Slothradio.com has a nice library that Amazon and the others may not have.

Happy hunting and happy listening.

Video Games: Guitar Hero - Van Halen Edition?

If this rumor became a reality, I'd pee my pants in a fit of joy.

I'm digging for fire.

On the iPod: "Do You Remember?" - Jack Johnson

A user (a Texas A&M Computer Science major named Cole) instant messaged me last night and conducted an informal interview. One of his questions was as to why my bio page was so thin.

Well, I suppose that's because I've done my best to try and keep this page as business as possible, despite the occasional rambling about my engagement, wedding planning or my thoughts on books and film. While it was something I once enjoyed, I don't really care to be the center of attention too much these days.

But since Cole asked me an interesting mix of computer geek and art/music/culture geek questions, I'll go ahead and make that public. Cole and I conducted this little chat via Google Talk yesterday. Here's the transcript, which he graciously allowed me to repost. Thanks for the interesting conversation Cole. Note: Spelling has been corrected, grammar has not.

Cole: Hi Dan. I'm a computer science major in Texas (Texas A&M actually). We're doing this project on CSS in my Web design class and I came across your page thanks to a template you posted in an open source forum. I'm using your personal site as one of five in my case study.

Me: Hi Cole. That's a pretty big compliment, since design is more of a hobby of mine. My job is really content management and programming related.

Cole: Yeah, I saw that on your bio page. I like the design of your site though because it's simple. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me about the site, and some of the things that interest you?

Me: That sort of depends. I'm not big on sharing too much about me.

Cole: Well, I have a theory that a Web designer's personal page is heavily influenced by the media they use and by the Web sites they visit. Would you be willing to answer some questions about that?

Me: Doesn't sound like it will be overly painful. Fire away.

Cole: Awesome. It's pretty apparent that you like music. A lot of different music. Can you give me a top five CDs?

Me: That's like asking me which of my children (not that I have any) I would kill first, but I'll make an effort. (1.) "Pet Sounds" – The Beach Boys, (2.) "A Rush of Blood to the Head" – Coldplay, (3.) "The Moon My Saddle" – Chamberlain, (4.) "Jersey's Best Dancers" – Lifetime, (5.) "World Waits" – Jeremy Enigk/"Aja" – Steely Dan.

Cole: Same kind of list, but with movies.

Me: The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction, A Waking Life, Tape, Kill Bill Vol. 2, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Stagecoach, Melvin Goes to Dinner, The Burbs.

Cole: The Burbs?

Me: Tom Hanks man... his best work ever. Forget Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Big... The Burbs is fantastic.

Cole: Never heard of it.

Me: That's unfortunate. Go get it.

Cole: Any books stand out?

Me: I read non-fiction mostly. Mostly philosophy books by Immanuel Kant, Aristotle. Lately I've been delving back into medieval philosophy though. My fiance can tell you I have an obsession with Thomas Hobbes at the moment, mostly because I think his argument for the State of Nature has a lot of validity to the present state of our world. She'll also probably tell you that she hates whenever I utter the words state of nature.

Cole: Any fiction?

Me: Vonnegut... Salinger, probably all of those insightful writers that most post graduates read to feel liberated, edgy and angry at the world around them. I wasn't all that different than a lot of other upper middle class suburban kids trying to "find the meaning of it all." I was really big into poetics in high school and my first year of college. Frost, Ginsberg, the beats. I was your typical wannabe trendy, arts guy.

Cole: Does that mean you didn't play a lot of sports?

Me: No, actually, I love sports, both playing and watching. I may have been that guy in the coffee house talking up girls with my guitar, but I was also the guy who played every intramural college sport I could get involved in. I also coached soccer for a while. I believe I was really good at one point. I'm a bit more stationary these days, but I do love sports.

Cole: Are you playing any right now?

Me: Does walking my dog count? Ha, no I'm not at the moment. I've been looking at getting back into drop-in hockey, roller hockey, and I'll do a lot of camping/hiking and paddling this summer if I follow through on my plans.

Cole: Outdoorsy then?

Me: Absolutely, I love being outside. I'm big on camping, paddling rivers, in canoes or kayaks. I spent a lot of my summers in northern Michigan, fishing, hiking and getting into trouble. My brother does extreme outdoor sports. I'm much more laid back about it. I enjoy recreational top-rope climbing, some sport climbing, fishing and paddling.

Cole: What are some web sites you visit a lot?

Me: Pingmag.jp is a big one for me. I also visit designobserver.com, typofile.com and a lot of newspaper web sites.

Cole: Any other media we should know about?

Me: Actually, I dig video games too, though I don't play them nearly as much as I did in high school or college. I haven't gone so far as to get an X-Box 360 or a PS3. But I do play my PS2 from time to time. I also have an old Sega Genesis and an original NES that get dusted off from time to time.

Cole: What games specifically?

Me: I play a lot of sports games. Boxing, Hockey, Football and Track and Field. I also like some war strategy stuff. I'm a big fan of the Metal Gear series. Anything that's semi-tactical, I really enjoy.

Cole: Thanks a lot. I'll send you a copy of my report when I'm done.

Me: My pleasure.

On iPod Shuffle

On the iPod: "Grave's Disease" - Matt Pond PA

I'm testing two products today, first is the "Turbo" blend from Burger King. Despite it's claim to be turbo charged with caffeine, I'm not entirely convinced it's all that different from their "regular" blend. Now don't get me wrong, it's not terrible coffee, but I don't get the turbo factor, nor do I find it to be particularly eye opening. I've always been more of a Tim Horton's coffee guy.

The second, and more exciting, is the iPod Suffle. I got one with a gift card that was about to expire. It took two days to get here. I got the orange to match with my Firefox laptop bag. So far, I love it. I put about 190 songs on it last night. My only real gripe is with how long it takes to "sync" the iPod with iTunes. It's frustrating that it takes so long to move the songs from the library to the iPod and that it seems to hang the software.


What I really love is the size of the thing. It's really light, clips to clothing, etc. It eliminates the annoying scratches that are on my older and larger iPod and it's incredibly portable. I normally run my iPod on shuffle anyway, so it's perfect. I can see myself working out, shoveling snow and walking around the office with this iPod. I think my big dog will be used more for organizing and long flights at this point. I'm really happy with the quick $78 purchase.

On music, inspiration.

On the iPod "Unfinished" - Mineral

My drive to work, was the first time I truly felt alone in almost two weeks. Having my fiancé here really reminded me of how having someone important in your life takes your concentration from yourself. And while that's not always a good thing, it was fantastic to be distracted for a few days. I found myself staying further away from the computer, taking a little more time when I ate, enjoying an extra glass of wine and just taking a few minutes to take it all in.

This morning, I sank back into my routine, but the drive was different. I put on some records from my high school years. I listened to Mineral for a good chunk of the trip in on snow covered I-96. It took me back. As I listened, I was reminded of the woman I was dating when I first started listening to the band and then reflected on the woman that ended up meaning the most when I needed that band like air. And after I reminisced for a spell, I listened to the record again, for the first time in years. I listened to the record for what it was, not the emotions I had tied to it.

It was inspiring. The March snow falling, the poetic lyrics of one of my favorite bands being heard again for the first time and my tired mind started allowing wonderful new design ideas to flow forward into my head. When I got to work, I started pouring out code, sketching concepts and building new graphics.

So, I now have a new plan for the rest of this week: Revisit, rewind and redesign. So far, so good.

Happy Monday.

Fate is not always fair.

On the iPod - "Fear is a man's best friend" - Channels

I'm usually not one to get preachy or latch on to causes, but J. Robbins (an amazing person I've met on more than one occasion in my obsession with punk, indie and hardcore) is facing something absolutely horrible. I first met him when he was a member of Jawbox back when I was about 16 and subsequently starting talking with him after shows when his bands, (Burning Airlines, Channels) would play in Detroit.



J. and his wife Janet (two of the founding members of Channels) had their son Callum in January of 2006. As Callum began to develop, he began missing some of those "normal" development milestones. They learned through subsequent visits with specialists that Cal was born with a genetic motor neuron disease called Type 1 SMA, or Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

This disease is a child killer. Most Type 1 babies will die before their second birthday. Those infants who survive into childhood are in for a long road of occupational therapy, wheelchairs, and assistive devices.

As I'm sure you can imagine, J and Janet need some financial assistance. I'm not telling you to do anything, but if you'd like to, visit DesotoRecords.com/cal and do what you can to help or at least get the word out.

I've got maps.

On the iPod "Mr. Ambulance Driver" - The Flaming Lips

One more update for the day before I start watching Sunday night cartoons on Fox. I added myself to Jade Tree Records' MySpace page a few weeks back. A lovely young woman from Pittsburgh made a comment about the photo I had added to said profile while marking my location on the map. After doing a little looking into things, I thought it might be fun to add a map of my own to the Contact area of this site.

Below is a screen capture. Go add yourself if you'd be so kind. I like to know who's eyes are prying. Good night.

More music videos

On iTunes - "Junior Kickstart" - The Go! Team

I was surfing a little bit this evening, stuck on The Go! Team, when I came across the band's video for its fantastic song "Junior Kickstart." Not only is it a great video, it features Ms. Pacman. You just can't get more indie than video games from the 80s.

Happy Saturday.

On the quiet.

On the iPod "Cannons" - Jeremy Enigk

There really is nothing quite like a quiet newsroom. Normally, these are busy, bustling places. People yell, swear, demand copy and hurriedly push news to wires, pages and Internet tools. This morning I walked into a bit of a ghost town. Apparently there is a meeting somewhere that I'm missing. I couldn't be happier.

I quickly linked in the iPod and put on my current musical obsession – which is actually a blast from my past – Jeremy Enigk. His voice has been very soothing to me lately. And to be honest, I haven't been too up on much of the music I used to be so passionate about. I've been less passionate about music in general. Jeremy's latest album "World Waits" has been one of those albums that has reminded me why I began loving music so much in the first place.

It's an ethereal, soaring record with extreme highs and lows. The record is a perfect alone time record for me, so when I had the shot at a quiet newsroom, reflection and Enigk, I jumped. I feel so much better about being here already. Some days I forget how powerful music can be to your psyche. If there is a God, it truly is a special gift.