Trivial Matters

There were actually two benefits that came out of my music drive going to sh*t.

The first was finally weeding out some old duplicate tracks that I had been carrying around. Back in 2002, when I was deployed, I copied about 5 CDs of MP3s off of a shared music server on base. Most of the tracks had poor tags (missing track names, album names, etc.) and over the years, I acquired many of the tracks through legitimate means. The record companies can rest assured that my music collection has quite a few less pirated tracks.

The second benefit was being able to redo my main playlist. I like to use the party shuffle feature when I’m working (like now) and I use a playlist to narrow down the library to just the tracks I want to hear. Right now, the playlist of 1671 tracks out of 5792 total. But I’m wondering if there is a way to optimize this further.

I use a “top 50″ playlist on my running iPod, and I want to try and keep it as accurate as possible. The problem is that I still have duplicate tracks in my library. Some are songs that are on more than one album, but most are live tracks that I also have a studio version of. I’m wondering if there is a way to program iTunes to combine the play counts of all of the related tracks and put the most played of the duplicates into my Top 50.

For example, I have three copies of Everlong by the Foo Fighters. Two are studio tracks (from the original The Colour And The Shape and the re-released extended 10th anniversary edition) and one is a live version off of Skin and Bones. If I play all three on a regular basis, say Sudio Version 1 - 10 times, Studio Version 2 - 12 times, and Live Version - 8 times, how can I get just Studio Version 2 in my Top 50 with a total play count of 20?

I’m sure I can find a way to exclude duplicates from the Top 50, but that would not help if track 50 was played 15 times. Then all three versions of Everlong would be excluded for bieing under 15 plays individually.

I’ll do some searching tomorrow and see what I can find. If anyone has some ideas, post them below.

Today is the day when 94.7 announced the top album. I knew it was going to be Nirvana’s Nevermind, but my other picks were a bit off. Blood Sugar Sex Magic did not break the top five, coming in at #12. However, The Joshua Tree came in at a very respectable #3, and the Unplugged album from Nirvana wound up at #9.

You can find the entire list here.

Apparently 1000 out of 3000 people picked the correct album along with me, so here’s hoping I win. I’ve already got some of the albums, but wouldn’t mind adding the rest to my collection.

I really should be sleeping, but my mind is still awake…

A few weeks ago (or has it been months by now) the local Alternative Rock station started soliciting votes for the top alternative albums of all time. Each listener was allowed to log on to the website and select three albums. Then they started playing the top 94, two per day until they broke the top 20 and now it is one per day.

I don’t get to listen to the station as work, so I miss most of the albums as they are announced, and have to go to the site to catch up on the list. Overall, it’s a decent list. They’re only up to number 14, so I’m curious to see how the top ten plays out, though I’m pretty sure I know what album is going to be number one.

When they announced the whole thing, it was stated that everyone who voted would be entered into a drawing to win all 94 CDs. Then, as they got somewhere in the 30s, they changed it so that you had to submit a guess as to which album is number 1. I don’t know if this was an attempt to weed down the supposed 16,000 original entries, but it does seem kinda unfair. It also seems kinda pointless, because if I’m correct in my assumption about the number 1 album, then I’d guess 90% of the people who entered share my prediction.

I also have some issue with the fact that some of the albums that made it have only been out for months (or weeks when the voting actually took place). Specifically, Coldplay’s Viva La Vida (48) and Death Cab for Cutie’s Narrow Stairs (79). I’ll admit, they are great albums. Viva La Vida, in particular, may turn out to be Coldplay’s best album, but it still remains to be seen.

You see, for an album to be named “best of all time,” they have to have been out for some.. oh, I don’t know… time! Personally, I think a 5 year minimum should have been ennacted, which would eliminate 19 of the albums currently listed. Again, they are not bad albums, but they haven’t been allowed to age yet.

I’m holding out hope for another Foo Fighter’s album to make the list, but I doubt any of the remaining ones would have scored higher than The Colour and the Shape (26). I’m guessing we’ll see The Joshua Tree next week, and perhaps Nirvana Unplugged. I also haven’t seen Blood Sugar Sex Magic, which might break the top five.

I haven’t contributed to the FAQs in a while, so here’s another.

WTF? I’ve been searching for “pub quiz” on Google and your blog came up, but you left me hanging after the Bingo Round. What gives?

Sorry about that. It’s been kinda busy around here, and there were some other things I wanted to talk about for a while.

Ok. All is forgiven. Just don’t tell me that I have to listen to quizzers sing in this round.

Nope. (Unless you really want to.)

So I just play a bunch of songs and have people write down the names?

Sure. That’s one way to do it. Of course, you don’t want to play the enire song. 1) It’ll be way too easy and 2) it’ll take way too long. You want to play just enough that the average quizzer can keep singing the song in their head and come up with the answer. It’s best to play a verse rather than a chorus because the title of the song is usually in the chorus.

How many times should I play the clip?

Like in any other round, you want to repeat the “question,” which in this case is the clip itself. But don’t play them back-to-back. Give the players a chance to work it out, then announce that you are going to repeat the clip so that they can pay attention.

Should I ask for the name of the song, the artist, or both?

That’s up to you. In my name that tune round, I played all cover songs and announced the artist that was singing in the clip. Then I asked for the name of the song and the original artist. It all depends on your style and theme of the quiz.

Another variation would be to announce the title and artist, play the clip, and then ask a follow-up question. Or have them complete the lyric. Or ask a totally unrelated question (but that would be kinda confusing… and a little mean).

Is there any way to set up my computer to play just the clip if I don’t have mp3 editing software?

If you’re using iTunes, then yes. I don’t know about other players, but I’m sure if you look around you’ll find something similar to the iTunes function.

In iTunes: First listen to the song and write down the timestamps for the beginning and end of the clip. Then, right-click on the song and select “Get Info.” Under the “Options” tab, you should see a start and stop time field. Check the boxes and enter the timestamps from before. Go back and play the clip again to make sure everythign it there. (The display will only give minutes and seconds for the timestamp, but you can tweak it by tenths of a second in the individual fields.)

It’s best to create a playlist with you clips, and uncheck all of the boxes to make sure they only play one at a time. Also, when you’re done, you have to go back and clear the start and stop time fields and uncheck those boxes to return the song to normal playing.

Any other tips?

If you are doing this in a public place, make sure you have a decent sound system. It’s unlikely that everyone there is playing, so they won’t be polite enough to shut their traps during the round. You want something loud and clear.

With all of the hype over Quantum of Solace, there’s been little play (or mention) of the theme song. Jack White and Alicia Keys were called in to replace the downward-spiral that is Amy Winehouse, and managed to pull off a catchy tune.

The local alternative radio stationin Portland, which plays a Jack White song about once in three, instantly dismissed it because of Keys’s involvement. Now there’s a story on Time naming it one of the worst Bond themes of all time. I don’t buy that. I think once people get in the theater, hear the song, and watch the movie, it will click and it’ll start getting some airplay and well-deserved respect.

Is it the best Bond theme? No. To me, Garbage’s “The World Is Not Enough” is my favorite, with “Live and Let Die” in a close second. But I think the new one is growing on me.

(And Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name” was decent too.)