It turned out to be much easier than expected to reindex my music. If you recall, the basic problem was that the ID3 v1 tags on all my tunes were not being understood by iTunes so I needed to redo hose tags as ID3 v2.
The tool to do this work has a conversion option... I didn't know this, and I feel silly for being so histrionic about it.
Still, I know now.
The biggest delay in this work was transferring the retagged files from azathoth back onto ithaqua. Given that there is ~8Gb of music involved here, that took a wee while. Getting the reindexed music onto the iPod was much quicker.
And now I can listen to music by artist or album rather than by chance. Much more pleasant.
Posted by Dunx at June 2, 2004 04:46 PM
Oh, stop being so anal about your music. For two reasons. One - you've not converted all your vinyl to MP3 yet, and secondly, you don't have a copy of this...
http://www.hyperactive-stage.co.uk/blister.mp3
The reason I bought a CD burner several years ago was so I could burn all my vinyl to digital. However many years later it is, I've still not burned as much as a single to CD. I like vinyl too much. *crackle, pop, shhhhhh*
Actually, I'm just jealous because I can't afford an iPod (or indeed, an iBod (http://www.hyperactive-stage.co.uk/bod.html)).
Still, at least I don't have that problem of walking around with white headphones on. Those white headphones saying "Hey - mug me for my iPod"
:-)
Vinyl is great. The owning of CDs is great. The "travelling thinking 'I wish I was listening to **** by ****' - but I can't, but I will when I get home tonight' and then pissing the wife off by blaring out Half Man Half Biscuit's "Some Call It Godcore" when I get home at 3am" is all part of loving music.
The iMod is simply an extra tool to allow you to make listening to music easier. Listening to music isn't meant to be easy. It's meant to be difficult. It's meant to cause rows at home. It's ROCK 'N' ROLL for God's sake.
Maybe indexing MP3s on the iPlod is something that policemen do. Or, alternatively, it's one step up from having your albums (vinyl or CD) in alphabetic order (either by band or by title - it's up to you).
When it comes down to it, all men over the age of 28 should read "High Fidelity" before criticising anyone else's use of music. (I use the phrase "use of music" advisedly, as it's a more addictive drug than any opiate)
Anyway, good luck with indexing your "They Might Be Giants" albums. I'll keep on trying to index my Blue Oyster Cult albums. (They're playing London next week! Hurrah!)
Love,
Rich.
Perhaps I should have said "labelling". As long as the tracks are properly labelled, the iPod does the indexing.
After all, I'm sure you label your tapes carefully so you can at least tell what it is you're listening to?
As it happens, I don't have any vinyl any more. One of my last acts before I left Britain was to tape my vinyl onto decent quality tape so I could digitise it at some appropriate point (although that point has not been reached yet). The discs themselves are sitting on a shelf in my parents' house, unless they've done the decent thing and sold them by now. I don't even own a record player.
My usual iPod listening phones are a pair of ear-covering Philips ones that are a lot more comfortable to wear for hours on end. Although I bought the iPod for running, I haven't ever used it for that and I haven't worn the white ear buds in public since I moved house!
But these points are merely dancing around the central issue, which is that I use music differently to you. I think a lot of the music you have is fantastic, but music is just not as central to my being as it is to you. I like music, but I could live without it.