Nothing makes me happier than stupid projects. I've mentioned before that I am currently working on copying my old VHS movies to DVD (I'm still having trouble getting around that whole "protected content" issue, but I should finish just in time for DVDs to become outdated thanks to Blu-Ray) and I previously completed updating my iTunes library - making sure all songs had the correct title, artist, track number, album info and cover art. While I was updating this information I also took the time to individually rate my entire iTunes library catalog. Now, when I told my friends I was doing this most of them commented that didn't even know that this was an option, but not only did I want to give every song a star rating (1-5), I put some thought into my rating system. I wouldn't want to give a song a high rating, only to be sick of it in three months and cursing myself for stupidly thinking that some new song would stand the test of time. Here was the system I came up with for rating my library:
* - Song beds, audio clips: Stuff I used when I worked in radio that I just have never bothered to get rid of.
** - Comedy clips, poor-quality recordings, stuff I downloaded for other people: This stuff is usually from my early downloading days, before I would take the time to make sure this was the best copy I could get, or songs I don't like but don't want to delete, just in case.
*** - Good songs, not great: I played it conservatively and so this was where the majority of my music ended up.
**** - Either fantastic songs I have liked for at least 5 years or good songs by a trusted band: Not a lot of songs managed to get ranked this high. (Even now I'm debating giving "Sultans of Swing" a four-star rating. I must have done that during the height of baseball season.)
***** - My favorite songs by my favorite bands: Without looking I would estimate that only 15 songs out of over 1,000 made the cut for a five-star rating. It really is the best of the best.
I had a reason for doing this, I swear. The thing about me is that I, like the majority of the world, am sick of most of my iTunes library. 75% of my library consists of songs that got old really fast, I bought on an impulse or I downloaded because they reminded me of an ex-girlfriend and I was in a self-pitying kind of mood. However, that remaining 25% is made up of some great music that I never get sick of hearing. Now, the current iTunes "DJ" option, which I have talked about on a previous post, kind of sucks. It won't allow you to skip over songs; it just bumps the song on the list you would rather hear to the top. Meanwhile, those songs you're in no mood to hear just stay in line, lurking. But, there is an option that you can click on which reads "Play higher-ranked songs more often." So, I thought that by going through and actually ranking my songs, I would bring the 25% of my library to the front more often.
You know what I discovered? It doesn't matter in the slightest. The five-star songs bubble up just as often as the two-star songs. Apparently, the rating system is only there for my own personal use. Clearly my iTunes doesn't take it into account, otherwise songs that I haven't listened to all the way through since 2008 wouldn't come up as much as "Dream On" by Aerosmith. So, take it from me - unless you want to dazzle your friends with how much of a music snob you can be when it comes to the music that you already own - you can skip taking the time to rate your iTunes library.
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