iTunes and Your Tunes

[opus]

Anyone here use iTunes? Do you have an iMix posted on the iTunes store? If so, would you want to share it here?

I think getting to know people's music choices is a good way of getting to know them.

Here's mine (the only iMix I've made so far):

Kelly's Summer Drivin' iMix

[DownByFive]

I don't use iTunes, but my Winamp playlist usually has lots of Chevelle, Incubus, A Perfect Circle, Tool, and maybe some Nonpoint in it at all times.

[almo]

No I tunes here. I use an MD player, and my computer.

Lets see what have I been into as of late???

Wide Wale, Cocteau Twins, r.e.m., and a bit of Matmatah.

Now for stuff you may actually know, I have been listening to: K. D. Lang and some Tracy Chapman.

Thanks for askin' Kelly!

[opus]

OK, since some of you may not be able to get to my playlist, I'll tell ya that Muse and Keane have spent much time in my ears recently. But my playlist doesn't include much of their stuff, simply because I like to listen to their entire CDs.

My playlist is a whole lot of 2005 "alternative" ... not too dark, just a bit melancholy, lots of guitar, and they've gotta have decent voices.

Here are some of the songs:
Fade Out - Pappalee
In the Shadows - The Rasmus
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
Daughters - John Mayer
Collide - Howie Day
Run - Snow Patrol
L'amour á 3 - Stereo Total
They - Jem
Do You Realize - The Flaming Lips
Karaoke Soul - Tom McRae

Also, just because I love the songs:
One - Faith Hill
White Flag - Dido
I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders

AND, to round it out with a bit of a happy beat:
Aserejé - Las Ketchup
Let's Get Loud - JLo
Ain't It Funny - JLo


Plus 3 Keane and 1 Muse. Just gotta inject any playlist with a bit of them.

[Asylum Steve]

I don't have enough money right now to get an mp3 player, let alone the Rolls Royce iPod, but I did get a great notice form Comcast a couple of weeks ago, informing me of their Rhapsody online streaming radio (and music download) service.

The basic player (software) and radio service is FREE to Comcast customers, and it includes about 80 commercial-free music stations, so I'm like a kid in a candy store. And of course they list artist, song, and album titles, so it's great for discovering new tunes...

[another view]

Being the technological genius that I am , I couldn't get the MP3 player I bought to work so I just returned it. It was an iRiver flash player, but it would cut songs out part way thru, and skip sometimes. How can it do that when the file plays fine burned to CD or right off the PC? Didn't need the headache... Thought it would be perfect for learning songs my band is doing rather than burning tons of CD's with a couple songs on them each. Thought wrong!

Cocteau Twins? Haven't heard that name in awhile! REM? Know it well.

I have a 2300 mile road trip coming up next month so I need to start looking for stuff to listen to on the way! I listen to a lot of different things, some of my favorites are (no particular order) The Pretenders, Rush, The Who, Emmylou Harris, Jazz in general (not elevator music type ) and James McMurtry (thanks Brian!).

[almo]

The Cocteau Twins is something I got from PJ, but I have been an REM loyalist for more than 13 years. Since my early teens. I am curently up to 33 rem cd's, and 34 is in tha mail!

[Vanessa6959]

I use iTunes on occasion, but have no idea how to create an iMix. I do like how you can sample songs for various radio stations, however...I usually just use it to add songs to my mp3 player -- it's a must-have if you spend a lot of time in the car.
Nessa

[opus]

to create an iMix, you just make a playlist on the side of your iTunes, then drag songs to it from either the store or from your library. You don't have to own the song to put it in your iMix. Then, when you've got the songs you want in your playlist, highlight the playlist and then go to the menu (above) and under "File", there is an option to "Create an iMix". Click on that and follow the directions.

It's really easy.

[Dzerzhinski46]

Since I don't have iTunes, I guess I'll just rattle off what I listen too. Coldplay, Pink Floyd, The Derailers, Leo Kottke (though not for a while), Beetles. Bach and Handel are always good too when I am feeling mellow. And of course when my mom is not too near the computer (because of the "shouting" as she calls it ), Led Zepplin, and some U2. And of course, I couldn't forget my favorite, The Eagles.

another view, The Who are alright, but I like Peter Townshend's solo stuff better I think. Ahhhhhhh, another classic Brit rock band.

Dzerzhinski

[jar_e]

My mp3 playlist consists of some Dave Matthews, The Arcade Fire, Alter Bridge, Rage Against the Machine, U2, some Jack Johnson, and even some Josh Groban. Each band for a different mood!

[shrapnel]

here's what i'm listening to at the moment:

the thievery corporation (new album: cosmic game)
manu chao
max richter
moby
leona naess

[walterick]

Betcha I'm the only person up here who listens to ska!

Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, The Pietasters, and the Toasters?

Anyone heard of em?

Rick

[jar_e]

Betcha I'm the only person up here who listens to ska!

Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, The Pietasters, and the Toasters?

Anyone heard of em?

Rick

Rick,

Reel big fish! I have totally forgot about them, but I just found some old cd's of theres! Man, their style was just awesome. Love the horn section Thanks for reminding me!

[walterick]

Yeah, they're pretty awesome. I have 3 of their albums now but the only one I love is Turn the Radio Off. If you like their sound, try Save Ferris it's a similar sound (SoCal pop-ska) but a little more emotive... Monique Powell of Save Ferris sings the chick parts on RBF's "She Has a Girlfriend Now" (guys don't do no more for me )Glad to hear you're into them!

Rick

[jar_e]

Yeah, they're pretty awesome. I have 3 of their albums now but the only one I love is Turn the Radio Off. If you like their sound, try Save Ferris it's a similar sound (SoCal pop-ska) but a little more emotive... Monique Powell of Save Ferris sings the chick parts on RBF's "She Has a Girlfriend Now" (guys don't do no more for me )Glad to hear you're into them!

Rick

Rick,

I will checkout Save Ferris sometime this weekend! Thanks for the referral!

[villenadecorte]

Kelly- I dont use Itunes...but I thought your idea was great.
Something my hubby belongs to is a private "syndicate" of 12 members. They each make a compilation disc of some theme and then distribute to each other. My hubby's theme this year is Reggae, so he is in the process of compiling some great reggae hits and then will make 11 copies and distribute when its his month.

[villenadecorte]

No Rick
I love SKA!!!! Skeletones are one of my favorite. They played at Blakes on Telegraph so long ago, but they had the place coming down!

[Michael Fanelli]

Am I the only one who find the quality of iTunes lacking? When I bought a few iTunes when it first came out for windows, the files were all set to a 128 bit rate. That sounded more like an average FM radio than CD quality. Have they upped the quality or is everyone just happy with what they hear?

[opus]

Michael, to be honest, I listen to my iPod while cleaning, on an airplane, or for just passing time; I don't listen with a discerning ear. I have only once paid attention to the quality of the music, and did notice that it wasn't the highest I've ever heard, but for my purposes it's fine.

However, I do notice that in your iTunes preferences, you can convert your tunes to ACC files at a higher bit rate if you go to custom settings.

I'm sure the Apple store doesn't use the higher bit rate because that would cut down on the number of tunes that could fit on an iPod, which is one of their biggest selling points.

For the average ear, 128 is "fine enough" I suppose.

Personally, I think the quality sounds better than "average FM radio" quality ... it's a full, rich sound, although if you listen close it's a tad muddy and heavy on the bass.

I'll tell you though, I ripped the same song off of two different compilation CDs, and listened to them back-to-back one day. I would have never noticed this had I listened to them separately, but one of the tracks was clearly of inferior quality than the other track of the same song. The one was almost wavering into a different key. The difference was in the way the CDs were originally recorded, not the way they were converted on iTunes. One track was from "Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits", the other from "Rock Artifacts".

[Mig]

Yep - have some Reel Big Fish and Save Ferris.

There used to be an awesome local ska band called Perfect Thyroid. Their concerts were a blast, especially when they played the seedy little Hotel Rhinecliff. Man, what a dive. God I miss that place!

Danielle

[Mig]

I love mixes. I belong to an online group similar to your husband's. One girl organizes us (I think last count was around 100 members). Montlhy she e-mails each member with their "mixee's" address. It's incredible - I've sent mixes all over the US and to Scotland, and I've gotten them from all over the US, one from England, and one from Finland.

The last mix I sent was a 3-CD set entitled It Came From An 80s Soundtrack. About a 50/50 split of songs that made it to the retail soundtrack and songs from the movies that didn't make it but are awesome anyway.

Danielle

[ken1953]

Well...I hate to date myself, but, my mixes contain everything from Monteverdi to Megadeath...but the majority of my listening/playing tends to be 50's-70's rock (bubblegum to acid) and showtunes. I'm with my music as I am by my photography...If I hear it and I like it, then I listen to/play/sing it!!! I really love ballads and crooners...but can listen to Sound of Music and follow it up with "The Crazy World of Arthur Brown", Aerosmith, or Led Zeppelin...hehe..
Ok...that said...can any of you name Brown's biggest hit in the US..hehe..NO CHEATING!!!
KB...read your other post a bit late, about needing help with a music theory question...sad to say...I could not readily answer it...and I have a degree in Music and even analyzed that particular piece in theory class....toooooooo many years ago and too many brain cells lost!!!
As for classical...I really like the Baroque era the best, especially Bach. I used to love to analyze a lot of his stuff and my mentor and I would sit and argue the analyzation for hours...finally concluding that for the most part...we were both right!!! Of course...thats the fun thing about JSB.
I guess being an artist crosses many boundaries, musicians, photographers, painters, sculptors, poets..etc...etc...etc...I'm glad I belong to such a great group of people...
Ken

[opus]

ken, I am exactly like you in my musical tastes. If I like it, I listen to it. About the only things I have never really been able to get into were Opera, Jazz and Bluegrass. I've come to appreciate Opera, and I'm taking a Jazz Appreciation course next year, so I expect to understand it better. Bluegrass ... well, I don't think it will ever become my favorite. I like Alison Krause, but even still...

Bach is my husband's favorite composer. I really enjoy the earlier stuff too ...Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, some Romantic. I really don't like twentieth century at all.

The more I study Mozart, the more he amazes me. Bach is great, and I love his work, but Mozart hits me in the heart more than Bach.


Did I ever mention that I'd like to write and compose a Musical? (It will be many years before I have enough knowledge to do so, but it's my dream.)

[ken1953]

ken, I am exactly like you in my musical tastes. If I like it, I listen to it. About the only things I have never really been able to get into were Opera, Jazz and Bluegrass. I've come to appreciate Opera, and I'm taking a Jazz Appreciation course next year, so I expect to understand it better. Bluegrass ... well, I don't think it will ever become my favorite. I like Alison Krause, but even still...

Bach is my husband's favorite composer. I really enjoy the earlier stuff too ...Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, some Romantic. I really don't like twentieth century at all.

The more I study Mozart, the more he amazes me. Bach is great, and I love his work, but Mozart hits me in the heart more than Bach.


Did I ever mention that I'd like to write and compose a Musical? (It will be many years before I have enough knowledge to do so, but it's my dream.)

Kelly, music is like photography...don't wait...put some notes down on a piece of paper, record a melody on your tape recorder...write down some chord progressions...remember...if you wait...you'll lose your shot...errr...song...errr...poem...errr...etc...et c...etc....
hehe...
Anyway...the main thing as I see it is, as you are already doing...keep on learning and keep on trying...that's all any of us can do!!
Ken