The Great Music Collection, part One

Recently, I've undertaken a project to use iTunes to it's "full" extent, in that I'm going to start using it to organize my music. The biggest hurdle I've had for doing this in the past is the sheer amount of songs and albums I have, and the organization that needs to be done to properly put it into iTunes. For years, I would manually tag all my MP3s; I would rip my CDs and encode them with the latest and greatest (most recently LAME V2 or something - it's been years) and put them into proper folders. The system shows it's age, but one thing for sure, is that it will never be obsolete: you'll always have the files to play with. Going to a database-driven system like iTunes offers much more flexibility in sorting, tagging and whatnot, but you're kind of tied to the system, which is something I've never liked. It doesn't help that iTunes on Windows is one of the worst pieces of software I've ever used.

Then, came the iPhone. By purchasing the iPhone and using it, I was fully aware that I would be forced to adopt iTunes. There's really no good way around it; there are other options for getting music on there, but nothing for actually managing the device once it's connected to the computer (at least, nothing I'm comfortable with). This presented problems for me though. I have a sizeable music collection that exists on my home server. I have my laptop, which I do most of my computing with, and for some reason decided to connect and configure my iPhone with, so that my laptop basically became it's "home" so to speak. I would copy my favourite albums onto my laptop, then import those into iTunes haphazardly. It wasn't pleasing, but the end result was my music was on the device and I could use it. 

1. My iPhone is tied to my laptop

2. My laptop contains my favourite music, but is "unkempt"

3. My server contains all my music, fairly unorganized now after years of neglect

4. My desktop is convenient and easy to work with (proper mouse, keyboard, monitor)

There are a few other notes I could throw in there, but the point is: everything has been overly-complicated. I need to simplify things. The goals:

1. Have one place for all my music

2. Have all my music properly tagged

3. Have the ability to easily add music to my library

I'm not sure what is the most important factor, but in the end, I need more control over the music I have on my phone. The beauty of iTunes lies in the playlists, and with this, I can accomplish my goals. Simply, create a playlist (I like calling mine "Core") and sync that with your iPhone. Anytime you want to add to your iPhone, add it to Core and next time you sync, the album will be there. Likewise, it's easy to remove albums from that list. You can also create other playlists for your activites, for instance, "Gym" which is pretty self-explanatory. I know that by laying this out I'm dating myself - playlists have been around forever - but keep in mind I am lazy, and have been neglecting the inevitable. This is an exercise in modernizing myself too, really.

The first decision in this project was to determine where to store my music. I had to go with what's easiest: my desktop. There is nothing finer than sitting at a desk, with a proper full-sized keyboard and monitor, and just doing what needs to be done. This means abandoning my laptop for music completely, although I could still store my music on the server. The first phase is not to do that though: all the music will be stored on the desktop, as it is now going to be the computer I sync my phone with. The phone takes priority, and it's easiest to go through the prompts and whatnot on the desktop than it is with the server. When I complete The Big Import, I'll be copying the entire iTunes folder to the server in all it's glory. This serves two purposes: one, it's a backup; two, it allows me to play that music through whatever medium I choose on the server. And that brings up a big point. I used XBMC exclusively there. There is a nice remote control, iPhone app for control as well, and the interface is built for you when you're on the couch. XBMC also has library capabilities, although they are much more limited and we can't forget the two big factors here, which are iPhone syncing and ease of use (going back to the point that it's easier to manage a music library on a desktop than it is on a fifty inch plasma television). 

Finally, I have one other medium of playing music, and that's my Subsonic music streamer. When Apple was announcing their cloud and music streaming thing I looked for cheap or free alternatives that would do the job better, and I found Subsonic. This allows me to stream music anywhere on the internet, from my server's home connection. I use this mainly for playing music at work, where I don't have to worry about loading my work laptop up with MP3s: I can just stream it instead. The system works beautifully but it's sort of limited to looking at the file structure on your computer. Thank goodness I've organized my music in such a way that it works great for streaming, but iTunes also has an option to keep your folders organized for you. Subsonic loves the way iTunes organizes music, so I point Subsonic at the iTunes library and I'm all set for streaming music as I see fit. 

So that's it for part one. Hopefully you have an understanding of what I'm trying to do. In later parts I'll discuss my experience with specific aspects of the project, including the importing of everything into iTunes, quality of ripping, and the criteria for what makes an album good enough to find it's way into the main (or Core) library. I've always loved organizing music, but in recent years that love has faded. Doing this has sparked the passion again, and driven with the hope that the results will make listening to music that much more enjoyable.