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Your own iTunes music categories

I was trying to figure out how to classify Dan Hicks as I ripped Beatin' The Heat and some of his oldies for delivery to my iPod. The Gracenote database puts him under rock. Rock?--I don't think so. Maybe I need to create a Swing category, but that would make for some hairy decisions with some of my Jazz tunes. Maybe Country Swing. I don't think of Dan as country, but that would allow me to put him in there with Bob Wills, which I don't think Dan would mind. Maybe I need a String Swing category; then I can have Dan and Bob live with Django.

I have Eva Cassidy in Pop, with Frank Sinatra. As I hardly have any AM radio type Pop in my collection, Pop is an available category for me. Maybe I'll put Rickie Lee Jones' album of covers, It's Like This, in there. But creating a Vocals category, as vague as that would be, might speak to my listening habits better.

The playback options of disk-based music systems makes this categorizing question much more significant than just deciding how to arrange your LPs or CDs on a shelf. In my physical collection, I use as few categories as possible. iTunes calls for a different approach, without going overboard.

Any examples of music categories you've made up to fit your collection or listening habits better? Any stock categories that you find useless?
jayboard

Showing 1 response by jayboard

jayboard OP
301 posts
 
You're right -- playlists are what give you the flexibility to program your own listening moods and habits into the iPod...and free yourself from artificial categories. I haven't spent much time creating playlists yet. But the fact that you can build playlists out of other playlists makes the possibilities endless. In the little bit of playlisting I've done, I've used playlists to make exceptions... that is, I've made playlists of music that I don't want to be included in a much larger playlist built from more general criteria. I like that a lot.

Sometime down the road, iPod software will include the ability to edit playlists on the iPod itself, and then to download the playlists to your computer. I can see the necessary software interface fitting right in with the current iPod interface. I will enjoy that, because the time that I have most available for messing around with playlists is when I'm actually listening to the iPod. But the iPod is great as is.

Right now, I don't have much time to sit at the computer and create playlists. Onhwy, I can see how having a disk-based home music system would lead one into playlisting as a serious recreational and intellectual activity.

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