The Art Of The Playlist .....?

[fscl]

In the old days it was easy...... following threads of artists, songs and covers, beat, genres, etc... it was all on LPs, the aftermath was a bunch of LPs out of jackets matched together when the session was over...... Many a cherished mix tape was born this way......

Now...... I've got music spread over all formats...... and playing them when I feel them is..... next to impossible.......

Example..... Chamber's Bros, wanted to hear Love, Peace & Happiness..... ahhhh.... but then cue to People Get Ready..... ahhhhhh but then wanted to hear PGR done by Joss Stone w/ Jeff Beck on Live at Ronnie Scott's on DVD.......

What's a spontaneous thread follower to do.......

Digitize everything and assemble a playlist(s)....... uhhgggg what fun is that.....

Fred

[JoeE SP9]

It would seem you're not the only one who plays music spontaneously. I set up a music server and tried setting up some playlists. They don't work for me. My collection is large and varied. A pre-set playlist doesn't allow for the way I play selections on a whim. Most of the time I find myself hunting through the album and track listings for specific selections. I just prefer going to "the stacks" paging through things and playing what strikes me. Nowadays I use a playlist when I'm entertaining. For serious listening I just play actual LP's, cassettes and CD's

[Mike-h]

Do you guys play single tracks off an album, then move on to another album? I've never done that. I would say 90% of the time I listen to the whole album, and the remaining 10% play one side.

[newdreams]

I used to make party tapes - four or five hours worth for each party. It would take me an evening to do one hours worth, but I did also go song by song from CD and LP, each song giving me (hopefully) an inspiration as to what should follow it. Back in those days (late 70s) I recorded onto reel-to-reel tape on my home studio gear (Sony 788-4 four track, Revox B77 high-speed half-track). After I sold my studio gear to go to university, I recorded on a three-head Sony TCK-81 cassette deck.

The results worked well to my ear, and it was a great way of avoiding university homework as deadlines approached. I still have the collections on cassette tape, and the TCK-81.

I really enjoyed making those tapes - it was great therapy for stress. Again, for me the key was spontaneity.

[JoeE SP9]

With everything but classical I'm a single track guy. I rarely play an entire album. Most have only one or two songs I really want to hear anyway. I suppose it's one of the major reasons I've collected so many recordings.

My first three head cassette deck was a Sony TC-K81.

[fscl]

Do you guys play single tracks off an album, then move on to another album? I've never done that. I would say 90% of the time I listen to the whole album, and the remaining 10% play one side.

+1, mostly single tracks, as mentioned earlier, in the days of only vinyl big stacks of sandwiched inner sleeves with vinyl and jackets. Matching / stowing away later.

Sometimes I don't have the physical media, would have songs / albums on cassettes so getting to them to hear kind of dampened the spontaneity, throw in MD with songs recorded off the Inet and I start to go batty......

My 1st true fidelity cassette... Nak 600.....

And just cued my Palm TX w/ "Life Will Be Better" Charlie Musselwhite & Sugar Ray Norcia between Sides 1 and 2 of The Harmonica According to Charlie Musselwhite...... , since last song on CM is Hard Times ---> cued Hard Times Best of David Newman...... with Ray Charles on piano....

Fred

[Squiffything]

Fred, you wanna get this:





You can be lining up the next track ready for when the first is finished.

It's currently up on the bay of evil for a small sum of three and a half thousand euros