Okay, so iTunes is really starting to get on my nerves.

It was already on my nerves because it seems to be incredibly slow. Even on my new spiffy mega-mondo desktop it feels bloated–it's got that bad-comedian-in-a-fat-suit slowness going on. I was all excited at the prospect of a 64-bit iTunes…but after running it for a while I wondered why it had gotten slow again. Then I discovered that the installer was the only 64-bit part. The regular iTunes was still 32. Now I'm not a technical guy (not anymore–I don't count myself in that particular club) but why in the hell would you want the installer to be 64-bit? The only reason I can come up with is that the 32-bit version wasn't playing nice with a 64-bit OS.

Anyway, so that was annoying.

Now I found today I had somehow turned on a feechur I'd never witnessed before nor desired: that of "album ratings." I have MP3s that I've pulled in from God knows where–a lot of old-time radio files, audiobooks and other things. As a result, I am missing a lot of artist and album titles (which I use this previously mentioned method to go through on the run).

[[ Continued ]]

Okay, well, I had to work way too hard to try and help a guy on 43 Folders.

Anyway, here's what he was complaining about: tucking away songs that you don't want because they are tied to a particular event. Xmas, for example.

Real simple. It helps if you have everything tied with a genre like "Xmas" or "Holiday" or something.

Select all the songs you wish to tuck away somewhere else. Then right click and "Get Info" on all of them. Change the album to "Xmas Tunes" or whatever you want to call it, and make sure you check that this IS a compilation.

Now…go to your compilations folder, grab that Xmas Tunes folder and move it wherever you want it. Then just go back into iTunes and delete the songs from your library. When it becomes time to celebrate our favorite "reformed" pagan holiday, just throw the songs back into your library. Done.

Now, if you don't have everything fixed with a genre, then just use my previous tip about using stars to mark things needing action, and if you come across "Jingle Bells" when you shouldn't, mark it with the right amount of stars and then deal with it when you get home.

As to the comments on 43 Folders: I had to register, fill in my personal info, do a captcha, then wait for my password to show up. Then I put the password in and was told that I was denied access to the comment form after all that. No error messages. No whoops, you did something wrong. Just nada.

If I ever put in place a scheme so user-unfriendly as that bullshit, please promise me one of you will call me on it, okay?

And what's the only thing better than listening to tracks from the soundtrack?

Listening to the techno versions of same.

No shit.

The Format gave a great show. They even ended up by smacking the living crap out of Van Morrison's "Caravan." One of the best live covers I've been witness to since Tracy Chapman and her band tore the hell out of "Proud Mary" several years back.

I realize all the bands are all buddy-buddy and all, but the first two bands were strictly Big Spring Jam material. Honorary Title has a great lead singer but when they dwindle to a three-piece they tend to waste him.

Although if there's one thing I don't miss about being in a band, it's coming home smelling like a fucking ashtray.

On the comic side of things, Y #57 made me forgive Vaughan for the part of the series where it wandered off course. Suddenly Yorick goes from the Last Man to Everyman. Wow. Nice.

And Kirkman confused the hell out of me with the latest issue of Walking Dead. Something nice happened for once? The world makes no sense anymore.

I owe Karl a response. Soon enough.

More later. For now, the coffin calls me.

Direct link for the feedreaders.

So Doc and I were talking about Living Colour, and how their Wikipedia entry says that:

Candidates for the bass player position vacated in 1992 by Muzz Skillings and eventually filled by Doug Wimbish included Melvin Gibbs (most known for having spent a long tenure with Rollins Band) and Me'shell Ndegeocello.

First of all, Wimbish is pretty freaking good. He also played with Seal on his first (and best) album. But the Weight version of Rollins Band is my favorite, and Gibbs was on board for that. And Ndegeocello's stuff, especially Plantation Lullabies, is awesome. So I wonder what Living Colour would have been like with either Gibbs or Ndegeocello on bass.

Which leads me to something I've thought of before: doing music-related alt-history stuff on Needcoffee. But problem is, since it is so audio-based, being music naturally, it really does lose something. Or DreamCovers, where you can have the ultimate Culture Club cover album, for example, and talk about what "Church of the Poison Mind" would sound like covered by Marilyn Manson, or what "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" would sound like covered by Fishbone. Don't ask me why Culture Club sprang to mind first. Could be any band.

Anyway, the Primus cover of Metallica up top is because Doc marvelled at what Metallica would be like if Les Claypool had replaced Cliff Burton. Faaaascinating.

I've heard it and I still can't believe it. Are you fucking kidding? Britney Spears loves rock and roll as equally as she loves good taste, another thing she's never been properly introduced to.

I almost feel sorry for her, since for a fleeting picosecond she was Something instead of what she is now, which is I Can't Believe It's Not Xtina.

I just can't get over that cover song. Sade could have rocked that song with more oomph backed only by Tiny Tim on ukelele–and he's dead.

Oh, how I hate you.

At least though, with The Black Rider, I can get a sense of the show itself from the album. I have no clue about Franks Wild Years. Would love to see that staged. Or just the book. Or anything.

Too much cool shit and the world is still too big.

Hi, by the way. Sorry I've been away. I was bedridden for a few days by a memetic virus. How was your weekend?

Found via San Diego Serenade.