i + Tunes

In the summer of 2004, I devoted an unquantifiable amount of time I'll never get back to rating each and every song in my iTunes library. It was often haphazard and included an expected amount of sleep-deprived misjudgment.

The following February, I created a plot of the amount of songs with each rating (1 to 5) joined by a faux-curve. To my surprise, it wasn't too far from a normalized bell. Just recently, it occurred to me to re-sample that data, and here it is:



I was curious about the possible shift to the right, so I decided to plot a normalized version, too:



It led me to draw a few conclusions. First, I've slowly adjusted my original ratings of some of the original batch, often "upping" their value. Second, I've either been less "harsh" as I rate new additions, or I've been more picky about what I choose to add.

What I find even more interesting is my Artist listening history for the last three years, thanks to last.fm and lastgraph. Through tremendously complex stacked-line graphs, I can clearly see blips of which bands I was into when, and make my guesses of why: album release, friend's recommendation, or deeper emotional reason. File this one under geek.

The Painter's Job

What I've done at work this week. (click to see)

One of my greatest fears in life is to be forced to create something for someone who doesn't know what they want. (Yet, it's the same task I've given every hairdresser I've seen)
This week I've faced that fear: and begun to attempt to deliver "something involving the evolution of human society and it's wealth managers". Seriously, this is both the most fun I've had and most annoyed I've felt with my job.

The Painter

an empty stage before it's set
the painter's canvas tightly stretched
upon a frame that's seen him fail before

his fingers stained from cigarettes
and paint that stays forever wet
and with the brush extend to start once more

with flow of wrist and flick of hand
a story starts to fill the man
who never seemed to get the ending right

as hours pass, he pushes on
racing just to beat the dawn
and in his heart believes this time he might

but as the sun begins to rise
the man steps back to rub his eyes
his glaring imperfections come to light

he couldn't keep himself from thinking
his work conveyed a deeper meaning
than aging hands were trained to show that night

and did Picasso and Monet
ever stop and feel the same?
will his creation summon praise someday?

Now he'll pretend he doesn't care
and leave it hanging, crooked there
the painter fights to push his doubts away

as he goes on to paint another day

Save Your Summer Soul

Summer is here, and it's time to move the guitars to the back to make room for the horns and organ.

Save Your Summer Soul
1. California Soul - Marlena Shaw
2. Where It's At - Beck
3. I Want You Back - Jackson 5
4. The Glory - Kanye West
5. Going On - Gnarls Barkley
6. Mahna, Mahna - Cake
7. Valerie - Mark Ronson f. Amy Winehouse
8. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here - She & Him
9. Song for Sunshine - Belle & Sebastian
10. Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo - Jens Lekman
11. The Bitch is Back - Elton John
12. Butterfly - Jason Mraz
13. Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Night