Christ, Dana. I'm so glad you're feeling better. And so sorry about the MRI trauma.

A guy here is giving out chocolate because it's his birthday. V. civilised.

If a thing ever needed to happen, it's this. Maybe when I get home to where my comics are...

Shrift, the code is here. None of my web hosts have PHP 5.0, or I'd have it up already. I might poke to see if I can code it down, but then I'd be insane.

msbelle, you were right about the Rahsaan Patterson joint. V. much what I like.

Has iTunes changed how you guys purchase and listen to musica a lot? Yesterday I found myself ordering 5 albums from Barnes & Nobles and one album and four songs from iTunes. I'm not even clear why I made that split--some of the hard copy albums I ordered were available complete on iTunes.

Rahsaan Patterson

YAY!

I do not think I will buy tangible CDs anymore - maybe box sets.

I have bought much more stuff unheard since using iTunes. What has changed more is the way I listen to stuff. I hear so much more of my stuff now. I have an entire list of "unplayed" tracks, so I can expose myself to the tracks that I don't really know.

Has iTunes changed how you guys purchase and listen to musica a lot?

Yes, quite a lot. I generally try to download an album from eMusic (higher bitrate, cheaper), and if they don't have it I'll buy it from iTunes. I make exceptions for music that's sonicly "complex", as it won't compress as well, or stuff that I just want maximum fidelity. And of course, stuff that I can't find in either iTunes or eMusic I then hunt down in Amazon. Or if I happen to be in a record store I might buy something from them. But that happens much less often these days.

Dana, I'm so sorry. Ugh.

What has changed more is the way I listen to stuff. I hear so much more of my stuff now. I have an entire list of "unplayed" tracks, so I can expose myself to the tracks that I don't really know.

Oh yeah, I do that. I find I'm much less likely to listen to an album from start to finish. Oh, and I used to buy a lot of CDs where I just wanted one or two songs - buying just those tracks online saves a lot of money.

eMusic (higher bitrate, cheaper)

Really? I've never used them, but I keep getting "50 free downloads!" coupons in my magazines. So far, I've never followed through because they wanted my credit card.

I buy much more music than I used to pre-iTunes. Being cheaper, instant, and not having to find more space for CDs is a big draw.

Now that I've finally processed that half my music died in Katrina, I'm going about replacing it. Some things are automatically replaced in kind--Prince I'm getting in hard copy, no discussion. Some things I realise that I didn't like all the album, and I just buy a few tracks from iTunes. Yet, I still decided to get the Tina Turner album from iTunes. Others I realised that I didn't remember many of the tracks, but I find the artist interesting enough (Meshell Ndegeocello) that I'll buy the whole thing and listen to it--via my "New&Unheard" playlist. One day I'll have listened to every song.

It would be cool if there was iTunes exclusive content--like you get an extra track if you buy it there.

I need to look at this eMusic thing.

The worst thing about iTunes is that I can hear a new song on a TV show, google the lyrics, and have bought it before the commercial break is over.

Really?

Yeah. I don't have my main iTunes computer in front of me to look up some eMusic mp3s, but I think most stuff is about 160 kbps, VBR.

Oh yeah, eMusic gives you mp3s with no DRM.

I am using eMusic and I know their catalogue is growing everyday, but I found them to have more indie than popular stuff.

There are iTunes exclusives - just look on the front page.

I think most stuff is about 160 kbps, VBR.

Nice. Maybe I'll get my 50 free songs after all.