Do you... scrobble?

thomnottom

I know some of you out there must use Last.fm and thought it might be interesting to get some group charts going. So I created the group eMusers, but didn't like the capital M and they won't let me change it. How about emusers.org instead? Join in and make me feel less lonely!

elwoodicious

I joined; I'm DrMoxie over at last.fm.

Katrina

I'm Xatrina.

choiceweb0pen0

good idea, just joined.

NankerP

I'm rosawein

jonahpwll

Ok, will somebody please explain Lastfm to me? I've read through the site faq and all. I see that there's different aspects to it, buying cds, streaming albums, etc.
But how do you guys actually use Lastfm? Do you pay for any of it? How does it manifest as part of your overall music day?
Right now, all I'm using it for right now is to listen to full tracks (instead of Amazon samples) and occasionally downloading free tracks (which apparently you don't need to be a member to do). I'm not even currently "signed up" for it.
Do tell.

elwoodicious

I use it to track and share my listening habits which in turns assists me in finding new music either through last.fm or sites that leverage the data, like Soundamus and Amie Street. Also, I'm occasionally active in some the groups which, like here, is another good discovery tool. :-D

cafreema

Do you have to listen through last.fm for it to track your habits? My work computer is a heap of junk so listening through it isn't an option.

Craig

amclark2

Ok, I joined. I don't use last.fm for much of anything, but I have an account. Same with facebook too.

kargatron

I use last.fm primarily as a public interface to my listening stats. It's also useful for 'is like XYZ' queries, and streaming results of same (say, listen to artists like Allman Brothers, or 'free jazz', etc). You don't have to listen to last.fm to track your listening - 'scrobbling' is the term of syncing your listening software like iTunes to your last.fm account.

http://www.last.fm/user/vkargatis

cafreema

Well that was easy.

I'd like to point out that my wife also uses the computer, so I do not actually listen to Emily Smith or The Weepies that much.

Craig

Dr. Mutex

I joined the group. I am Dr_Mutex on last.fm. I use it pretty much the way elwoodicious describes. I also like to listen to libraries of folks I know, and also tag radio.

JoeyJoJo

I am joey-jo-jo on last.fm. I use it to see my listening stats and sometimes I use the similar artists feature to find new stuff. Sometimes I check out my friends' libraries too.

Katrina

jonahpwll
Ok, will somebody please explain Lastfm to me? I've read through the site faq and all. I see that there's different aspects to it, buying cds, streaming albums, etc.
But how do you guys actually use Lastfm? Do you pay for any of it? How does it manifest as part of your overall music day?
Right now, all I'm using it for right now is to listen to full tracks (instead of Amazon samples) and occasionally downloading free tracks (which apparently you don't need to be a member to do). I'm not even currently "signed up" for it.
Do tell.

I use it at random times for amusement. Entertainment. Spying purposes.
The spying purposes probably makes no sense to you, unless you read "Harriet the Spy" as a young girl. It's a children's book.
I only spy on folks I know, who have signed up to be my lastfm friend. Mostly they are folks I encountered on eMusic, but not all. I have zero interest in what the latest celeb is listening to,but gimme someone like plong42 or powerpiglet and I am on my way to discovering new music, because I liked their recs on eMusic before it went 'bad'.

Apologies to everyone else on my lastfm friends list, I only mentioned plong42 & powerpiglet because they didn't post often on eMu. Please know I am still spying on you all, whenever my little heart desires.

Katrina

I'd like to point out that my wife also uses the computer, so I do not actually listen to Emily Smith or The Weepies that much.

I scrobble with iTunes,and I've set up my library so my family can't muck with my settings.
Method 1

thomnottom

I have occasionally used the streaming features of Last.fm and have found new artists I like. Mostly I use it to collect my listening stats since I've switched computers and software so many times that my local settings usually only show a couple plays for any given song. They have a separate client that works with many players, But foobar2000 and Songbird have their own extensions. You can also set up sites like Amie Street, Lala, and Spotify to scrobble.

elwoodicious

@cafreema Nah, I don't often stream from the site; I use a plugin that submits the who, what, when of my local collection when I am listening. There are plugins for almost every media player out there and many have scrobbling baked in. My favorite aspect is the enforced humility of it, my wife and daughters listening habits will be found in my collection so it's not unusual to see abrupt shifts from Michael Nyman to Jim White to Yo Gabba Gabba. :-D

cafreema

Cool thanks Katrina! I'll need to look into that. It would nice to be able to sync my iPod again too.

Craig

Plong42

>I only mentioned plong42

I think I like being spied on! I learn alot from bouncing around looking at profiles with similar tastes, and then searching Amie or eMu (or BinSearch) for new music. The recommendations (similar artists,etc) are usually worth looking at.

Although I read Harriet the Spy as a young *boy*, I still get the point.

cafreema

The last couple of days I've been obsessed with seeing what you all are listening to! Katrina and choicweb need to listen to something new, though. The same thing has been listed the whole time, and I don't know what to do!

Craig

kargatron

Those who scrobble from ipods will only update last.fm on sync, so days can easily pass where a last.fm page will remain static. I only sync my ipod every few days.

NankerP

I manually manage my iPod (ackshully iPhone) which makes scrobbling my listens on last.fm more complex. It is supposed to do it though, but doesn't. When I connect the phone it pops up with a list of my "iPod listens" which is actually just what I had been listening to on the computer, already scrobbled. I suppose one day I should work out what the problem is. So my songs are just those on the computer, not on the road.

cafreema

Is the scrobbler supposed to do that automatically when you plug in the iPod/iPhone? That would be nice because I also manually manage.

Craig

NankerP

Can I scrobble from an iPod that is manually managed?
Yes. However, automatic syncing is still recommended.

Manually managed iPods require you to manually transfer tracks to your iPod using iTunes. You can only scrobble manual iPods after the first time they are synced with iTunes.

If you add tracks or change tags of tracks on your iPod after a sync, you should eject and plug in the iPod again to ensure those tracks will scrobble next time.


it confuses me really, and as I said, it doesnt work for me, Might have to start over or something ...

thomnottom

Mine will start changing regularly next week. I'm in the middle of a two week "staycation" (I really hate that term) and haven't been listening to music as much as when I'm at work. Much easier when I don't have to worry about the little one's delicate ears...

cafreema

I just tested it and it seems to have snagged at least everything I listened to today (well not everything, it somehow missed the entirety of the Tegan & Sarah Sainthood album).

You aren't training the youngster yet, thom? Get your Rage on!

Craig

Plong42

My manually-managed iPod will scrobble at irregular times. Usually it is the first time after I reboot and restart iTunes / Last.FM, but sometimes I go a couple of weeks without an update from my iPod, then it will scrobble 300+ tracks. Yesterday it popped up with one track to scrobble, even though it was only one of hundreds I have listened recently.

brittleblood

i use last.fm - you can peer into folks' librairies and then send them taunting and dismissive overtures. joey jo jo, qwynwyn - are just a few i like to harsh for snicks.

Katrina

I don't plug in my ipod very often, since I have an ipod alarm clock/dock thing that charges it.

cafreema

My iPod usually sits in a dock at work so I also rarely plug it in, but I have each of the last two days to test its scrobbling. Seems to have worked (mostly) both times.

Craig

kargatron

I can think of only one reason to manually manage an ipod - if you don't want your ipod listening to be updated in your iTunes library. (That applies to my wife's ipod and my lib, but it strikes me as a likely exotic circumstance.) If that doesn't apply, why ever manually manage your ipod? You can always simply sync a playlist that you manually manage, and have access to smart playlists whenever desired. Are there other reasons to do so that I'm missing?