>1) The logic that determines whether or not an album is a compilation, and >2) The logic that determines how compilations should be displayed in the >interface.
>In my opinion, the logic for #1 is PERFECT...and I don't use that word >lightly because I'm very particular about how I tag my collection. >Excellent work, SlimDevices! > >The logic for #2 on the other hand...could use some cleaning up. >Right now, no matter which compilation options you choose, when you browse by >artist, you get the full albums, plus little compilation "stubs" that >only show the one or two songs from that compilation associated with >that artist. >How to display that data is an open-ended question with nearly infinite >answers, and that's NOT quite so well-suited for automation. Great post - this is pretty much how I feel about the current state of compilation albums too. I too mainly play full albums (otherwise random music). Albums where an artist is only a guest performer are also listed under browse albums. Eg. When I browse artist Thom Yorke, I see: The Eraser (by Thom Yorke) No Album (by loads of artists, including Thom Yorke) - because I have a song that isnot associated with any album - "No Album" is considered a compilation containing many hundreds of such songs by different artists. Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (by PJ Harvey) - because Thom Yorke makes a guest appearance on "This Mess We're In" (great song!). However, I find it useful to be reminded that an artist performed an otherwise unavailable track on a compilation album, and it also makes the songs playable via Play All by artist. I agree that it would be nice to sub-categorise the list of albums when browsing an artist, such that you can clearly see main albums by the artist, compilation albums that the artist appears on, and albums where the artist makes a guest appearance. This could be taken this further and categorise albums where the artist is a composer, conductor, band, remixer, original artist of a cover song, etc. And like you said, that is the main problem - everyone wants their library presented in different ways. Classical music buffs may only want to list orchestras, etc. The important bit I feel to get right is #1, to ensure the library data is maintained in a logical way. Then it is always possible for third-party plugins or skins to present the information as desired. _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
