August will be one sweet month

[Joseph]

I think I finally found a solution. I re-recorded those songs using VBR Moderate Compression, and here's the comparison:

A Whiter Shade of Pale.MP3
VBR Highest Quality (481kbps) = 6,053KB
VBR Moderate Compression (321kbps) = 3,824KB

La Luna.MP3
VBR Highest Quality (385kbps) = 8,987KB
VBR Moderate Compression (275kbps) = 6,154KB

I'm glad I finally found a way to decrease my filesize. There are several VBR choices, but I'm going to be close friends with VBR Moderate Compression. I can have a high bit rate AND a small filesize. Re-recording will take a great deal of time, but overall I'm a happy camper. I can have my cake and eat it too.

[molotov889]

Yeah, I think what was happneing earlier (how the file sizes didn't seem to make sense) just all boils down to the fundamental differences between constant bitrate and variable bit rate files. I think your choice of VBR was a good one. Although, I think that if you really wanted to, you could go even smaller. Like I was saying earlier, 192 is most likely a perfectly fine bitrate. BTW, you say VBR, but what kinda VBR does it spit out? OGG, MP3...?

I think I"m just gonna look at getting a larger DAP to solve my portable music space issues. =P

[molotov889]

Well, I FINALLY got my copy of Globe 2 in the mail today. I've listened to it once through, and am starting the second time. As a first-time-through, I've liked it a lot, especially with the variety that's on it. I think it coudla used another more balld-y song, and it could stand to be longer (it's 48:30 exactly). But other than that, it's really good. I'll give a more detailed account after I listen more.

[Joseph]

Earlier tonight, my computer indicated that it had only 200MB free space. After getting rid of some programs I don't need, I now have 2.1GB free.

My burning software definitely works best with variable bit rate. There are different bit rates to choose from. As an experiment, I recorded the same Favorite Blue song in all the different bit rates to compare:

Life Driver.MP3
VBR Better Compression (223kbps) = 4,369KB
VBR Good Compression (252 kbps) = 5,162KB
VBR Moderate Compression (289 kbps) = 6,129KB
VBR High Quality (345 kbps) = 7,819KB
VBR Highest Quality (396 kbps) = 9,617KB

The names are a little confusing at first. Better Compression is actually the lowest level. There is certainly nothing wrong with 223 kbps, so I ought to choose Better Compression from now on. Using Good/Moderate Compression, the average song is 2-5MB and the bit rate is in the 200s or 300s.

My music folder is currently 5.7GB, of which 3.6GB of Jpop and 1.4GB of Two-Mix. I think I could practically cut that in half if I change all the files over from Highest Quality to Better Compression. Two-Mix is always the hardest to re-record because they have several versions of the same songs that are the same name, and I sometimes have to rename each one before I record to make sure it's not recording over the wrong one. Plus I have over 100 of their songs.

By the way, in my music folder I have a lot of IDX files (1,290 to be exact). They have names like CA01.IDX. I didn't put them there, and they don't look familiar. They only take up 3MB total, but still I was wondering what they are. Can I delete them?

[molotov889]

Hmmm.... I think the IDX files you mention are just indexing files that your ripping software makes. It probably just help it keep track of which songs it's ripped or what the track order is or something like that.

BTW, when you're comparing bitrates, you're re-ripping from the CD everytime, right? Like, you're not ripping once to highest quality, then converting that file to a lower one? Cuz that usually introduces a lot of sound quality problems. Plus, you're not really comparing the same thing when you do the second one because your files you end up with have a different source.

Your numbers seem to make sense as far as file size. I just quickly selected Ayumi folders I have until I reached 100 songs (103 in actuality), and the total space was 860 MB. So, just over half what your space used for Two-Mix is now, which follows everything you've been saying.

I'm starting to think I'm going to have to re-rip no matter what I do. I want to just go ahead and get a 60 GB player (although I might just get a 40GB) so I'll pretty much never have to worry about file size. Problem is, at those sizes, there aren't many players available. And none of them (except for one that may be coming out later this year) supports .OGG, which is what all my music is in. So... I may end up having to sit with my CDs every night for a couple weeks and just do that whole ripping thing again.

Anyway... I'll have that more thorough review of Globe 2 up by early afternoon (PST) tomorrow. And I do mean thorough .

P.S. I ended up ordering 7 of those 15 CDs I wanted from Yesasia (I've brought it down to 13 total, split into two groups), and one of them was Delta One. I should get it by the 23rd. according to Yesasia's estimate. I'm actually pretty excited about it since it'll be my first Two-Mix purchase.

[Joseph]

When I made all those files, I ripped straight from the CD; I didn't convert it from other files. I am not worried about the sound quality at all-- I just listened to the new Smile.dk and Malice Mizer songs in Better Compression format that I just ripped and they're fantastic.

I used to have a Dell Digital Jukebox that had around 40GB. It broke down several times, but that's because I think we got one of the early models (Dell is usually good about that kind of thing). We sent it back, and they gave us a partial refund, even after the warranty expired. That's the only MP3 player I've ever had. I don't need another one quite yet.

Why did you make your songs in OGG format? It doesn't sound like a cross-compatible format.

When I download songs from iTunes, they are in an MPEG4 format. Why do they have to use that format? MPEG4 is not compatible with my favorite media player (Roxio AudioCentral). So I'm not planning on buying from iTunes that much anymore. Though I heard some bad things about Napster as well. I'm a traditional CD buyer.

The original song that I bought on iTunes is "Get Up Stand Up" by Stellar Project, the one and only release by the group. What an incredible dance pop song-- I believe it's a collaboration between a couple Italian musicians. It's not just the instruments, it's the positive lyrics too-- that's why it reminds me of an Italian Two-Mix.

Good job buying Delta One. It doesn't disappoint! I think you'd like "Étranger" because it's a smooth song. What are the other CDs you bought?

[molotov889]

I ripped to .OGG cuz it's smaller file size than a VBR MP3, mostly. Plus, if you take an .OGG and a VBR MP3 at the same average bitrate, the .OGG for some reason just sounds better.

Speaking of Etranger, what's the little note about it on Yesasia's page for Delta One? Is it just syaing it's in a CM or something?

And yeah, I refuse to use iTunes out of principle . I don't download any music anyway, so it's fine.

As for the rest of my order...

Misia- The Glory Day (kinda just finishing up getting her old stuff)
Namie Amuro- Queen of Hip-Hop (Her new one. I didn't even know she had come out with anything, so I picked it up)
Koda Kumi- Grow Into One (I've wanted this one for a while, and am finally getting it.)
YMO- Ultimate COllection YMO
Ryuichi Sakamoto- Chasm
(Those two I got cuz lately I've been getting into lounge and instrumentals a lot more, and they seemed like good choices for that.)

Plus, I have M-Flo's Beat Space Nine on pre-order from my Globe2 order, and I have Joujouka's Re-Sei and 245's Experience on their way to me from my contact in Japan.

[Joseph]

The note on YesAsia about Étranger simply says that technically, there is an accent above the E because it's French. The word, as you may know, means stranger. Changin' My Life also has a song called the same thing, but they put it into Japanese-- Etoranze.

Speaking of Changin' My Life, buying their second album was one of the best random purchases I've ever made. I just picked it up on a whim, and I never dreamed I would grow to love it so much, even though it's just pop. Changin' My Life technically has broken up now, but the lead singer Myco is coming out with new songs that are along the same lines.

I don't buy as many items at a time as you because I have a narrow taste in music. It has to be dance-pop, and it's less likely I will enjoy anything I buy.

[molotov889]

Haha. Yeah, I've come a long way since my days where I basically just listened to Move, Globe, and Ayumi. Although, sometimes, I still find myself wishing I had more variety, which is why I buy so many different things. My tastes are always changing, I find. Like my recent move towards more lounge instrumentals. Although, I'll always got rhough cycles with styles, never really leaving them behind for too long.

[Joseph]

Hey, it's cool, I was a Two-Mix "exclusivist" for over a year. I've found though that having several different artists under your scope is helpful (because Two-Mix was basically dormant for a couple years). I really needed Dream in 2003, nothing else would do it for me. Now it's Smile.dk, a Danish trance pop group. I don't like Dream's CDs these days with all their rehashed products-- they're a shadow of their former selves.

What I find very helpful is Amazon.co.jp. As you know, they give you suggestions based on your preferences. That's how I first found out about Nami Tamaki, and others-- I really gotta hand it to them. Believe it or not, I found Changin' My Life by just examining and looking into Toshiba EMI's artist list. I liked the name "Changin' My Life."

Are you still into Move, or has your enthusiasm for them died down? Do you still buy their CDs? As for me, I don't buy them as much as I used to, however, maybe now and again I pick up a Move release. I may get Move's upcoming Freaky Planet single, because I've listened to it and it sounds fairly good. I'm not a trendy music listener-- I want dance pop, not R&B, hard rock or other variations-- maybe that's why I don't like other Jpop idol girls as much as Nami Tamaki.

I just received a coupon from CDJapan to get 500 yen off my next order of 3000 yen or more. They sometimes send coupons to those who sign up for "newsmail," which notifies you of when specific artists release new items. I think this is a good enough deal to get Globe 2 Pop/Rock and the Megumi single I wanted.

Have you ever used the Gnoosic Music Map? It allows you to search for a music group, and then it maps out all the similar groups that other fans of that group like. When I search for Two-Mix, one of the closest most similar artists is Smile.dk.

It's funny because I was showing my cousin my DDR game the other day, and she specifically asked about the Butterfly song, and then I told her all about Smile.dk. Yesterday we went to a family fun park and I danced Butterfly on standard and heavy modes. And I will continue to do so when I go to places that have DDR Extreme.

[molotov889]

Yeah, I still buy Move's albums, and I do really like them, still. I don't buy the singles as I've prolly stated a million times on here cuz I'm so frsutrated with them. I am thinking of getting Blast My Desire in my next Yesasia purchase, but it's still kinda iffy.

I haven't used Amazon's suggestions or that Music Map- actually haven't heard of that site till now. I usually pick up new artists from songs I like on compilation CDs,when someone is featured on one of my normal artists' CDs, or from remix albums (like with Joujouka).

I tried Ayumi in that Music Map just now, and it came up with E-Rotic as one of the mapped artists. Not so shure what the relationship is, even though it turns out that I love E-Rotic anyway. Smile.dk was on there too, along with a couple others I listen to. But a lot of them were definately wtf? Like George Strait, Puff Faffy, and even Avril Lavigne. LOL.

Anyway, maybe i'm too devoted to Yesasia. They don't send out coupons like that. Although, for a LONG while, with every $50 order, you got a $5 coupon. I think that's about 500 Yen. I managed to get about 5 or 6 of those since they had the deal going so long. So maybe I shouldn't complain.

I haven't heard Freaky Planet yet, and the only way I'm going to get these next 4 singels is if the tracklist is worth it. Im thinking they might be since they're sort of making this a special occassion sort of thing. Although, looking at the prices on Yesasia, they might not be. Guess I'll just have to wait and see. If not, I'll just wait till the next album, and if they're not on there, then I'll consider getting the singles.

I've actually been considering a few Move singles lately, come to think of it. I keep putting them in my cart and taking them out. I think the three major ones are Blast My Desire, Fly Me So High (I love the Mushroom Huntin Remix of Super Sonic Dance), and Super Sonic Dance itself.

I definately think getting Globe 2 is a good decision. It's a little bit experimental, like Outernet was, but doesn't have that mid-album split. I think that's really why noone seemed to like that album so much. It's hard to be in the mood for both those styles, so you kinda have to sit through one style to listen to the one you want to (if you're gonna listen to the whole CD). Or if you're just listening to one half of it, you paid a lot of money for 5 or 6 songs.

P.S. Where'd you hear a sample of Freaky Planet?

[Joseph]

Let's say I'm an average Ayumi fan. Say I'm Japanese, so I might like popular American artists like Avril Lavigne and so forth. Or I'm American and I like George Strait and I like Ayumi because she's the only Japanese singer I've heard of. I don't know. It's not based on artist similarity; it's based on fan similarity. I have no idea why, but sometimes the same people tend to like groups that are really different from each other.

For example, one time I searched the Music Map for Aqua, and the closest group was Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. What a surprise-- the two groups are extremely different from each other. However, it's true that at one time or another I really liked both groups anyway. I guess there must be more people like me who like sort of dancey, fun, nostalgic groups.

Please tell me about E-Rotic. Amazon has recommended them to me, but I've never been able to find out much about them. What does their music sound like? What country are they from?

Since I spend a lot on comic books now, I don't think I'll make another Jpop purchase quite yet. I'm much more interested in European groups. I think the Smile.dk and Stellar Project CDs are higher on my list at the moment, but I plan to eventually buy Globe 2 right when I need it.

Fly Me So High is a great single! I bought it because it's the only release that has my favorite Move song Sunday Funday. The only other Move singles I have are Future Breeze and Burning Dance, which also weren't released in albums. If Move was more confident in their music style, then they could stick with one music style and release it all on the same album instead of jumping around styles all the time. Blast My Desire is a great song, with its spiritual implications. Although you've said several times how you don't usually bother with singles.

More and more I'm finding I love Sylver-- their latest album Nighttime Calls is becoming one of my top favorites. Compared to other Eurodance groups, they have more seriousness, more backbone, more grit; in fact, it's almost too moody for me, though it's not profane. The lyrics Silvy de Bie sings are so bold. I'm sure the market for Eurodance groups with gritty female singers is probably small, but I hope the industry expands. =) Strangely, I detest a similar group called Milk Inc because their lyrics are so unfeeling and they rub me the wrong way. Another similar group is Lasgo, and they're okay, but they constantly sing about romantic anxiety, so it drives me nuts.

To be honest, I listen to new music releases from Richard. Freaky Planet is pretty good, though it's not at the top of my wish list right now.

[molotov889]

Ok, I guess it makes more sense if it's based off a database of what people listen to of some sort rather than musical style similarities. Although, it's still hard for me to imagine a George Strait fan who also listens to Ayumi .

Anyway, E-Rotic is a British duo that does Eurobeat. Some of their music was actually on DDR (Oh Nick! Please Not So Quick, In The Heat Of The Night, Gimme Gimme Gimme Your Love, etc...). As their name implies, their songs usually have a sexual context to them. It's funny, though, cuz they use this quirky mix of innuendo and things like the girl singing like she's fake moaning at times (although, I think you can find versions without that). I don't think they make music anymore, but they made quite a few CDs back in the 90's I think. I've always looked into them, but never bit on buying because I already have a radio megamix that has all the songs I like and know of by them. Like I said, they're quirky, which makes it fun, instead of raunchy. Check out a DDR forum or fansite for a list of their DDR songs, and you'll prolly recognize them.

Have you heard of Novaspace? You mention groups like Lasgo, etc, and they immediately came to mind. Their CD was really expensive (Cubes) for me to get, but it was pretty good. (I think I eventually bought it off Amazon for almost $30 or something like that.)


To be honest, I listen to new music releases from Richard. Freaky Planet is pretty good, though it's not at the top of my wish list right now.

Haha. crazy kids these days and their internet. The things they can find.

[gav]

ahh u aint suppose to say ne thing!!!!

[molotov889]

huh? not supposed to say anything about what, gav?