I discovered scrobbling a few months ago. For those of you who aren't familiar, scrobbling is the process by which the gnomes that live inside my computer tell the gnomes that live at Last.fm all the music I am listening to. Last.fm compiles charts about which artists, albums and songs are played most frequently. It organizes this info into weekly, monthly and yearly charts and then publishes this information - along with a running list of your most recently played tracks - on your profile page. You can also find your friends provided they, too, are one of the 21 million - according to Guardian.co.uk - who have also instructed their computer gnomes to publish their listening habits. Then you can keep up with what they are listening to, analyze their selections and feel superior because of your friends' great musical tastes.
Sounds like a great idea, right?
It's not. At least not after you check your first monthly chart and realize that, apparently, the only music you listened to for an entire month has been Enter the Wu-Tang and Feist's The Reminder. Embarrassed, you check your friend's page, hoping that will distract you from your apparent bi-polar fanboy status. Instead, you discover that your friend is even sadder than you. He is the top listener, for several months running, for Saves the Day. Remember Saves the Day? They made some good albums... in 2003. And this friend wasn't just the top listener. He doubled up the second-biggest fan.
So the next month, I decided to keep variety in mind. Every time I opened iTunes, I thought about how each choice would translate to my listening charts. I passed on the lovely Leslie Feist for Aesop Rock or Joy Division. I searched the cobwebby corners of my iTunes for gems like Electric President and Beirut to listen to, instead of skipping straight to Bring da Ruckus.""
That is when the second problem emerged. If I didn't pay close attention, my iTunes would end up sending songs to Last.fm that I didn't remember listening to. For instance, after starting to listen to Pharoahe Monch, I walked away from my computer and promptly forgot about my still-scrobbling computer. This left my excellent taste in underground rap buried by 30 songs worth of what, according to iTunes, is Phil Collins ""Greatest Hits."" Another day, I fell asleep to Regina Spektor and accidentally scrobbled the entire Queen discography. After a blissful listen to Panda Bear's Person Pitch, I had to be careful not to let the next three artists in my music library - Panic At The Disco, Pantera and Pat Benatar - sully the music chart I was working so hard to perfect.
It's official. Scrobbling has ruined my once relaxing listening sessions with my computer. Randomly listening to whatever catches my attention is a thing of the past. Now, all I can do is obsess about my listening charts, constantly worrying about their variety and making sure no stray songs throw off the accuracy of my listening identity.
Want to help Dale diversify his musical portfolio? Send your scrobbling suggestions to dpmundt@wisc.edu.
