Alterative Music Players

O K Guys! Let me top into the wealth of knowledge here...

I'm looking for an alternative to WMP11 with the ability to deal with music
files properly (see below...). I've worked my way through a whole bunch of
these without success. and I'm looking for one that runs in Windows Vista
and one that runs in Ubuntu, but they don't have to be the same. It would be
nice if they could play WMA files (lossless) but if necessary I'd be OK with
FLAC if I can find a converter that maintains the integrity of the tags
(Media Monkey V3 Beta comes close).

So what do I mean by "properly"? I need the function (as in WMP) of
a) Holding multiple artists and composers as separate entities (separate
from Album Artist)
b) Allowing indexing. into the library by each of the artists or
composers
c) Allowing editing of the multiple artists/ composers per track
d) Supporting ripping/tagging of multiple artists/composers via the
usual DBs

If that's confusing, perhaps an example would help:
For an album "Live Aid" with a track "Dancing in the Streets" by Mick Jagger
and David Bowie, WMP will allow me to access the track by Album Artist
(Various), by Album Title, or by either of the two artists. It will show
both artists under "Artist" for the track by separating them with "; " and
allow editing by entering them separated by ";" (no space). Under the covers
it holds then as
separate ID3V2 tags using an "Artist" tag for the first artist and multiple
"Author" tags for subsequent artists. FLAC tagging allows multiple "Artist"
tags but there doesn't seem to be standard usage of that capability. I guess
you could say that WMP sets its own standard - but one which works well.

A deafening silence to my question below!
I had at least expected that the Ubuntu fans here would have a suggestion or
two...


"cvp" <> wrote in message
newsABB6BB5-DE76-46B0-B91A-...
>O K Guys! Let me top into the wealth of knowledge here...
>
> I'm looking for an alternative to WMP11 with the ability to deal with
> music files properly (see below...). I've worked my way through a whole
> bunch of these without success. and I'm looking for one that runs in
> Windows Vista and one that runs in Ubuntu, but they don't have to be the
> same. It would be nice if they could play WMA files (lossless) but if
> necessary I'd be OK with FLAC if I can find a converter that maintains the
> integrity of the tags (Media Monkey V3 Beta comes close).
>
> So what do I mean by "properly"? I need the function (as in WMP) of
> a) Holding multiple artists and composers as separate entities
> (separate from Album Artist)
> b) Allowing indexing. into the library by each of the artists or
> composers
> c) Allowing editing of the multiple artists/ composers per track
> d) Supporting ripping/tagging of multiple artists/composers via the
> usual DBs
>
> If that's confusing, perhaps an example would help:
> For an album "Live Aid" with a track "Dancing in the Streets" by Mick
> Jagger and David Bowie, WMP will allow me to access the track by Album
> Artist (Various), by Album Title, or by either of the two artists. It will
> show both artists under "Artist" for the track by separating them with ";
> " and allow editing by entering them separated by ";" (no space). Under
> the covers it holds then as
> separate ID3V2 tags using an "Artist" tag for the first artist and
> multiple "Author" tags for subsequent artists. FLAC tagging allows
> multiple "Artist" tags but there doesn't seem to be standard usage of that
> capability. I guess you could say that WMP sets its own standard - but
> one which works well.

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:58:30 -0400, cvp wrote:

> A deafening silence to my question below! I had at least expected that
> the Ubuntu fans here would have a suggestion or two...
>

Rhythmbox or Amarok.

Personally I prefer Rhythmbox as it is more lightweight but I think
Amarok has a few additional features that Rhythmbox doesn't have. I don't
like Amarok's look and feel though.

--
Stephan
2003 Yamaha R6

������出�日�ん�����
����忘れ�������ら

You will get about 11 million hits if you Google for the three words:
music database player
Hopefully something will catch your eye, or help you find a more focused set
of key words to find what you want.

-Paul Randall

"cvp" <> wrote in message
newsABB6BB5-DE76-46B0-B91A-...
>O K Guys! Let me top into the wealth of knowledge here...
>
> I'm looking for an alternative to WMP11 with the ability to deal with
> music files properly (see below...). I've worked my way through a whole
> bunch of these without success. and I'm looking for one that runs in
> Windows Vista and one that runs in Ubuntu, but they don't have to be the
> same. It would be nice if they could play WMA files (lossless) but if
> necessary I'd be OK with FLAC if I can find a converter that maintains the
> integrity of the tags (Media Monkey V3 Beta comes close).
>
> So what do I mean by "properly"? I need the function (as in WMP) of
> a) Holding multiple artists and composers as separate entities
> (separate from Album Artist)
> b) Allowing indexing. into the library by each of the artists or
> composers
> c) Allowing editing of the multiple artists/ composers per track
> d) Supporting ripping/tagging of multiple artists/composers via the
> usual DBs
>
> If that's confusing, perhaps an example would help:
> For an album "Live Aid" with a track "Dancing in the Streets" by Mick
> Jagger and David Bowie, WMP will allow me to access the track by Album
> Artist (Various), by Album Title, or by either of the two artists. It will
> show both artists under "Artist" for the track by separating them with ";
> " and allow editing by entering them separated by ";" (no space). Under
> the covers it holds then as
> separate ID3V2 tags using an "Artist" tag for the first artist and
> multiple "Author" tags for subsequent artists. FLAC tagging allows
> multiple "Artist" tags but there doesn't seem to be standard usage of that
> capability. I guess you could say that WMP sets its own standard - but
> one which works well.

Stephan,

I've tried both of those (and all the players readily available in Ubuntu).
But there is no support for multiple artists or composers - hence my
question. I found it hard to believe that the Linux world was so far behind
what was available so many years ago in Windows and WMP10, let alone WMP11.
But maybe so...


"Stephan Rose" <> wrote in message
news ...
> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:58:30 -0400, cvp wrote:
>
>> A deafening silence to my question below! I had at least expected that
>> the Ubuntu fans here would have a suggestion or two...
>>
>
> Rhythmbox or Amarok.
>
> Personally I prefer Rhythmbox as it is more lightweight but I think
> Amarok has a few additional features that Rhythmbox doesn't have. I don't
> like Amarok's look and feel though.
>
> --
> Stephan
> 2003 Yamaha R6
>
> ������出�日�ん�����
> ����忘れ�������ら

Paul,

I've tried that using multiple artists as well - maybe my search skills are
lacking, but all I see is forums where someone thinks it might be "a good
idea" to add the functionality to just about every player I've come across..
That's why I was hoping those more experienced in the Linux world might have
come across as least one good one that could come close to the Windows WMP10
& 11 functionality which has been around for years.
All I've found so far is lots and lots of simple-minded players all
performing the same function - what a waste of talent!

"Paul Randall" <> wrote in message
news:...
> You will get about 11 million hits if you Google for the three words:
> music database player
> Hopefully something will catch your eye, or help you find a more focused
> set of key words to find what you want.
>
> -Paul Randall
>
> "cvp" <> wrote in message
> newsABB6BB5-DE76-46B0-B91A-...
>>O K Guys! Let me top into the wealth of knowledge here...
>>
>> I'm looking for an alternative to WMP11 with the ability to deal with
>> music files properly (see below...). I've worked my way through a whole
>> bunch of these without success. and I'm looking for one that runs in
>> Windows Vista and one that runs in Ubuntu, but they don't have to be the
>> same. It would be nice if they could play WMA files (lossless) but if
>> necessary I'd be OK with FLAC if I can find a converter that maintains
>> the integrity of the tags (Media Monkey V3 Beta comes close).
>>
>> So what do I mean by "properly"? I need the function (as in WMP) of
>> a) Holding multiple artists and composers as separate entities
>> (separate from Album Artist)
>> b) Allowing indexing. into the library by each of the artists or
>> composers
>> c) Allowing editing of the multiple artists/ composers per track
>> d) Supporting ripping/tagging of multiple artists/composers via the
>> usual DBs
>>
>> If that's confusing, perhaps an example would help:
>> For an album "Live Aid" with a track "Dancing in the Streets" by Mick
>> Jagger and David Bowie, WMP will allow me to access the track by Album
>> Artist (Various), by Album Title, or by either of the two artists. It
>> will show both artists under "Artist" for the track by separating them
>> with "; " and allow editing by entering them separated by ";" (no space).
>> Under the covers it holds then as
>> separate ID3V2 tags using an "Artist" tag for the first artist and
>> multiple "Author" tags for subsequent artists. FLAC tagging allows
>> multiple "Artist" tags but there doesn't seem to be standard usage of
>> that capability. I guess you could say that WMP sets its own standard -
>> but one which works well.
>
>

No offence because it's personal taste but quite honestly I dislike WMP
with every nes "Feature" they add. It is simply too much work to mess
with all those settings when I just want to listen to music. I
personally find the information it increasingly wants to collect, and
"Refer" to the internet about, is invasive.


cvp wrote:
> Stephan,
>
> I've tried both of those (and all the players readily available in
> Ubuntu). But there is no support for multiple artists or composers -
> hence my question. I found it hard to believe that the Linux world was
> so far behind what was available so many years ago in Windows and WMP10,
> let alone WMP11. But maybe so...
>
>
> "Stephan Rose" <> wrote in message
> news ...
>> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:58:30 -0400, cvp wrote:
>>
>>> A deafening silence to my question below! I had at least expected that
>>> the Ubuntu fans here would have a suggestion or two...
>>>
>>
>> Rhythmbox or Amarok.
>>
>> Personally I prefer Rhythmbox as it is more lightweight but I think
>> Amarok has a few additional features that Rhythmbox doesn't have. I don't
>> like Amarok's look and feel though.
>>
>> --
>> Stephan
>> 2003 Yamaha R6
>>
>> ������出�日�ん�����
>> ����忘れ�������ら
>

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:36:47 -0400, cvp wrote:

> Stephan,
>
> I've tried both of those (and all the players readily available in
> Ubuntu). But there is no support for multiple artists or composers -
> hence my question. I found it hard to believe that the Linux world was
> so far behind what was available so many years ago in Windows and WMP10,
> let alone WMP11. But maybe so...
>
>

*shrug* Rhythmbox meets my needs perfectly so I have never bothered to
check if there is anything else out there. After all, why should I bother
looking for other apps if the one I use does everything I need it to?

It can handle multiple artists / composers in one single album absolutely
no problem.

And even multiple artists in one song actually aren't a problem.

When I type in the partial name of a song, I get a match for all songs
that contain that partial name. The same would apply for artists.

So what's stopping you from putting both artists into the Artist ID3V2
tag? I suspect that is what WMP is doing and it just uses the ; as a
separator. I could do the same thing under Rhythmbox easily.

--
Stephan
2003 Yamaha R6

������出�日�ん�����
����忘れ�������ら

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:49:48 -0400, cvp wrote:

> Paul,
>
> I've tried that using multiple artists as well - maybe my search skills
> are lacking, but all I see is forums where someone thinks it might be "a
> good idea" to add the functionality to just about every player I've come
> across.. That's why I was hoping those more experienced in the Linux
> world might have come across as least one good one that could come close
> to the Windows WMP10 & 11 functionality which has been around for years.
> All I've found so far is lots and lots of simple-minded players all
> performing the same function - what a waste of talent!

Honestly, most people probably don't really have a need for it. And if
anything, I personally would want a way to turn the feature OFF! That'd
be my most important thing I'd be looking for.

And I'll tell you why too.

Napster does what you want. It creates a reference for every artist in a
track. And man, I think close to 50% of the artists in my artist list
under napster I had no clue who they were!!! It drove me nuts because it
severely cluttered up my artist list.

I'd download one various artist album and I'd instantly have 10-20 new
artists cluttering up my list that I didn't want there but couldn't do
anything about.

--
Stephan
2003 Yamaha R6

������出�日�ん�����
����忘れ�������ら

Charlie,
If WMP was perfect I wouldn't be looking at alternatives!
However, indexing into a large collection by one of several artists on the
same track is one of its good features. One the settings have been set, it's
not really all that intrusive. But ...YMMV

"Charlie Tame" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> No offence because it's personal taste but quite honestly I dislike WMP
> with every nes "Feature" they add. It is simply too much work to mess with
> all those settings when I just want to listen to music. I personally find
> the information it increasingly wants to collect, and "Refer" to the
> internet about, is invasive.
>
>
> cvp wrote:
>> Stephan,
>>
>> I've tried both of those (and all the players readily available in
>> Ubuntu). But there is no support for multiple artists or composers -
>> hence my question. I found it hard to believe that the Linux world was so
>> far behind what was available so many years ago in Windows and WMP10, let
>> alone WMP11. But maybe so...
>>
>>
>> "Stephan Rose" <> wrote in message
>> news ...
>>> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:58:30 -0400, cvp wrote:
>>>
>>>> A deafening silence to my question below! I had at least expected that
>>>> the Ubuntu fans here would have a suggestion or two...
>>>>
>>>
>>> Rhythmbox or Amarok.
>>>
>>> Personally I prefer Rhythmbox as it is more lightweight but I think
>>> Amarok has a few additional features that Rhythmbox doesn't have. I
>>> don't
>>> like Amarok's look and feel though.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Stephan
>>> 2003 Yamaha R6
>>>
>>> ������出�日�ん�����
>>> ����忘れ�������ら
>>