Time for a "Search" facility

[neilxt]

Well I think it's about time.

With maybe what 10,000? songs to choose from now I really think you ought to a) think about getting a search engine incorporated and b) trimming out some of the chaff (OK I know - stomp on that one if you want).

[Avian(Admin)]

There's a search engine!

It's in a box at the top of each request page. If searching music is what you mean.

As far as chaff, your chaff is another's essential favorite. I'm pretty comfortable with everythning we have on here right now.

I'm going to queue up a Celestial Navigations track just for you.

[progdirjim(Admin)]

maybe neilxt is looking for a more sophisticated search engine - I can't figure out how to do any compund searches - but I'm not always the ablest computer user...

As for chaff...I agree with Avian......I don't think there's anything that should be removed.

And that includes Philip Glass and even Celestial Navigations

[unter1337]

Yeah, I think the search engine could use a face-lift. It isn't that there is so much to choose from, it's that when you're looking for something specific (but don't know its exact name), you have to parse what the search engine returns, which is painful and tedious.

Some kind of weighted average system (like google) would work. I.e. when you make a search on the database each word in the search box (barring common words like articles, prepositions, etc.) is compared against the search results. The results with the most hits of those search words are put highest.

So, a search on

"thick like a brick"

would probably put "Thick as a Brick" (2 hits) somewhere near the top, instead of somewhere in the 4000's.

[Avian(Admin)]

When you search the music library, you search a mysql database through php, so there are no web pages to index like google. I would need an experienced php programmer to write the php code, cause I don't have time to hack through it, like I usually do with php. Email me if you are thou.

Avian

[neilxt]

Well now I feel utterly stupid.

I've used that music selection dozens of times and never noticed the "Search" option.

As for "chaff" well there's quite a lot of albums with only one or two progressive, or even good, songs on. That's more what I was thinking of.

I guess one problem is that "proggers" tend to have a bit of an "obscurity" fixation.

[Rick and Roll]

I am a music lover who likes progressive music. I also like songs that will make your stomach turn.

You make a very good point about having selections on the Moon that aren't exactly progressive.

But don't get carried away with the "obscurity" theory.

Throwing a statement out there like that is just bait. Start a thread with that theme, you'll get some lively discussion!

[Yesspaz]

Originally posted by neilxt
As for "chaff" well there's quite a lot of albums with only one or two progressive, or even good, songs on. That's more what I was thinking of.

Such as? I'm all about increasing the AM library from 10,00 songs to 20,000! If I wanted a skimmed down library where I heard the same music all the time, I'd listen to the radio. QED.

[Avian(Admin)]

Believe me, we do NOT add everything we get from new bands and releases. There is a huge amount of editing already going on

[neilxt]

Originally posted by Yesspaz


Such as? I'm all about increasing the AM library from 10,00 songs to 20,000! If I wanted a skimmed down library where I heard the same music all the time, I'd listen to the radio. QED.

Aren't you the one who got all bent out of shape when it was suggested we add some classical to the repertoire?

Classical is closer to "progressive" than half the stuff we have out there now... Jazz, Folk rock, Folk, ambient, world. A lot of it's good but frankly a lot of it's only there because it was on the same album as one good song... we recently added a couple of Strawbs albums and while about half of that could pass for progressive the remainder is just folk songs played electrically.

Do you really want to tell me that "Ah. me, Ah my" is more "progressive" more "rock" more worthy of inclusion on the playlist - than Mussorgski's "Pictures...."? Or Stravinski's "Firebird..."?

[Rick and Roll]

WHAT DOES IT MATTER
WHAT DOES IT MATTER
WHAT DOES IT MATTER

Let's try it
slowly......you....are......probably......right... ...but.....who.......... cares........

[progdirjim(Admin)]

OK, here's the program director's opinion. I realize you didn't ask for it.

Yes, Yesspaz spoke out against classical. If you saw his original post about it, a number of months ago, he put forth a few valid arguments. However, not liking classical and wanting variety are not mutually exclusive. Yesspaz and I correspond from time to time, and I can assure you Yesspaz is in favor of variety. One of these days I'll post a list of bands that are on AM courtesy of Yesspaz, either by direct donation or via a suggestion that I followed up on.

I LISTEN to everybody who provides input. I then try to reconcile all viewpoints with my own. Ultimately, what gets on AM is result of my own tastes, influenced by listener input as much as I am comfortable with.

More classical will be added. I am being very judicious with classical, though, as many listeners have spoken out against it. (Of course, many have supported classical as well.)

I currently am very sensitive to LONG tracks. Classical often falls into this category. At this time, I have a higher bar for longer tracks, if that makes sense. A 30 minute symphony is going to have to be pretty amazing to get added; a 2 minute post rock composition just has to be good.

As I stated in a completely different thread, I generally prefer to add albums in their entirety. That being said, I spend more time than you would probably believe listening to CDs before I add them to the playlist, to make sure each song on the CD deserves to be added. I have added one song from an album, all except one song from an album, and everything in between.

"Fame" also plays a part. A band like the Strawbs is considered by (dare I say) most prog fans to be prog. I let that "fact" color my tastes, and so I've added two complete Strawbs albums. Out of their catalog, that is fairly insignificant. I am trying to prepare for Nearfest (they're a headliner), and broaden my tastes.

But, the bottom line is: If there's something not on AM that you think should be - start a thread (in "Music Suggestions") with the band and/or album name as the topic. I promise I'll check it out. If there's something on AM you think shouldn't be, start a thread. I promise to consider removing it.

[Yesspaz]

I do like classical. I have more classical than you'd probably care to guess. ust two days ago I checked out 14 cds of Bach's Complete Organ works from the Samford University Library. My point is, Neilxt, while classical may be progressive in a sense it's not progressive ROCK. I'm against adding classical, but i still say I'd like to see the library double in size (in principle) in ROCK selections. I include world fusion, jazz rock, folk rock, etc. as ROCK. If they have a progressive bent, BOOM, I'd add it, length not-withstanding.

I'm getting bored...

[moses]

I dont' know if this is difficult to do or not, since I'm not real familiar with the mysql stuff and whatever else you're doing. But what might be neat would be allowing the search to be in one of the categories that already appear to be there in the database - Title, Artist, Album, and Year.

That way I can be specific and tell it what part of the database to search. For example, if I'm looking for King Crimson, I click on "Artist" in the search box. That way the search doesn't return every song and album that contains "king" or "crimson," just the artists. So the Flower Kings might still show up, but at least it would be narrowed down somewhat.

Boolean arguments would be great, since "king crimson" and +king +crimson both return no results.

Searching by year could be fun for theme days...

[Avian(Admin)]

Yeah - I'd also like to have the artists listed by default in album subcategories. You'd open a Yes tree, and see all the albums, and then open them up to see the tracks there. It's not that hard really - I'll have to find time to work on it.

Avian

[neilxt]

Originally posted by Yesspaz
I do like classical. I have more classical than you'd probably care to guess. ust two days ago I checked out 14 cds of Bach's Complete Organ works from the Samford University Library. My point is, Neilxt, while classical may be progressive in a sense it's not progressive ROCK. I'm against adding classical, but i still say I'd like to see the library double in size (in principle) in ROCK selections. I include world fusion, jazz rock, folk rock, etc. as ROCK. If they have a progressive bent, BOOM, I'd add it, length not-withstanding.

I think what this boils down to is that I'm looking for PROGRESSIVE (rock?) and you're looking for (progressive?) ROCK.

[Rick and Roll]

That's the sound of the bell - in one corner we have Neilxt (and Jack and me?) and in the far corner we have the mighty Yesspaz.

Have fun boys, defining the boundaries of rock....

Don't know what I'd do without you, Neil!