I’m experimenting with posts named after using first letter of this day of the week, just like an amateur blogger would do. Shazam! If you’re new, you might want to read the Intro.

LAST.FM MAYHEM

Last.fm, the self-proclaimed “social music revolution”, a wonderful place for discovering and sharing music, as well connecting with like-minded listeners, unveiled the new version of their website on the 17th of this month…to much hooting and hollering from thousands of users. I had been invited to test the Beta only about a week prior. After clicking “view the beta version of this page” and seeing what it looked like, I switched back immediately. Initially, it was just because I had found it less aesthetically appealing. But now that it has come into full-force, I have found that there are issues of functionality as well. There are a few benefits, which could have likely been implemented without downgrading the appearance and usability of the entire site. Yes, there are pros, including:

• A smarter recommendation system.
• Instantly updated charts.
• Hearts appear beside your loved tracks…um, yeah.
• ‘Unique to this Group’ charts.
• When visiting an artist page, a box displays how many times you’ve played their songs
• The concept of the website still rocks: the free streaming radio, the massive amount of charts available everywhere, the connecting with people, and so on. I’m not going to be leaving in protest.

As for the cons:

• Group recommendations are currently disabled. This one is a bummer because that’s where the bulk of my listeners were coming from. I suppose time will tell.
• More clicks required to get anywhere: to view more than 15 of your most-listened to artists, to type in a band and have to click again to view the artist page, to view the groups you are a part of (only 10 to a page!) and to view a group member’s profile, to name a few.
• Music tags taking a backseat, in terms of visibility.
• You can no longer listen to your playlist or anyone else’s, unless you are a subscriber. This was apparently a liscencing issue, but still…

I’m not sure how the staff and developers of Last.fm could not have forseen the troubles, as there were loads of comments and posts of a negative nature in the Last.fm Beta Group while it was still being tested. This was definitely a premature move. As it stands, a group called Bring back the old Last.fm has 9,000+ members, and We don’t whine about the new Last.FM has 300+ members. That, I think, sums it up right there, and I’m not talking about the difference in numbers. An unfortunately large number people that have had issues with the new layout have complained about it using ALL CAPS and/or little rationalization, in a pesky manner, often with no regard to the possible benefits of the change. There are a handful of users that have thoughtfully articulated their views, but those in favor of the new design have mostly been witness to random yelling in un-related artist shoutboxes about the ‘hideous’ new layout and such. The Beatles artist page in particular has been a hotbed of this kind of activity.

I think that the best solution would be having a Switch-to-Classic button available. This should’ve been implemented from the start, actually. After spending time developing a new look, Last.fm isn’t going to revert to the old way simply because of mass-complaining. The comparison between the new layout of Last.fm and Facebook, in particular, has been made repeatedly. While this might help people get that there is a ‘social’ aspect of the website more readily, it has alienated those who see the new design as a sort of ploy to reach a more mainstream userbase. Not to forget Last.fm’s new ‘smart advertising’ plan. As a fan of the site, and an artist that uploads my stuff there, I find these matters disconcerting and hope that some happy medium can be met, though with a few more months of testing and fine-tuning, the new Last.fm might’ve gone off with less trouble. More on the new layout here: Last.fm Gets a Makeover

OTHER NEWS

• Tomorrow, the newest Nine Inch Nails album The Slip comes out on CD, for those that like having physical copies of your music. It’s still on the official website for free. It’s one of my favorites since Pretty Hate Machine. More acessible than that Ghosts instrumental thingamabob, too…Except for Ghosts 14 Ghosts IV, that track is fab for belly-dancing.
• Goldfrapp announces North American tour dates
• I read over on JP’s blog that Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst will be touring…the world. I felt it necessary to mention Oberst because MyHeritage Face Recognition claims that I look roughly 70% like him, regardless of what pictures of myself I submit. You be the judge. Something in the eyes, perhaps. The first one’s me; I know it’s tricky to tell: