The shuffle feature under both iTunes and on my iPod has long been frustrating to me. It never seems to be random, and sometimes it will really get stuck on a particular song or artist. I just don't need to hear songs by Rachel's that often, you know?
So I read this randomizer investigation by CNET Australia with great interest. Their methodology feels a little wack (especially since I've had similar results without using any iTunes Store songs), but it does speak to a pretty clear truth: Software randomizers don't feel random to people. My sense is that this is unintentional, and the software is simply too unsophisticated to make judgment calls about songs that are similar in an abstract way. Read on for my tiny analysis.
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I mean, using the Party Shuffle feature, which only comes up with 16 songs, I had two artists show up twice each! I have 3621 songs! Of those duplicates, one artist had two songs from the same album. It also has a proclivity for choosing atmospheric songs that are a minute or shorter. I would love tools that could set up rules, such as no two songs by the same artist, or no songs under two minutes and so forth.
The system as is just doesn't work for me. What do you make of it?
iTunes: Just how random is random? - Music Software
Via Digg.
