slipjig3: (Default)
[personal profile] slipjig3
The MP3 player on [livejournal.com profile] rafaela's computer is an opinionated little cuss, with a recurring habit of playing exactly the right song at exactly the right time. I mean, it's truly uncanny: we'll be talking about person X in her life, and the song that perfectly describes person X will just happen to pop up on the randomizer. So last night during our regular phone chat, when her virtual DJ kept hitting the proverbial button, it wasn't at all unexpected.

But then, for some unknown reason, inspiration struck: Why not do a Tarot reading, only using songs instead of Tarot cards?

[livejournal.com profile] rafaela dubbed it "iTunes Divination," and I have to say, it works surprisingly well. You'll need an MP3 player, of course, and a pencil and paper. First, if the player is already running, shut it down and restart it. (She instituted this small ritual as the equivalent of shuffling and cutting; having done one reading without restarting that devolved into hogwash, I can attest that it's quite necessary). Then open the main library, set the play mode to "random," and write down the first ten songs that come up, numbering them 1 to 10. These songs will represent the ten positions of the traditional Celtic cross Tarot spread. Interpret them as you would cards.

We ended up doing a half-dozen readings last night, some from her playlist and some from mine, and now we're pretty well hooked. We haven't done much playing around with the format; it'd be interesting to see how well it works with other spreads, as well as with more specific playlists (e.g. favorites only, or confined to a particular artist). A few bits of advice: a) the more intimately acquainted you are with the songs played, obviously, the better the reading will be; b) don't mute the sound, even if you know the songs like the back of your hand; and c) you can always drag the ten songs into a new playlist for further contemplation.

If you try it, or if you have any suggestions, by all means let us know. We'd love to hear from you.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-22 05:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] haikujaguar.livejournal.com
What a cool idea! :)

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-25 05:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] slipjig.livejournal.com
Thank you! *beaming*

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-22 06:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pixiekatz.livejournal.com
That's incredibly awesome. I'm going to try that when I get home. I just hope it works with WinAmp as well as iTunes.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-25 05:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] slipjig.livejournal.com
Yup, I believe this is cross-compatible.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-22 06:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] odheirre.livejournal.com
This sounds like a good idea.

I wonder if you could create a playlist that mirrors a Tarot deck. Don't Pay the Ferryman or O Death for Death, The Times They Are A-Changin' for Tower, Rasputin for the Devil, Kansas's Rainmaker for the World, that sort of thing.

I'm just throwing this out for those more mix-talented than I.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-25 05:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] slipjig.livejournal.com
Actually, I was actually considering a major arcana mix eons ago (Fool = "Willow Tree" by Not Drowning, Waving; Devil = "Link of Chain" by the Horseflies, etc.); maybe it's time to dust that off.

[livejournal.com profile] rafaela and I were doing more readings last night, and she mentioned that she now has a playlist reserved just for readins that eliminates stuff that tend to skew the interepretations. I think I need to do the same, because I pretty much dumped anything and everything into my library, and I've gotten "African Suite: Mbire" by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet one too many times.

trial using iPod

Date: 2004-03-22 06:59 am (UTC)
dwivian: (Dwiv Inside)
From: [personal profile] dwivian
1. 4th Part of Pipe Major George Allan ; Seven Nations
2. Holy Is The Lord ; John Michael Talbot
3. Step By Step ; Rich Mullins
4. Citi Ni Eadhra ; Altan
5. An Cailin Gaelach ; Altan
6. Dulaman ; Altan
7. Aria: You murdered yoru Father ; Oedipus Tex, PDQ Bach
8. I Have Decided ; Amy Grant
9. The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) ; Saturday Morning Cartoons
10. City of New Orleans ; Arlo Guthrie

So....someone who KNOWS this stuff.... tell me what it means?

Re: trial using iPod

Date: 2004-03-25 05:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] slipjig.livejournal.com
Ow...that makes my brain hurt...

Re: trial using iPod

Date: 2004-03-26 11:55 am (UTC)
dwivian: (Default)
From: [personal profile] dwivian
It does? What did it tell you? :)

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-22 08:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] stevenglassman.livejournal.com
I used to do this years and years and years ago with the radio (how old-school!), after reading about someone else doing it in a book.

::tries to remember the book it came from::

I'm pretty sure it was the Soulsmith Trilogy by Tom Dietz, but it's been roughly a decade since I read it, so I'm not at all certain.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-22 06:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] felisdemens.livejournal.com
Yeah, it was the Soulsmith trilogy. I still do that sometimes, although doing it with iTunes is a better idea since you presumably know all the songs and artists.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-25 05:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] slipjig.livejournal.com
Unless you're listening to a ClearChannel station, in which case it's just the same ten songs over and over again anyway.

Re:

Date: 2004-03-22 08:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] catamorphism.livejournal.com
Quitting and restarting the player really does make a difference, because the sequence of songs it plays on "shuffle" is fixed for each invocation of the application. Which is why you can fast-forward and rewind between songs when it's on shuffle.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-03-25 05:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] slipjig.livejournal.com
Good point. Thank you!
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