[emms-help] [patch, *WIP*] add as next track to play

[Rasmus]

Hi,

[I wanted to sent this message to the .patch ML, but I got a message
from gmane about needing to sign-up for the list above-and-beyond the
"normal" gmane requirement (proving one have access to the email one
is sending from). . . I'll thus stick with this list].

Often I get the urge to hear a certain track as next track (cause I
never want to interrupt the current song). EMMS-browser currently
does not support this and I think it's an important function.

However, the patch is pretty naïve about how it inserts stuff in terms
of the looks. Basically it does not care about its surroundings. I
have attached a screenshot of the patch in action. Maggie Björklund
and Pink Floyd have been inserted using
`emms-browser-add-track-as-next-track' in the patch.

I think maybe the naïve way is OK for single tracks, since indention
is different, but it's a bit confusing when Led Zep starts playing
again towards the end of the screenshot. Perhaps the led Zep header
should be inserted again?

WDYT?

Thanks,
Rasmus

[Yoni Rabkin]

Post by Rasmus
Hi,
[I wanted to sent this message to the .patch ML, but I got a message
from gmane about needing to sign-up for the list above-and-beyond the
"normal" gmane requirement (proving one have access to the email one
is sending from). . . I'll thus stick with this list].
Often I get the urge to hear a certain track as next track (cause I
never want to interrupt the current song). EMMS-browser currently
does not support this and I think it's an important function.
However, the patch is pretty naïve about how it inserts stuff in terms
of the looks. Basically it does not care about its surroundings. I
have attached a screenshot of the patch in action. Maggie Björklund
and Pink Floyd have been inserted using
`emms-browser-add-track-as-next-track' in the patch.
I think maybe the naïve way is OK for single tracks, since indention
is different, but it's a bit confusing when Led Zep starts playing
again towards the end of the screenshot. Perhaps the led Zep header
should be inserted again?
WDYT?

(I don't use emms-browser at all, so I'm probably not the best person to
ask.)

There is a fundamental tension here: On one hand you want to preserve
the album format which the Browser added to the playlist, with its
headers and whatnot; this is a visual thing. But on the other hand, you
want to change the order in which the songs are played, either a bit, or
a lot; this is a logical thing. The problem being that the logical
change will break the visual because it is done in the playlist, and the
playlist is logical by nature.

The playlist is meant to be mailable; it doesn't make any sense to play
the tracks in the playlist in any other order than the one they are
displayed.

Therefore I think that you should work on getting the visuals not to
break. Add the headers, indent or do whatever makes sense to you so that
the playlist can keep working as designed and not look broken.

[Rasmus]

Hi Yoni,

Thanks for the feedback.

Post by Yoni Rabkin

Post by Rasmus
Hi,
[I wanted to sent this message to the .patch ML, but I got a message
from gmane about needing to sign-up for the list above-and-beyond the
"normal" gmane requirement (proving one have access to the email one
is sending from). . . I'll thus stick with this list].
Often I get the urge to hear a certain track as next track (cause I
never want to interrupt the current song). EMMS-browser currently
does not support this and I think it's an important function.
However, the patch is pretty naïve about how it inserts stuff in terms
of the looks. Basically it does not care about its surroundings. I
have attached a screenshot of the patch in action. Maggie Björklund
and Pink Floyd have been inserted using
`emms-browser-add-track-as-next-track' in the patch.
I think maybe the naïve way is OK for single tracks, since indention
is different, but it's a bit confusing when Led Zep starts playing
again towards the end of the screenshot. Perhaps the led Zep header
should be inserted again?
WDYT?

(I don't use emms-browser at all, so I'm probably not the best person to
ask.)

How come? It's great! (Except for the lack of album-artist, but this
is partly a taglib issue).

Post by Yoni Rabkin
There is a fundamental tension here: On one hand you want to preserve
the album format which the Browser added to the playlist, with its
headers and whatnot; this is a visual thing. But on the other hand, you
want to change the order in which the songs are played, either a bit, or
a lot; this is a logical thing. The problem being that the logical
change will break the visual because it is done in the playlist, and the
playlist is logical by nature.

Indeed that is the fundamental issue.

Post by Yoni Rabkin
The playlist is meant to be mailable; it doesn't make any sense to play
the tracks in the playlist in any other order than the one they are
displayed.

Why would that be a criterion? AFAIK, a mailed playlist will do me no
good other than suggesting what you are listening to. I won't even be
able to yank it even if we share a library.

Post by Yoni Rabkin
Therefore I think that you should work on getting the visuals not to
break. Add the headers, indent or do whatever makes sense to you so that
the playlist can keep working as designed and not look broken.

But here is the issue. There is not a uniquly defined way to make
visuals "work again". Hence the request for feedback. Indendtion,
cover art and header is a function of where I click RET in the
browser. For instance, it will look different depending on whether I
RET a single-album artist or the album.

Here's how it looks if add single track after an album (not an artist):

[cover]
...
11. Maggie Björklund - Teach Me How to Say Goodbye
06. Nephew - Gå Med Dig

If I add in the middle of an album:

[cover]
...
07. Maggie Björklund - Name in the Sand
06. Nephew - Gå Med Dig
08. Maggie Björklund - Missing at Sea

What *is* the correct visual style? Indention would suggest it's part
of the album, which is not true. The best I can think of is

[cover]
...
07. Maggie Björklund - Name in the Sand
06. Nephew - Gå Med Dig
[cover]
08. Maggie Björklund - Missing at Sea

But there is nothing logical or visual the suggests this is /the/ or
even /a/ solution.

More fundamentally, and for another day: The style of *EMMS Playlist*,
while being very appealing and arty for album playback, is
fundamentally fishy to say the least. Why is the style a function of
where I click RET in the browser? Why is the cover art sometimes
there sometimes not? Why is the Artist header there at all?

Textshots. RET on artist:

Maggie Björklund
[cover]
01. Maggie Björklund - Dark Side of the Heart

RET on cover, different indention:

[cover]
01. Maggie Björklund - Dark Side of the Heart


Anyway, this got a bit off topic. The question is really,

What is the right style for a yanked track?

—Rasmus