I listen to most of my music on iTunes. I buy single songs, and I also like to put a lot of my previously-owned CDs on the computer so I can listen to them as well. iTunes has a nifty feature for this - there's a "Get Track Names" command that takes any commerically published CD you can imagine and request the track names online, saving you the hassle of having to type all the information in.
I've been amazed in the past by how thorough this mysterious Track Names source must be. I put in a random touristy CD my little sister bought me in Costa Rica in there and it got me all the names. Once in awhile, I've gotten a misspelling, mostly on foreign discs, so I know it must get the track names from other users or... something.
So, needless to say, I trust it pretty inherently. For Christmas, my roommate gave me a handful of used classical CDs in her ongoing crusade to culture me. I really liked them, and needed more nice classical to add to my mellow playlists. One of them, called Russian Romantic Fantasy, was a favorite of mine and, when I hit "Get Track Names," I thought nothing of the strange titles that were given to the songs now a part of my library. This is what I got:
Mussorgsky - Khovanshchina. Overture Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition Carbonara Das Blech Deja Vu Radio Duett Komplett (remix) Labyrinth Notausgang Herr Kennedy Computer sind doof Heut' Nacht Glaspalast Kill Jerusalem Telefon Terror
At first, I figured I must have gotten titles from someone who speaks a different language. I mean, "Computer Sind Doof" may sound exactly like Tchaikovsky's theme from Romeo and Juliet, but who knows what those crazy Eastern Europeans may call it, right?
No. This has been bugging me now, everytime I see that my playlist is playing "Kill," which sounds an awful lot like the song from "Somewhere in Time," I get more and more suspicious. So, I enlisted the aid of Babelfish and was able to deduce at least this much:
Carbonara = ? Like the Italian cooking method? Das Blech = the sheet metal Deja Vu Radio = radio Duett Komplett = Duett complete (remix) Labyrinth= labyrinth Notausgang = emergency exit Herr Kennedy = Mr. Kennedy Computer Sind Doof = computers are stupid Heut Nacht = (something) night Glaspalast = glass palace Kill Jerusalem Telefon Terror = telephone terror
Heh. Looks like computers aren't the only ones who sind doof.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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I think those names are German. The "Herr" and "sind" are dead giveaways. Which would make them "those crazy Western Europeans"... Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I know they're German, but when I first got the titles I assumed they were, like, the original Russian names for the songs.
OK, I suppose I didn't look to closely if I assumed "Herr Kennedy" was the name of a 19th century Russian song, but then again, I'm not that bright.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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*bump* I was hoping maybe Katie and some of the morning crowd might know a little more German than I had deduced so far.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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cddb doesn't seem to have a good archive of classical music. either that, or classical cds aren't given the same serial number (or whatever identifier cddb uses.) i've seen similar screwups on other classical cds.
oh. and it's not only an iTunes feature Posts: 494 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Oh, I love the confidence. Let me see. *concentrates*
Mussorgsky - Khovanshchina. Overture The music over the opening credits for the movie about Mussorgsky going on a photography trip under cover in China. Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition - The music played during the sequence when the pictures were displayed. Over the pictures was text describing the fate of each of the party. Carbonara Che Guevera's ode to his shotgun. Das Blech Inspired by the same bug that laid me out on New Year's Eve, this is a popular piece with junior high orchestras. Deja Vu You've heard this piece before. Radio The baroque version of "Video Killed the Radio Star." Duett Komplett (remix) Finally, the quintessential duet of Maria Callas and Toby Keith. Labyrinth Performed entirely by muppets, it's easy to get lost in the fugues. Notausgang Composed by the trumpeter for the Crips, it was played during a community pep rally. Herr Kennedy The music piped into the Sixth Floor Museum. Heut' Nacht Rejected by the Beatles for the theme song to their first movie. Kill Blamed by the FCC for causing violence in children. Jerusalem A love song. Telefon Terror What happened the last time I forgot about the spaghetti.
[ January 19, 2005, 01:33 PM: Message edited by: Lady Jane ]
Posts: 1163 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Nope, "kill" would be the English word, there's no German one that I know off. The German translation comes nowhere near it. And yeah, someone really had fun coming up with those names... Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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my guess to what happened is that someone who can update the cddb created their own cd with who knows what, and these are the track-names they submitted.
Posts: 494 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I really liked them, and needed more nice classical to add to my mellow playlists. One of them, called Russian Romantic Fantasy, was a favorite of mine and, when I hit "Get Track Names," I thought nothing of the strange titles that were given to the songs now a part of my library. This is what I got:
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