MixedTaper: Because playlist math is hard

A simple way to build play lists for audio cassettes using a Discogs collection

Overview:

MixedTaper is a Python app that helps you build track lists from media that has been catalogued in a Discogs collection. Building track lists and calculating run-time is as easy as clicking and dragging. It is written using Python 3 and requries PyQt5.

Basic Setup:

1. Make sure you have Python 3 setup correctly
2. Install PyQt5

pip install PyQt5

3. Create an app token ID in the developer section of your discogs account.
4. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/mptsolutions/MixedTaper.git

5. Enter your Discogs username and app token ID in the simple_discogs.conf file:

{
    "discogs_user_id" : "[DISCOGS_USER_ID]",
    "discogs_user_token" : "[DISCOGS_USER_TOKEN]"
}

Operation

Run the mixed_taper.py file as any other basic Python script.

D:\PythonProjects\NeverLock> python mixed_taper.py

On first run, MixedTaper will attempt to retreive all releases in your discogs collection. This can take a while if your collection is large, so be patient. Once the collection has been downloaded, MixedTaper will create a local database to minimize the number of times it needs to call the Discogs service.

Note that once created, the local database will need to be manually refreshed to get updates from your collection. You can perform a manual refresh by clicking anywhere in the ARTISTS list and pressing F5.

Because of the way the Discogs service works, the initial download will only include artist and release information - not specific track data. Instead, track lists must be downloaded individually. To avoid overloading the Discogs service, track data is only downloaded when it is neecssary.

This means that the first time you click on a release there will be a slight delay before the track list populates. It also means that MixedTaper requires an internet connection during use. However, once track information has been downloaded, it will be stored in the local database so that subsequent lookups do not need to query Discogs. This means that MixedTaper will get faster over time and require fewer queries to Discogs the more you use it.

Usage

Using MixedTaper is simple - just click on an artist to see available releases, then click on a release to see its tracks. Double-clicking on a track will push it into the Side A list. You can then drag the tracks to reorder them, or move them to a different side.

Double-click a track to remove it from the side list.

Once you have selected some tracks, click the CALCULATE button to see the total play time.

The SAVE button will let you save the track lists as either simple text, or a CSV file.

You can also click the CLEAR button at the bottom to remove all tracks from both side lists.