Ubuntu, the Linux distribution that everyone loves to love, is due out with their regularly scheduled new version tomorrow (Thursday), Ubuntu 8.04. The version number is derived from the date – 8 for 2008 and 04 for April.

I’ve had some concerns about Ubuntu in the past, but they’ve really done a good job with eliminating problems people encounter. The past couple of versions have installed easily for me on both laptops and desktops.

This new version 8 will be getting some LTS love. That’s Long Term Support. So version 8.04 will be around for at least three years. So if you install it and don’t like to upgrade, you’ll be supplied with security and enhancement updates for three years.

The Ubuntu project was started by Mark Shuttleworth, who is a 34-year-old billionaire from South Africa. He made his initial money by founding Thawte in 1995 and then later selling it to Verisign in 1999.

So Ubuntu will be around. It’s got financial backing from Shuttleworth’s company Canonical Ltd., and it has the support of a large, vibrant community.

They have 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system available. If you have a fairly recent processor (e.g. Core 2), you can run the 64-bit version. The main reason you’d want to run the 32-bit version is on older hardware or for out-of-the-box support for the Flash plug-in. For some reason, there is still not a 64-bit version of Flash on any platform as far as I know. You can run Flash on a 64-bit OS, but you’ll have to run a 32-bit version of the browser to do it. This Adobe TechNote explains. People have been clamoring for 64-bit Flash for years, as this post on Slashdot from 2005 about Macromedia Flash indicates. Here’s an Adobe blog post from 2006 claiming they’re working on it.

But Flash aside, Ubuntu 8 is looking good. Download available tomorrow.

Update: It looks like 64-bit Ubuntu 8.04 has an easier installation process for 32-bit Flash. Now you can install Flash directly from the Add/Remove screen, just like everything else, and in the case of Flash, it’ll automatically download all the 32-bit libraries that it needs. So the installation of Adobe Flash is completely transparent. A non-technical user wouldn’t really even know the difference – although I suppose it could be argued that a non-technical user might be better off running the 32-bit build of Ubuntu 8.04. At any rate, having used Ubuntu 8.04 for several days now, I can easily say that it’s a great improvement on previous versions – Ubuntu continues to get better.

After mentioning Gracenote yesterday as the source of a genre list for music, the news comes today that Sony Corporation of America is going to acquire Gracenote for $260 million. Apparently a database of CDs is a valuable thing. That’s perhaps true when you’re the service provider to Apple, Yahoo and others.

The genres list published yesterday is useful as a guide or a starting point, but mostly it’s up to the individual to classify their music however they wish. It’s not good to get too picky about it, but having a few different buckets to drop music into is definitely a handy thing. For me, when I’m listening to classical, that’s usually all I want to listen to at that point. So having a classical genre smart playlist is a great thing. That allows one to quickly find something to listen to, or more likely allows for shuffle play of a variety of pieces in the same general grouping. And that’s an idea worth money I guess, at least it was to Gracenote.

As time goes, iTunes music libraries keep getting larger and larger. As you add songs and videos to the library, it can get unmanageable. One technique for organizing your iTunes library is to simplify and codify the genres that are used on the tracks.

iTunes, when you stick a CD into your computer, will look up the metadata about the album or compilation from a commercial database service from Gracenote, which was known as CDDB (or CD Database) back in the day. Gracenote will match the table of contents of your CD against its database and produce the information about the album if it finds a match.

Gracenote uses a specific list of music genres for its metadata that can be useful in giving a bit of shape to the wide range of metadata found in songs downloaded from outside sources. There’s not much point in getting picky about sub-genres and that sort of thing, but working from a basic list of genres can help to normalize the metadata in your iTunes library.

The main advantage to using the following genre list is that it then becomes very easy to create smart playlists based off of this by either including or excluding certain genres. For an example, some people may want a playlist that includes everything except Holiday music. Or they may create a playlist just for Classical.

The point though is not that this is a comprehensive or exhaustive list, but rather that it’s a starting point for organizing an otherwise unwieldy iTunes music library. You’ll probably want to add to the list genres that may not fit the classification, Mashup for example.

It’s an easy thing to change the genre on many songs. Create a playlist that sorts by existing genre data. You can find out what genres are in your music library by doing a Get Info on any song and then clicking the dropdown menu for the genre of that song. So create a playlist that grabs some genres that fit under, say, Alternative & Punk. Then highlight a bunch of songs together and do a Get Info and change the genre for all of those songs. In my case, it took less than an hour to get my 20,000 song library into shape.

So here is the list of genres. There is also a list of subgenres, which can be helpful sometimes in determining what category something fits into, and I’ll provide that tomorrow. But for now, the 25 top level genres:

• Alternative & Punk
• Books & Spoken
• Blues
• Children’s Music
• Classical
• Country
• Data
• Easy Listening
• Electronica/Dance
• Folk
• Gospel & Religious
• Hip Hop/Rap
• Holiday
• Industrial
• Jazz
• Latin
• Metal
• New Age
• Pop
• Reggae
• R&B
• Rock
• Soundtrack
• Unclassifiable
• World

Notes: You can safely ignore the Data genre probably. Also, it’s a little strange that Industrial gets listed as a genre and not as a subgenre of Alternative & Punk. Industrial is great – or at least it was in the ’80s & ’90s, but it seems a little out of place. It took me less than an hour to get the wildly messy data in my 20,000+ song library into shape using that list as a general guide. Now where creating genre playlists was difficult in the past, it has become much easier.

Update: As promised, here is a list using those same genres as guides but with subgenre information. Hopefully this will help in your classification.

• Alternative & Punk
  • Ambient/Dream Pop
  • Art Rock
  • Art-Folk
  • Avant Rock
  • Brit Pop
  • Emo
  • Experimental
  • General Alternative
  • General Punk
  • Hardcore Punk
  • Indie
  • Lo-Fi/Garage
  • Old School Punk
  • Pop-Punk
  • Post-Punk
  • Power Pop
  • Rap Metal
  • Riot Grrrl/Queercore
  • Straight Edge Punk
• Books & Spoken
  • Comedy
  • General Books
  • General Spoken
  • Poetry
  • Politics
  • Religion
  • Short Stories
  • Spoken Word
  • Stories/Fairytales
• Blues
  • Acoustic Blues
  • Blues Rock
  • Electric Blues
  • General Blues
  • Japanese Blues
• Children’s Music
  • General Children’s Music
  • Japanese Children’s Song (Doyo)
• Classical
  • Baroque
  • Chamber Music
  • Choral
  • Classical Guitar
  • Contemporary
  • Ensembles
  • General Classical
  • Japanese Classical
  • Medieval
  • Opera
  • Romantic Era
  • Piano
  • Renaissance Era
  • Strings
• Country
  • Alternative Country
  • Bluegrass
  • Contemporary Country
  • Country Blues
  • General Country
  • Rockabilly
  • Traditional Country
• Data
  • Applications
  • Games
  • General Data
  • Japanese Karaoke
  • Karaoke
  • Operating Systems
• Easy Listening
  • Bachelor Pad
  • General Easy Listening
  • Lounge
  • Love Songs
  • Mood Music
  • Pop Vocals
• Electronica/Dance
  • Acid House
  • Acid Jazz
  • Ambient Electronica
  • Ambient Trance
  • Big Beat
  • Club Dance
  • Dark Techno/Darkwave
  • Deep House
  • Detroit Techno
  • Drum n’ Bass/Jungle
  • Electro
  • Electronica
  • Gabber
  • Garage
  • General Dance
  • General Electronic
  • General House
  • General Techno
  • General Trance
  • Happy House
  • Hard Trance/Acid
  • Hardcore Techno
  • Illbient
  • Industrial Dance
  • Minimalist Experimental
  • Progressive House
  • Progressive/Dream
  • Rave Music
  • Tech Trance
  • Tribal House
  • Trip Hop
  • Turntablism
• Folk
  • Contemporary Folk
  • General Folk
  • Traditional Folk
• Gospel & Religious
  • Christian Pop
  • Christian Rap
  • Christian Rock
  • General Religious
  • General Christian
  • Gospel
• Hip Hop/Rap
  • Bass Assault
  • East Coast Rap
  • Foreign Rap
  • Freestyle Rap
  • Gangsta
  • General Hip Hop
  • General Rap
  • Hardcore Rap
  • Horrorcore
  • Old School Hip Hop
  • Southern Rap
  • Underground Rap
  • West Coast Rap
• Holiday
  • Chanukka
  • Christmas
  • General Holiday
  • Halloween
• Industiral
  • General Industrial
  • Hardcore Industrial
  • Minimal/Noise
  • Old School Industrial
• Jazz
  • Ballroom
  • Big Band Swing
  • Bop
  • Cool/West Coast Jazz
  • Dixieland/New Orleans Jazz
  • Free/Avant Jazz
  • Fusion
  • General Jazz
  • Japanese Fusion
  • Japanese Jazz
  • Jazz Vocals
  • Latin
  • Ragtime
  • Smooth Jazz
  • Swing Revival
• Latin
  • Afro-Cuban
  • Brazillian
  • General Latin
  • Latin Pop
  • Latin Rock
  • Mexican
  • Ranchero
  • Salsa/Merengue
  • South/Central American
  • Spanish/Portugese
  • Tejano/Norteno
  • Tropical/Samba
• Metal
  • Alternative Metal
  • Black/Death Metal
  • General Metal
  • Gothic Metal
  • Grindcore
  • Hardcore Metal
  • Heavy Metal
  • Pop/Hair Metal
  • Progressive Metal
  • Thrash/Speed Metal
• New Age
  • Ambient New Age
  • Environmental Music
  • General New Age
  • Meditation Music
• Pop
  • Acoustic Pop
  • Disco
  • European Pop
  • General Pop
  • Japanese Pop
  • Teen Pop
• Reggae
  • Dancehall
  • Dub
  • General Reggae
  • Ragga
  • Ska/Rock Steady
• R&B
  • Funk
  • General R&B
  • Motown
  • Soul
  • Urban Crossover
• Rock
  • Classic Rock
  • Folk Rock
  • Funk Rock
  • General Rock
  • Goth Rock
  • Grunge
  • Hard Rock
  • Instrumental Rock
  • Jam Bands
  • Japanese Rock
  • New Wave
  • Progressive Rock
  • Psychedelic Rock
  • Rock & Roll
  • Ska Revival/3rd Wave
  • Soft Rock
  • Southern Rock
  • Surf Rock
• Soundtrack
  • Adult Film/Erotica
  • Anime
  • Film Score
  • Film Soundtrack
  • Game
  • General Soundtrack
  • Japanese General Soundtrack
  • Musicals/Broadway
  • Television Score
  • Television Soundtrack
• Unclassifiable
  • General Unclassifiable
  • Japanese Unclassifiable
• World
  • Aboriginal Australian/Didjeridu
  • African
  • Asian
  • Caribbean
  • Central Asian
  • Classical Indian
  • Eastern European
  • Flamenco/Gypsy
  • French
  • General Celtic
  • General World
  • German
  • Hawaiian
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • Irish Celtic
  • Japanese Enka
  • Japanese Folk
  • Japanese Traditional (Minzoku)
  • Jewish/Israeli
  • Klezmer
  • Middle East/Arabic
  • Native American
  • Oceania
  • Polka
  • Québécois
  • Scandinavian
  • Western European
  • World Fusion
  • Zydeco/Cajun

Tomorrow, Saturday 19 April 2008, has been designated Record Store Day. Independent record stores of all stripes from coast to coast will be celebrating. In many larger cities, musicians will be stopping by local stores. Locally, Atomic Records in Milwaukee will be having live performances from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Check their website for the schedule. The Exclusive Co. in Appleton will be open from 8 a.m. till midnight. Pitchfork has the lowdown on events in other cities. So get out tomorrow and support your local independent record store!

Update (20 April 2008): Judging by the crowd at the Exclusive Co., Record Store Day was a success. The bonus was the bountiful freebies that were on-hand for anyone to take. What surprised me was that the freebies were specially made for Record Store Day – most of them had the Record Store Day graphics on them or were in the title. Skipping over the ones that didn’t interest me, I still ended up with two vinyl sampler albums and three full sampler CDs. So without further ado, here is some of the free music that was available at the Exclusive Co. on Saturday.

Fontana Distribution: Record Store Day, April 19, 2008 (CD)

1. War Tapes • Dreaming of You
2. honeyhoney • Little Toy Gun
3. Brandi Shearer • You’re Mine
4. The Egg • Nothing
5. Feral Children • Jaundice Giraffe
6. Rue Melo • This Is My House
7. Nerf Herder • WTC #7
8. Subtle • Unlikely Rock Shock
9. The Jealous Girlfriends • Roboxulla
10. nelo • You Don’t Know
11. Billy Jo Shaver • Everybody’s Brother
12. Two Loons for Tea • Marietta
13. Remy Zero • Prophecy
14. The Misfits • American Psycho
15. The Coup • Fat Cats, Bigga Fish
16. Main Source • Looking at the Front Door

RED: Best of Record Store Day: Indie Rock (CD)

1. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit • Hurricanes and Hand Grenades
2. The Black Crowes • Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution
3. Langhorne Slim • Rebel Side of Heaven
4. Howlin’ Rain • Dancers at the End of Time
5. The Audition • Basbhat
6. Pillar • For the Love of the Game
7. Fireflight • Unbreakable
8. Dead Confederate • The Rat
9. Old 97’s • Dance With Me
10. The Dodos • Fools
11. The Chesterfield Kings • Streaks and Flashes
12. The Ting Tings • Great DJ (Calvin Harris Remix)
13. The Hoosiers • Worried About Ray
14. Absentstar • For God Sakes
15. Alive in Wild Paint • Ceilings
16. White Lion • Dreams
17. Will Dailey • Rise
18. Matt King • Shanty Town

Redeye Distribution brings you a Free Sampler in Celebration of Record Store Day (CD)

1. Peter von Poehl • The Story of the Impossible
2. 3 Na Massa feat. CEU • Doce Guia
3. Jamie Lidell • Little Bit of Feel Good (Radio Edit)
4. Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed & The True Loves • Take My Love With You
5. The Autumns • Killer in Drag
6. Camphor • Castaway
7. Ernie K. Doe • Here Come The Girls
8. Pete Francis • Case of Bad Love
9. Daniel Lanois • Here Is What Is
10. Bauhaus • Too Much 21st Century
11. Born Ruffians • I’m One Of Those Girls (Alt. Version) (unreleased)
12. Bell X1 • Rocky Took A Lover
13. Nick Lowe • So It Goes
14. Liam Finn • Second Chance
15. Hi-Tek feat. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Dion • My Piano

Universal Music Distribution: Choice Cuts (Vinyl LP)

1. Be Your Own Pet • The Kelly Affair
2. Black Tide • Shockwave
3. Switches • Drama Queen
4. Your Vegas • Troubled Times
5. PlayRadioPlay! • Madi Don’t Leave
6. Ludo • Love Me Dead
7. Yoav • Club Thing
8. Ryan Bingham • Bread and Water
9. One Flew South • My Kind Of Beautiful
10. Hayes Carll • Faulkner Street
11. Tift Merritt • Keep You Happy
12. Shelby Lynne • Pretend
13. The SteelDrivers • Hear The Willow Cry
14. Kathleen Edwards • The Cheapest Key
15. Whiskeytown • 10 Seconds

Brushfire Records 12” Sampler Volume 1 (Vinyl LP)

1. Neil Halstead • Paint a Face
2. Mason Jennings • Something About Your Love
3. Jack Johnson • What You Thought You Need
4. Matt Costa • Never Looking Back
5. Money Mark • Summer Blue
6. G. Love & Special Sauce • Crumble
7. Zach Gill • Beautiful Reason
8. Rogue Wave • Christians In Black