footoo is a simple tool for making a new mp3 by stealing bits of other mp3s. it is based on foofoofoo from imbecil.net. i modified it to be much much faster by caching mp3 locations. i also added options for the size of the smashed chunks and for the number of passes it takes through all the mp3s. for example, you can set ChunkSize to 5 to get very small pieces of your source mp3s, and then set Passes to 10 to get a longer final mp3.

i've also randomized the chunks that get stolen, so that you get a different smashed mp3 each time. on the flip side, the original foofoofoo did a better job at mixing up the order the mp3s get smashed; my version tends to put similar tracks together. i'll fix that someday...

here is an example result with the chunk size set to 10:

note that the resulting smashed mp3 file sometimes doesn't work, or may only play a portion of its length. this is because the smashed file is a version 1 file (MPEG-1 layer 3), and some of your source files may be version 2 or 2.5. Apple iTunes seems to produce version 1 mp3s by default, so if your mp3s are all in iTunes, you are probably okay. many low-bitrate mp3s from the web, however, are likely to be version 2, and will cause problems.

footoo v2 was release 2004/12/09. it solves the problem of version 2/2.5 mp3 files by using LAME to re-encode your mp3 files to a compatible format. this takes a long long long time, but is much more likely to produce a working result. you will need to install LAME yourself. here's the homepage: LAME homepage. you don't need to install LAME to run footoo; it's only needed if you turn on the conversion option...

there ain't no windows version.

instructions: unzip the download and put the resulting folder anywhere. Mac users can just click the footoo.command icon and follow the instructions. Linux and other UN*X users should run footoo.command from a shell. type footoo.command -h for help.

mp3 list: footoo creates a list of the mp3s it finds, and saves it as mp3list.txt. you can edit this list to add or remove mp3s; sometimes removing a problem mp3 will make a broken smashed mp3 play. you can also use this file for special effects; for example, edit it down to just one or two mp3s, and set the number of passes up to get a sort of poorman's granular synthesis. here is an example:

tech: this is a really simple bash script: it simple uses find to locate the mp3s, and sed to strip out chunks and concatenate them onto a default mp3 header. this header is nicked from the oringal foofoofoo -- thanks, guys!

license: the original foofoofoo and this modification are released under the GPL.

warning: this program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. i do NOT guarantee that it won't erase your disks and cause flames to burst from your machine. see the GNU General Public License for more details.