Here we go again :)

Here is a guide and review of new moon for dudes.

We%u2019ve already brought you a how-to guide to get started with Spotify (read that first if you don%u2019t know what it is), but now we%u2019re delving a little deeper into the music streaming software with a look at some hints, tips and tricks that will help you get the most of the service.

Have a read below to see eight great ways to make your Spotify experience smoother, both within the service and via third-party services. And, as always, do be sure to let us know in the comments if there are any great Spotify user hints you have to share.

1. Advanced Search Options

While you%u2019ll likely find tons of music you like by browsing around Spotify%u2019s click-based system, there will be times you want to find a specific track and don%u2019t want to muck around with fuzzy searches or the like. That%u2019s where Spotify%u2019s advanced search options come into their own.

Simple search terms include sticking title:, album: and artist: at the front of a text-based search query to narrow down results to those three fields, but you can further refine searches for an even more targeted result.

If you wanted a quick trip down memory lane, you could search year:1999 to bring up tracks tagged with that particular year. Likewise, you can search a range of years through year:1999-2004. You can follow the same logic to search by genre, so genre:blues will offer you up a vast range of blues tracks in a jiffy.

This gets advanced when you combine those terms to get a smaller list of results, hopefully containing just what it was you were looking for. Say you only like the old Fleetwood Mac. To get songs you know you want to hear, you could type artist:%u201Dfleetwood mac%u201D year:1967-1975.

2. Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Those of you skilled in the ways of keyboard shortcuts will be pleased to note that Spotify has a ton that will have you control-clicking quickly around the software in no time at all. While some are the same as you%u2019re already used to (e.g cut is control-x or command-x, and paste is the same with v), here are some of the main shortcuts we%u2019ve found useful, for both Windows PCs and Macs.

Play and pause: Spacebar / Spacebar

Turn the volume up: Control-Up / Command-Up

Turn the volume down: Control-Down / Command-Down

Mute the audio: Control-Shift-Down / Command-Shift-Down

Skip to the next song: Control-Right / Control-Command-Right

Go back to the previous song: Control-Left / Control-Command-Left

Make a new playlist: Control-N / Command-N

Land on the search box: Control-L / Command-L

Go back: Alt-Left / Command-[

Go forward: Alt-Right / Command-]

Logout (close in a hurry): Control-Shift-W / Command-Shift-W

3. View All Versions of a Song

Spotify shows a little circular symbol with an arrow below a line when there is more than one version of a particular song. This feature can be useful if you%u2019ve found the right song, but the wrong version.

As an example, say you look up Bob Dylan%u2019s Girl From The North Country but it%u2019s not the version you wanted with Johnny Cash. If you click the symbol, Spotify will display that version too, as well as any others it may have in its database.

This feature is not perfect %u2014 it didn%u2019t group Gary Numan%u2019s remastered version of Cars in with the other versions, for example %u2014 but is generally a handy way of finding alternative, acoustic, live, or radio edit versions of songs.

4. Enable Last.fm Scrobbling

This one%u2019s not rocket science, but it is a feature that%u2019s not exactly promoted so we thought it worthy of mention. As with other music software, like iTunes, et al., Spotify can scrobble the music you are playing on Spotify to Last.fm (i.e. send it to your Last.fm profile).

It%u2019s super-simple to enable this link-up. Just go to the edit menu from the top-right menu bar, click preferences, scroll down three or so options and you%u2019ll see a Last.fm box. If you enter your Last.fm username and password and check the %u201CEnable scrobbling to Last.fm%u201D button, it will do just that.

Now, your Last.fm %u201CRecently Listened Tracks%u201D will display your Spotify streams.

5. Decode Spotify URLs

If you%u2019ve seen someone tweeting a track, or happened across a Spotify URL that you%u2019re curious about but don%u2019t want to launch the application (or aren%u2019t on a Spotified computer) there%u2019s a site that offers %u201Cdecoding%u201D of such mysterious URL strings.

Head over to http://spotify.url.fi/ and you%u2019ll see a box to enter the text into. Once you do, the track or album will be revealed to you. It%u2019s a pretty basic site, as you%u2019ll see from the results screen grab above, but it works, and will get you the data you require with minimum fuss.

6. Clean Up Your Spotify URLs

As well as decoding them, you can also use a tool that will get a little more info out of your Spotify URLs. Instead of the seemingly random string of numbers and letters, Cleanify will take your HTTP link and add the artist%u2019s name and track%u2019s title while preserving the Spotify direct link.

7. Shorten Spotify URLs

There are a few services that help you shorten the long Spotify URLs so that you can actually get a word in edgewise if you wanted to retweet it, for example.

We think a really neat option is spo.tl (slogan: Shorter, prettier Spotify links), a Spotify-focused URL shortener that not only squishes down the URL to a manageable size, but offers direct links to Facebook and Twitter for easy sharing.

Clicking through to Twitter auto-pastes the artist name and song title (as well as the new URL) in the text box, while Facebook click-throughs generate the album art too, just as with a direct FB share from within Spotify.

8. It%u2019s Not Just Music

You may well have signed up to the Spotify service because of all that sweet, free, streaming music, but now you%u2019re creating a zillion playlists, microblogging your music taste to all, and playing %u201Cguess the song%u201D with your cubicle buddies. What else does Spotify offer?

Well, a fair bit more than just music. Comedy is one thing %u2014 there%u2019s tons of stand-up material available. Audiobooks are another, with Chris Anderson%u2019s Free the first such title to debut last year. There are also audio travel guides, speeches and podcasts %u2014 in fact, a veritable wealth of non-music audio exists on Spotify. However, there is a catch.

At present, there is no way to easily identify non-music content available, not even via a genre search. The only way you will come across such content is by searching by keyword or the artist%u2019s name with the option to click through to %u201CRelated Artists%u201D (on the top-right of an artist%u2019s homepage) for more suggestions.

It%u2019s a bit of an omission from Spotify, so we hope that an update will bring such functionality %u2014 and soon.

More HOW TO resources from Mashable:

- HOW TO: Get Started With Spotify
- HOW TO: Keep Your Facebook Updates Private
- HOW TO: Integrate Facebook, Twitter and Buzz into Your Gmail
- HOW TO: Add Captions To Your YouTube Videos
- HOW TO: Create Custom Backgrounds for Twitter, YouTube, & MySpace

could someone please make one of these for 'old lang syne? :)

great set... you shoud watch the whole playlist :) Here's a quick review of the gig... http://evenflowdave.com/acoustic-session-by-gez-n-jay/