I agree with you about iTunes 11. I was scared since I knew they were changing the look up dramatically, but I have to say after giving it a fair shake, I like it much better than the old one. The "up next" list is absolutely 100% better than the old way.
Now when I'm coding I put it on random, go through the list pruning away all the crap I'm not in the mood for (which takes about 1 or 2 minutes) and then I've got an hour or 2 of solid music that's random but vetted. It's great for setting up a nice zone.
I used to get yanked out of my zone every time something came on that I didn't want to hear (it's a small yank, but a yank nonetheless).
Now when I'm coding I put it on random, go through the list pruning away all the crap I'm not in the mood for (which takes about 1 or 2 minutes) and then I've got an hour or 2 of solid music that's random but vetted. It's great for setting up a nice zone.
I used to get yanked out of my zone every time something came on that I didn't want to hear (it's a small yank, but a yank nonetheless).