[ronie]

Thanks for the elaboration. I did notice that the inconsistency is an XBMC feature rather than just a skin one.

I just ran into another oddity, perhaps a bug. When I play music via the files menu, the song being played is listed with duration at the bottom of the screen with the list of tracks on the right ... except that the currently played song is NOT listed at the bottom but only the first one that was played (the list does highlight the right song). I have a screenshot but don't know how to make it available.

that's how it's intended to be. only when the currently playing track is selected on the list on the right, this info is shown.

if you switch to the now playing view (hit 'space' on keyboard), you'll get what you're after.