diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 6cf48e1..42bd704 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -232,6 +232,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "reqwest",
  "serde",
  "tokio",
+ "tracing",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
  "url",
  "zbus 5.0.1",
 ]
@@ -1450,6 +1452,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "minimal-lexical",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "nu-ansi-term"
+version = "0.46.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "77a8165726e8236064dbb45459242600304b42a5ea24ee2948e18e023bf7ba84"
+dependencies = [
+ "overload",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "num"
 version = "0.4.3"
@@ -1628,6 +1640,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "pin-project-lite",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "overload"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b15813163c1d831bf4a13c3610c05c0d03b39feb07f7e09fa234dac9b15aaf39"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "pango"
 version = "0.20.4"
@@ -2109,6 +2127,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "digest",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "sharded-slab"
+version = "0.1.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f40ca3c46823713e0d4209592e8d6e826aa57e928f09752619fc696c499637f6"
+dependencies = [
+ "lazy_static",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "shlex"
 version = "1.3.0"
@@ -2245,6 +2272,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "thread_local"
+version = "1.1.8"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "8b9ef9bad013ada3808854ceac7b46812a6465ba368859a37e2100283d2d719c"
+dependencies = [
+ "cfg-if",
+ "once_cell",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tinyvec"
 version = "1.8.0"
@@ -2368,6 +2405,32 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "c06d3da6113f116aaee68e4d601191614c9053067f9ab7f6edbcb161237daa54"
 dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
+ "valuable",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tracing-log"
+version = "0.2.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "ee855f1f400bd0e5c02d150ae5de3840039a3f54b025156404e34c23c03f47c3"
+dependencies = [
+ "log",
+ "once_cell",
+ "tracing-core",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tracing-subscriber"
+version = "0.3.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "ad0f048c97dbd9faa9b7df56362b8ebcaa52adb06b498c050d2f4e32f90a7a8b"
+dependencies = [
+ "nu-ansi-term",
+ "sharded-slab",
+ "smallvec",
+ "thread_local",
+ "tracing-core",
+ "tracing-log",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2431,6 +2494,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "percent-encoding",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "valuable"
+version = "0.1.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "830b7e5d4d90034032940e4ace0d9a9a057e7a45cd94e6c007832e39edb82f6d"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "version-compare"
 version = "0.2.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 22bf015..2ce638b 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ reqwest = { version = "0.12.9", default-features = false, features = [
 ] }
 serde = { version = "1.0.214", features = ["derive"] }
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["rt-multi-thread"] }
+tracing = { version = "0.1.40", default-features = false, features = ["attributes", "std"] }
+tracing-subscriber = "0.3.18"
 url = "2.5.2"
 zbus = { version = "5.0.1", features = ["chrono"] }
 
diff --git a/src/application.rs b/src/application.rs
index 28961df..4ad0547 100644
--- a/src/application.rs
+++ b/src/application.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ mod imp {
     use crate::ui;
     use adw::{prelude::*, subclass::prelude::*};
     use gtk::glib;
+    use tracing::{event, Level};
 
     #[derive(Default)]
     pub struct Application {}
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ mod imp {
 
     impl Drop for Application {
         fn drop(&mut self) {
-            println!("dropping AudreyApplication");
+            event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping AudreyApplication");
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index a0422fa..3a61aa3 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -28,9 +28,19 @@ use gtk::{gio, glib};
 
 pub mod mpv;
 
+#[cfg(debug_assertions)]
+fn init_tracing() {
+    tracing_subscriber::fmt::init();
+}
+
+#[cfg(not(debug_assertions))]
+fn init_tracing() {}
+
 fn main() -> glib::ExitCode {
     gio::resources_register_include!("audrey.gresource").expect("could not register resources");
 
+    init_tracing();
+
     ui::Playbar::ensure_type();
     ui::PlayQueue::ensure_type();
 
diff --git a/src/mpris.rs b/src/mpris.rs
index 6266b25..3457edf 100644
--- a/src/mpris.rs
+++ b/src/mpris.rs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ pub use player::Player;
 
 use adw::prelude::*;
 use gtk::glib;
+use tracing::{event, Level};
 
 pub struct Mpris {
     window: glib::SendWeakRef<crate::ui::Window>,
@@ -96,6 +97,6 @@ impl Mpris {
 
 impl Drop for Mpris {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        println!("dropping Mpris");
+        event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping Mpris");
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/mpris/player.rs b/src/mpris/player.rs
index 987e76d..e0769eb 100644
--- a/src/mpris/player.rs
+++ b/src/mpris/player.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ use crate::{Playbin, PlaybinSong};
 use gtk::glib::spawn_future_local;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::rc::{Rc, Weak};
+use tracing::{event, Level};
 use zbus::zvariant::{ObjectPath, OwnedObjectPath, OwnedValue, Value};
 
 const MICROSECONDS: f64 = 1e6; // in a second
@@ -576,6 +577,6 @@ impl LocalPlayer {
 
 impl Drop for Player {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        println!("dropping MprisPlayer");
+        event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping MprisPlayer");
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/mpv/handle.rs b/src/mpv/handle.rs
index 4407443..d8ed31d 100644
--- a/src/mpv/handle.rs
+++ b/src/mpv/handle.rs
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
-use super::{event, ffi, Error, Event as MpvEvent, GetProperty, SetProperty};
-use event::{
+use super::event::{
     EndFileEvent, EndFileReason, HookEvent, LogMessageEvent, PropertyEvent, StartFileEvent,
 };
+use super::{ffi, Error, Event as MpvEvent, GetProperty, SetProperty};
 use event_listener::{Event, EventListener, IntoNotification};
 use std::cell::{RefCell, RefMut};
 use std::ffi::{c_char, c_void, CStr, CString};
 use std::fmt;
 use std::pin::Pin;
 use std::ptr::NonNull;
+use tracing::{event, Level};
 
 pub struct Handle {
     inner: NonNull<ffi::mpv_handle>,
@@ -254,7 +255,7 @@ impl Handle {
 
 impl Drop for Handle {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        println!("dropping MpvHandle");
+        event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping MpvHandle");
 
         // let any executor ticking tasks know we're ded
         self.wakeup.notify(u32::MAX.relaxed());
@@ -265,7 +266,7 @@ impl Drop for Handle {
         }
         // drain event queue (we're &mut so we know we have exclusive access)
         while let Some(event) = self.wait_event(0.0) {
-            println!("drained event on drop: {event:?}");
+            event!(Level::DEBUG, "drained event on drop: {:?}", event);
         }
 
         unsafe {
diff --git a/src/playbin.rs b/src/playbin.rs
index c9588c7..1499d2b 100644
--- a/src/playbin.rs
+++ b/src/playbin.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ use crate::mpv;
 use crate::signal::{Signal, SignalEmitter};
 use event_listener::EventListener;
 use std::cell::{Ref, RefCell};
+use tracing::{event, span, Level};
 use url::Url;
 
 pub trait PlaybinEntry {
@@ -185,30 +186,36 @@ where
     }
 
     fn handle_event(&self, event: mpv::Event) {
+        let span = span!(Level::DEBUG, "mpv_handle_event");
+        let _guart = span.enter();
         match event {
             mpv::Event::PropertyChange(event) => match event.reply_userdata {
                 0 => {
                     assert_eq!(&event.name, "volume");
                     self.volume_changed.emit(self, ());
-                    dbg!(self.volume());
+                    event!(Level::DEBUG, "volume change {}", self.volume());
                 }
 
                 1 => {
                     assert_eq!(&event.name, "mute");
                     self.muted_changed.emit(self, ());
-                    dbg!(self.muted());
+                    event!(Level::DEBUG, "mute state change to {}", self.muted());
                 }
 
                 2 => {
                     assert_eq!(&event.name, "pause");
                     self.paused_changed.emit(self, ());
-                    dbg!(self.paused());
+                    event!(Level::DEBUG, "pause state change to {}", self.paused());
                 }
 
                 3 => {
                     assert_eq!(&event.name, "playlist-pos");
                     self.current_entry_changed.emit(self, ());
-                    dbg!(self.current_entry());
+                    event!(
+                        Level::DEBUG,
+                        "playlist-pos change {:?}",
+                        self.current_entry()
+                    );
                 }
 
                 _ => unreachable!(),
@@ -217,8 +224,8 @@ where
             mpv::Event::Hook(event) => match event.reply_userdata {
                 0 => {
                     assert_eq!(&event.name, "on_before_start_file");
+                    event!(Level::DEBUG, "on_before_start_file triggered");
                     // just use this as a barrier
-                    println!("on_before_start_file triggered");
                     self.mpv.continue_hook(event.id).unwrap();
                 }
 
@@ -237,7 +244,7 @@ where
                 );
             }
 
-            _ => println!("mpv event {:?}", event),
+            _ => event!(Level::DEBUG, "mpv event {:?}", event),
         }
     }
 
@@ -272,7 +279,7 @@ where
 
 impl<E> Drop for Playbin<E> {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        println!("dropping Playbin2");
+        event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping Playbin2");
         self.mpv.command(["quit"]).unwrap();
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/subsonic.rs b/src/subsonic.rs
index 7c48a1e..3f3b9bc 100644
--- a/src/subsonic.rs
+++ b/src/subsonic.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ pub mod schema;
 
 use md5::Digest;
 use rand::Rng;
+use tracing::{event, Level};
 
 fn runtime() -> &'static tokio::runtime::Runtime {
     static RUNTIME: std::sync::OnceLock<tokio::runtime::Runtime> = std::sync::OnceLock::new();
@@ -187,6 +188,6 @@ impl Client {
 
 impl Drop for Client {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        println!("dropping SubsonicClient");
+        event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping SubsonicClient");
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/ui/play_queue.rs b/src/ui/play_queue.rs
index 5ba6846..e6510e4 100644
--- a/src/ui/play_queue.rs
+++ b/src/ui/play_queue.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ mod imp {
     use glib::subclass::InitializingObject;
     use std::cell::RefCell;
     use std::rc::Rc;
+    use tracing::{event, Level};
 
     #[derive(gtk::CompositeTemplate, glib::Properties, Default)]
     #[template(resource = "/eu/callcc/audrey/play_queue.ui")]
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ mod imp {
 
     impl Drop for PlayQueue {
         fn drop(&mut self) {
-            println!("dropping AudreyUiPlayQueue");
+            event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping AudreyUiPlayQueue");
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/ui/playbar.rs b/src/ui/playbar.rs
index abaf795..4cd2f77 100644
--- a/src/ui/playbar.rs
+++ b/src/ui/playbar.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ mod imp {
     use glib::subclass::InitializingObject;
     use gtk::{gdk, glib};
     use std::cell::{Cell, RefCell};
+    use tracing::{event, Level};
 
     #[derive(glib::Properties, gtk::CompositeTemplate, Default)]
     #[properties(wrapper_type = super::Playbar)]
@@ -160,7 +161,7 @@ mod imp {
 
     impl Drop for Playbar {
         fn drop(&mut self) {
-            println!("dropping AudreyUiPlaybar");
+            event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping AudreyUiPlaybar");
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/ui/setup.rs b/src/ui/setup.rs
index e503f6c..190c208 100644
--- a/src/ui/setup.rs
+++ b/src/ui/setup.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ mod imp {
     use glib::subclass::InitializingObject;
     use std::cell::{Cell, RefCell};
     use std::rc::Rc;
+    use tracing::{event, Level};
 
     #[derive(gtk::CompositeTemplate, glib::Properties, Default)]
     #[template(resource = "/eu/callcc/audrey/setup.ui")]
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ mod imp {
 
     impl Drop for Setup {
         fn drop(&mut self) {
-            println!("dropping AudreyUiSetup");
+            event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping AudreyUiSetup");
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/ui/window.rs b/src/ui/window.rs
index 437e65f..dbe0d72 100644
--- a/src/ui/window.rs
+++ b/src/ui/window.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ mod imp {
     use gtk::{gdk, glib};
     use std::cell::{Cell, RefCell};
     use std::rc::Rc;
+    use tracing::{event, Level};
 
     #[derive(gtk::CompositeTemplate, glib::Properties, Default)]
     #[template(resource = "/eu/callcc/audrey/window.ui")]
@@ -171,7 +172,7 @@ mod imp {
 
     impl Drop for Window {
         fn drop(&mut self) {
-            println!("dropping AudreyUiWindow");
+            event!(Level::DEBUG, "dropping AudreyUiWindow");
         }
     }
 }