Best way to integrate system Music & Movies folders with iTunes' default folder structure?

Question

I understand that OSX has system folders that can't be moved (Music, Movies, Documents, etc.).  These folders are the only ones that get their specialized icons in the sidebar.  I like those icons as they make choosing the right folder easier (even though I can read).
MUSIC:
Isn't there something very un-elegant to have my actual music files buried 4 layers deep in OSX's folder structure?  By that I mean, I'd like to click on my (system) Music folder and see my music.  But OSX and iTunes have schemed to make users have to deal with  Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music.  It's weird, right?
I am aware that the iTunes library location can be altered via Advanced Prefs, but I like having Music, Podcasts, Movies, etc. be on the same folder level, if that makes sense.  If I point iTunes to my (system) Music folder, then my other media will be down below in the iTunes Media folder.
MOVIES:
Likewise, if I let iTunes manage my files, movies go to the Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Movies folder.  I don't let iTunes copy everything into the Media folder (as I don't want to eat HD space with duplicates), but that's still where it wants movies to go when it organizes.  Similar to the Music folder issue above, how can I make use of my (system) Movies folder given this setup?
I know that I can just remove whatever folders I want from the sidebar and put in the ones that iTunes uses, but then I lose out on the icons and I end up having permanent folders in my Home folder that don't even get directly used for the media files they're supposed to hold.
Thoughts?

Answer 1

first of all, to get rid of the duplicates, you tell iTunes to consolidate Library.
I think you may be missing the idea of what iTunes does for you. If you have content, like music, that you want to find the file of, you right click the name of the file in itunes and then "show in finder" . For things like iChat, you can simply drag and drop your music into the chat window from itunes, just like it was finder. iTunes organizes your media for you so you don't have to go looking for it.
The same thing goes with videos.
There is no reason to have two of the same files on your computer. Think of iTunes like finder, only it plays media too.
Not everyone uses itunes. Things like quicktime player, after you do a recording, will save the content into your videos folder. They're not on itunes but it uses your video folder to save the recordings. This is just one example of how your video sidebar icon folder will still be useful.
Delete the backups you have of your media unless they're in a format the itunes doesn't support, like lossess formats such as Flac, because it is pointless and wasteful to have two of the same files for music and video on your computer.