Listening to my iPod

I got my first (and, so far, only) iPod just a couple years ago. (I’m the type of person who’s fairly late catching up on trends, which means I’m at least four years away from even thinking about an iPhone.)

Upon receiving my shiny new iProduct, like most people I ripped a few of my favorite CDs and uploaded the some tired old MP3s I’d been listening to since 2001. Sure, it was all stuff I’d heard before, but at least now I didn’t have to tie myself to some bulky apparatus to listen to them. Instead, I just had to sell my soul to Steve Jobs.

About a month ago I decided to listen to my iPod. And by that I don’t mean donning the classic white headphones and cuing up my favorite playlist. No, I actually meant, listening to it: every song, in order, top to bottom. It occurred to me that one of the best “random” playlists is to just listen to all songs in alphabetical order. For example, check out a few songs right off the top:

• Abacab (Genesis)
• Again & Again (the bird and the bee)
• Aknot! Wot? (Eric Serra from The Fifth Element Soundtrack)
• All Star (Smashmouth)
• Also Sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)
• Amaranth (Nightwish)
• Amon Hen (Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack)
• And You and I (Yes)
• Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
• Autobahn (Kraftwerk)

Seems like alphabetical order is about as eclectic as you can get.

Oddly enough, this little project has turned out to be fairly interesting. I only have 874 songs in it, which is nothing compared to the vast libraries I know some people have. But iTunes does tell me it’s 2.4 days worth of music. Since I only listen to it in the car (and only then when I’m tired of listening to Kai Ryssdal tell me my 401(k) balance has probably been halved again) these 2.4 days could stretch out a good long while.

When I started, the rule was I had to listen to every single song no matter what. It didn’t take long for me to be surprised by how many songs I have on my iPod that I simply do not want to listen to. I then took to skipping through (or over) so many songs my experiment is definitely blown. But at the very least I am touching each song, even if only for a few seconds.

I thought I’d share a few of the more interesting gems, some that would make Dr. Demento proud:

The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy. If you’ve never heard of this, just go to YouTube and you’ll find it. What you probably won’t find there is the full version, which is what I have, complete with bassoon solo.

Combo No. 5 by some radio station. A knock off of “Mambo No. 5” but with various Chinese restaurant menu items in place of “Pamela, Angela, Sandra, and Rita.”

Cut Every Corner from The Simpsons’ Shari Bobbins episode: a parody of A Spoonful of Sugar. “If you cut every corner then it’s really not so bad. Everybody does it. Even mom and dad. If you cut every corner you’ll have more time for play. It’s the American way.”

Doctorin’ the Tardis by the Timelords. A mash-up of the Doctor Who theme song and Gary Glitter’s Rock and Roll (Part Two).

George’s Answering Machine: a twenty-two second clip from Seinfeld. (Where did that come from?)

The Mighty Stephen Hawking by MC Hawking. You have to hear it to believe it.

Next song on the playlist is Prayer for the Dying by Seal, one of my all-time favorites. Can’t wait to see what else is in store for me. If I’m surprised enough by something I may just have to tell Steve Jobs about it.