I bought an iPod.
Now for someone with a music collection as vast as mine, this has been almost a religious experience. Instead of seeing the light, I’m hearing it. Mind you, I’ve only used up a paltry 2.5 GB so far out of a possible 40. Which means 635 songs in, 11,365 to go.
I’ve had Walkmen before, and they’re great. But to have more than 20 songs available at your fingertips without changing a disc or tape. And to have that number of songs available be limited only by the time you have to put them in the iPod itself? That’s music lover’s heaven.
My plans for the iPod are wide reaching. Get all of my favorite cover versions in one place. Have all of the Timmy Award winning albums from the past 5 years available at the touch of a finger. Put the "one or two good songs" off of hundreds of CDs that contain only that onto the iPod and get rid of those discs once and for all.
And today I learned something else about my iPod. It can be as smart as I let it be.
These are the songs I heard on the way to the train this a.m., and during my train ride. I used the Shuffle Songs feature, which will guide me through all 635 tunes in an allegedly random order.:
Evil by Interpol: The 2004 Interpol album will win a Timmy Award, and this is a great song- surprisingly upbeat for them, and for a song called Evil.
Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes: A stern reminder from my iPod that it, like my body, is a temple, and I must watch what I put in it if I want it to work for me. It seemed like a good idea to load this song when I took tunes from the Classic Axe compilation, but it’s come up twice in 4 days, and I’ve hit skip twice. It’s coming off today.
High Party by Ted Leo and The Pharmacists: Ah, back on track. This album was my #1 in 2003, and this is a strong cut from it. The train platform is cold, but the volume is way up- and as a result, so are my spirits.
Crap. I went to charge the iPod, and I lost my Shuffle Songs order from this a.m. Nevertheless, I heard some Beastie Boys, some Supergrass, and other songs that made me smile. And if I load my tunes wisely, this will always be the case. If I am good to my iPod, it will be good to me.
I’m telling you, this thing is awesome.