FridgePod

Just got a new iPod, with the last one's hard drive having crapped out after only 3 months. In celebration, here's a shuffled 13 out of the 7000 or so tracks on this little silver dude.

1) Gene - "Love Don't Work" Revelations
Damn, I need to listen to these guys more. Great BritPop band.

2) The Donnas - "Just take me to the backseat" Spend The Night
"Do you need a map?
Let's skip the nightcap
I'll make it sticky sweet
Just take me to the backseat!"

3) Soundgarden - "Mailman" Superunknown
"I know I'm headed for the bottom
But I'm riding you all the way"
Five extra points for the sweet, sweet bitterness in this tune.

4) RATT - "In Your Direction" Out Of The Cellar
Easily, one of my favorite 80's hair metal albums ever. I have listened to this album hundreds of times. Maybe a thousand.

5) Snoop Dogg - "Who Am I? (What's my name?)" Doggystyle
"Snoop Doggy, Do-owww-ohhhh-oggg (the bomb)
Snoop Doggy, Do-owww-ohhhh-oggg
Snoop Doggy, Do-owww-ohhhh-oggg (the bomb)
Snoop Doggy, Do-owww-ohhhh-oggg (Dog)
Da-duh-da-da-dah"
I bought his new album, but haven't cracked it yet.

6) Dixie Chicks - "Not Ready To Make Nice" Taking The Long Way
I saw the documentary "Shut Up And Sing" that covers the making of this album after the Natalie Maines said she was ashamed that Dubya was from Texas. Enjoyable little movie. Notable things I learned:
- Natalie Maines (lead singer) is married to Nathan Petrelli.
- Chad from RHCP plays drums on the record.
- Rock/Hip Hop icon Rick Rubin was consulted for the record and has a dog that looks just like him.

7) Travis - "paperclips" 12 Memories
"I don't wanna be like you anymore
I don't wanna see your face at my door
And I'll never leave like you, that's for sure"
Wow. This is wrist-slitting music. Hope the next tune picks up.

8) KISS - "Christine Sixteen" The Very Best of KISS
"She's' been around, but she's young and clean
I've got to have her, can't live without her, whoo no
Christine sixteen, Christine sixteen"
Uh.... well, it's peppy. Creepy, for sure, but Peppy.

9) Snoop Dogg - "Gz and Hustlas" Doggy Style
YAY IPOD RANDOMIZATION! 7000 songs, can't make 9 before an album overlap. At least it's an all-time great album that's being repeated.

10) Tyler Bates - "Xerxes' final offer" 300 Soundtrack
THIS! IS! BRANFORD!

11) Notorious B.I.G. - "Living The Life" Duets: The Final Chapter
"Bitch, you crazy? Commitments, I'm Swayze
No time for the ill shit
Mess with the niggaz on that real blood spill shit
My rappin' tactics, are drastic
Stretchin' motherfuckers like Mr. Fantastic
So if you wanna see my Pedigree, you better be
filled with energy, niggaz never gettin' me"
One of my nicest benefits of separating from my ex? I am no longer held captive by her musical tastes and intolerance for mine (especially hiphop). Adios Garth-fucking-Brooks. Hello, B.I.G. BTW, third appearance by Snoop on this shuffle. He and Ludacris are on the track, too.

12) Modest Mouse - "Missed The Boat" We were dead before the ship even sank
"Everyone's unhappy
Everyone's ashamed
Well we all just got caught looking
At somebody else's page
Well nothing ever went
Quite exactly as we planned
Our ideas held no water
But we used them like a dam"
The official anthem of the Bush Administration. Very good album. One of my favorite guitarists, Johnny Marr, is on board.

13) The Donnas - "5 o'clock in the morning" Spend The Night
You know, when I picked this CD up in the bargain bin, I never imagined my ipod would be so fond of it.

I give this shuffle a b-. Too much The Donnas, for sure. Don't mind the Snoop repetition as much because he's fantastic.

Ipod!

Some of you out there in the ether are aware that my iPod died. None of those particularly care, but I am here to bore you with the details.

On Xmas day, my son fell asleep in the car on the way to my brother-in-law's house because of the excessive strain of playing with the ridiculous bounty of toys bestowed upon him by Santa. Rather than wake him off and risk launching him into cranky 4 - year old mode, I just held him and figured that he'd eventually wake up from the chaos of all the cousins being in one house. Well, he woke up alright, but to our mutual surprise it was when he peed on both of us. My iPod was in my pocket.

Did you know there's no off switch on an iPod? Clever Apple bastards deemed it unnecessary and usually it is, unless you want to mitigate the risk of short circuits when something gets wet. Another great thing is having a removable battery. Without a power source, there can't be any short circuits. iPod doesn't have one of those either. So, I watched my little black buddy fry in silence as it imagined it was syncing with some urine laden PC.

So, that's the story of the death of my iPod. And yet, this turned out not to be unlucky tale of woe, but an excellent turn of events. See, I had randomly bought the extended warranty for my iPod at Best Buy. I never buy those things, but since I had gift cards saved up for the entire price and the idea of dropping a little hard drive was unnerving, I splurged on it. Lucky me! 50 dollar Extended Warranty + ambiguous explanation of problem ("I think the hard drive is dead" true, but not the complete truth) = 'free' upgrade to 80GB iPod Classic. Woo Hoo! I thanked my boy for peeing on me.

And that's how we get to the introductory Poddery Barn for this new little dude.

1) Marvin Gaye - "Heard it through the Grapevine" Very Best of Marvin Gaye
I do a kick-ass karaoke version of this.
2) Radiohead - "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" In Rainbows
I am over my resentment of Radiohead for changing from being one of the greatest guitar bands ever to something else completely. This album is pretty damn good.
3) The Presidents of the United States of America - "Lump" The Presidents of the United States of America
"Lump lingered last in line for brains and the one she got was kinda rotten and insane"
4) Everclear - "Brown Eyed Girl" Songs From An American Movie vol 1
Lame cover, but this song always reminds me of my daughter, her mom and their brown eyes.
5) Coldplay - "Talk" X&Y
You know how I know I'm gay? Because I like coldplay.
6) Kanye West - "The Bounce/Two Words (Live)" The Graduate (mixtape album)
Free mixtape album that I found that's not bad. The second part they turn into an Iraq protest song. Good stuff.
7) Tenacious D - "Kielbasa" Tenacious D
"I love ya baby but all I can think about is
Kielbasa sausage, your butt cheeks is warm.
I check my dipstick, you need lubrication honey,
My kielbasa sausage has just got to perform.
Now get it on!"
8) Longview - "Further" Mercury
These dudes kinda suck. On iPod notice.
9) Dean Martin - "If" Dino - The Essential Dean Martin
"If they made me a king I'd be but a slave for you
If I had everything I'd still be a slave for you
If I ruled the night
Stars and moon so bright
Still I'd turn for life to you"
It's a long way from Kielbasa sausage to this. I love Dino.
10) Ryan Adams - "City Rain, City Streets" Love is Hell, pt. 2
Adams gets my vote for "Best Songwriter Working Today".
11) The Feeling - "Strange" Twelve Stops and Home
Clean, shiny pop songs on this album.
12) Alice In Chains - "Would" MTV Unplugged: Alice In Chains
Damn, I love this song. One of the definitive songs of the 90s.
13) Crowded House - "I Feel Possessed" Temple Of Low Men
When this album came out, I was obsessed with it. I'm certain I annoyed the crap out of my neighbors with it back in the "penthouse" of the fraternity house.

There ya go! Damn good one for the new Pods virgin shuffle.

Long live my iPod!

Well, my iPod is back. Welcome back my little black shiny friend. As it happens, the problem seemed to be an incompatibility between the version of iTunes I had on the PC that has my library and the new iPod software update that Apple just published. My iPod will sync just fine with iTunes version 7.5, but I was kicking it old school at 7.3.2. So, if your iPod seems to sync but doesn't show any songs listed when you spin the wheel, that's likely the problem. I updated my iTunes version, synced and all was right with the world again. On that note, a here goes a shuffle!

1) Ryan Adams - "New York, New York" Gold
Can't you just picture A-Rod strolling down the street bopping his head to this peppy tune, his pockets filled with million-dollar bills? Yep, I can. Welcome back A-Rod.

2) Radiohead - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" The Bends
This would be a kick-ass song for my funeral. You hear that, people? Play this tune, get your sobbing and weeping over with chop-like and then tap the keg!

3) Stereophonics - "Lying In The Sun" Just Enough Education To Perform
Kelly Jones has a fantastic voice. That is all. This shuffle is going very well, if I do say so. Three quality cuts. Time for an iPod curveball, I'd think. We'll see.

4) Evanesence - "My Immortal" Fallen
I know, I know. They suck, right? They're the Hootie and the Blowfish of goth crap music. That's what I keep hearing. Still, another amazing voice. Frankly, I'll forgive lackluster songwriting and general lameness if an exceptional voice is in play and this girl has one. And this lyric truly fits my current situation.

And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

5) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Shuffle Your Feet" Howl
One of the best albums you're probably not listening to. I think they have a new one. I'll have to find out.

6) Queens Of The Stone Age - "Broken Box" Lullabies to Paralyze

In my head you're all brand new
I guess you're really all the same
In my head you're all brand new
Tell your new boy where i came
In my head you're all brand new
Take that broken pussy elsewhere
In my head you're all brand new
Save it baby, i don't care

Excellent eff-you break up song!

7) Haven - "Beautiful Thing" Between the Senses

learn to live, you're not alone
take your time, and it will come and die
don't know when

These guys are ok. An able example of the whiny Britpop genre, but not a distinguished one. That lyric is a perfect example.

8) Ash - "There's a Star" Free All Angels
This is a song that starts out sounding like a Bond theme and then slips into muddled lameness. This band had an outstanding single in Burn Baby Burn (see video below). But the rest of the album is merely ok.


9) AC\DC - "Shake A Leg" Back In Black

Idle juvenile on the street, on the street
Who is kicking everything with his feet, with his feet
Fighting on the wrong side of the law, of the law
Don't kick, don't fight, don't sleep at night

10) Weezer - "Simple Pages" Weezer
Rivers Cuomo is probably the greatest living Connecticut Rocker. That is, until I finish Guitar Hero III.

No iPod curveball. Glad to have you back in my life, my little buddy. I had forgotten how much radio sucked without you. Now that I've remembered, I can go back to forgetting again.

Noooooooo!!!!!!

First, the Giants get their collective asses handed to them by the Cowboys. Now, my iPod has died. I tried the "reset" sequence. I tried "restore". My poor little ipod doesn't show any songs...

Hold me.

Updated:
I decided to try and sync it to a different machine (my vista laptop) and that appeared to wake my little black buddy up. It now accepts and plays songs. So, it's apparently not a hardware problem as I feared, but more likely a software bug. In my panic, I had forgotten that the problem began on first use after my last sync, which included a software update. Phew.

Updated 2:
I checked and, unfortunately, the Giants still lost.

Ok, I've finally decided.

White Stripes - Over-hyped Bullshit? Catchy, quirky and fun?

It's official: Over-hyped Bullshit. Off my iPod they go.

Pod!

Because I can't wait for Toast to post one.

1) Neil Diamond - "Cracklin' Rosie" The Neil Diamond Collection
This song is about getting loaded and is excellent for drunken sing-alongs.
2) Frank Sinatra - "Making Whoopee" Songs for Swingin' Lovers
Now, this is one of the more cynical pop songs ever.

He's washing dishes and baby clothes
He's so ambitious, he even sews
But don't forget, folks, that's what you get, folks
For makin' whoopee

3) Turin Brakes - "Clear Blue Air" Ether Song

Here she comes,
Buzzing through my memory,
Here's the ghost,
Perfume trickles through the...

Air... I need you like air
Water... I need you like water

4) Neil Diamond - "Done Too Soon" The Neil Diamond Collection
This song is fantastic for being simultaneously pretentious and stupid.
5) Stereophonics - "Looks Like Chaplin" Word Gets Around
Kelly Jones probably has one of the top ten rock voices I've ever heard. He's ranked far lower as a song writer, especially a lyricist. If you're not paying attention to the words, they sound fantastic.
6) Led Zeppelin - "Tangerine" Led Zeppelin III
In this wiki entry, you can learn that this is the second song title that references a fruit.
7) The Verve - "Drugs Don't Work" Urban Hymns
This band is most famous for being sued by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for their hit Bittersweet Symphony where they "sampled" a Stones tune. But the rest of this album is fantastic, too.
8) Alice In Chains - "Nutshell" Alice in Chains Unplugged

We chase misprinted lies
We face the path of time
And yet I fight
And yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home

Man, that's some uplifting stuff!
9) Cracker - "Dixie Babylon" The Golden Age

I really must confess
Id like to get undressed with you
and though the thought had never really crossed my mind,
oh, but that was a lie so we went along

10) Screaming Trees - "More Or Less" Sweet Oblivion
One of my favorite Seattle Grunge bands. They never made it big. I think it's because they're pretty fugly.
11) Queens Of the Stone Age - "Someone's In the Wolf" Lullabies To Paralyze

Once you're lost in twillights's blue
You don't find your way, the way finds you...

12) Red Hot Chili Peppers - "This Velvet Glove" Californication
Is it weird that this is my favorite RHCP album?
13) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Complicated Situation" Howl

The young must be our sacrifice, they say with crippled grins,
The eyes of youth must lose their way and stumble here within,
So the sleeping children were awoke, in time to haze their eyes,
So it's never known on which they choke's worth books of old and time,

This album is GREAT.

Quick Hits

-- Fuck you Kanye West. I have both The College Dropout and Late Registration. Both are great albums. But, seriously, do you need to credit every performer that is on every song? See, each of these shows as a different artist on my iPod. Two albums = 18 artists. That's annoying, bro. Next album, all "Kanye West", please.

-- The first time your three year old son says, "Daddy, I want to go to the potty." from the back seat of your car is fantastic. I am a proud Daddy.

-- Someday the Yankees will get a decent starting pitching performance. At least I'm pretty sure that will happen.

-- I hit my favorite package store (Connecticut-ese for Liquor Store) and grabbed Thomas Hooker Hop Meadow IPA and a belgian amber whose name escapes me. The Hop Meadow was too Hoppy even for me and the belgian was waaayyy too malty. You can't really mix them either. This clearly is the weakness of trying new beers.

-- From God Tube: Chatting with Charley. In it, you will see Charley answer the question of how a kangaroo could hop from Turkey, where Noah "turned it loose" all the way to Australia (Spoiler: Ice Bridges). And that a llama and camels are the same species. I'm addicted to GodTube.

-- Apple shipped 100 million iPods. Holy crap that's a lot. Who doesn't have one that wants one? Sell your Apple stock, people.

-- I don't know anything about Sanjaya or why people are so interested in the fact that he's still on American Idol. But, I like his sister. (WARNING: MUTE YOUR SPEAKERS OR BE SUBJECTED TO ANNOYING HINDI MUSIC).