fredag, maj 26, 2006

Shuffle this post: in imitation of a music blog

I read so many posts by so many people which are given musical themes, songs of the day, favorite lyrics. And I always wonder if it is something I should be doing. And then I dismiss that thought; my musical tastes are mine, and no one else's. They're eclectic, a bit dated, sometimes obscure, or just random...and did I mention they're mine? Why would anyone else want or need them? On the other hand, I am determined to blog more while I have the time, and have nothing much to blog about. But, I have music. So, it's logical really. Added to that the fact that commenters are for the most part mysteriously absent at the weekends, and well, this is ideal. By the time anyone comes by, there'll be something more interesting to comment on. You can hope, at least.

So, I've done the obvious; I set Phiggy, my beloved iPod, to shuffle, and wrote down the first twenty results...I meant to do ten, but this is kind of addicting. I give them to you here, with some minor commentary, quoted lines, and so on. Feel free to shake your head in misbelief. You'll notice I'll be shaking my head too, on occasion...I've managed to accumulate a lot of stuff, from a variety of sources, and some of it's a bit odd. It's listed artist, song, album.

1) Pedro Abrunhosa & Os Bandemónio, Se Eu Fosse um Dia o Teu Olhar, Tempo - I once gravely offended a Portuguese acquaintance by referring to Pedro Abrunhosa as Portugal's answer to Vanilla Ice. That being said, I have far too much by him. It's a legacy of going to the Feira da Ladra often when I lived in Lisbon, and, well, buying lot of cd's, for the most part much poppier stuff than I would ever put up with in English. This song is quite catchy though, I think, but I am still shaking my head.

2) Jorge Palma, Viagem na Palma da Mão, Dá-me Lume-O Melhor de Jorge Palma - I've stopped shaking my head. He's the coolest, and I get very annoyed that I don't know anyone else who is at all impressed, or even interested. Perhaps because this is lyrics-driven music, and no one around me understands what he's singing. I've gone for months on end listening to just him. Because he's that good.

3) Toy Dolls, Blue Suede Shoes, Dig that Groove Baby - I am not sure why I have this, and suspect that it was put there by someone else (Thor uses my iPod sometimes, and he's added his own playlist). I do like the Dolls, but they're a bit tedious after a while, by which I mean about mid-song (except I've Got Asthma, which is just classic).

4) Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Alison (Live), Armed Forces (Bonus Tracks) - I have a habit of not liking the big, big hit by any given artist that I otherwise like a lot. But this works live, even though it's not my favorite studio song. I am clearly in the house alone, as Thor would request a song change after about a note of Elvis. Actually, when I am given the 'honor' of chosing the music, it's with the mandate of 'no 80's, and no Portuguese music'. Which puts a bit of a damper on things...well, my formative musical years were the 80's, and I bought a lot of cd's when I was in Portugal. It's not my fault.

5) Woody Allen, Mechanical Objects, Standup Comic - this is a recent acquisition. He makes being messed about by an technologically advanced elevator in retaliation for having beaten up a disrespectful television a perfectly natural occurence. You can simply not top it. He is master of the absurd.

6) They Might Be Giants, Ana Ng, Lincoln - I can't say I know the lyrics to many songs, but to this one I do. 'I don't want the world, I just want your half'. And I've spent more time than I should admit forming a mental picture of the opening lines ('make a hole with a gun perpendicular/ to the name of this town in a desktop globe/exit wound in a foreign nation/shows us the home of the one this was written for'...don't tell me you haven't thought about this one, too...no really, don't tell me).

7) Giuseppe Verdi, Alfredo, Alfredo, di questo cuore, La Traviata - yes, it's true. I don't make playlists. I just play it all together in a big jumbled heap. I've been told that in this way, I destroy the pleasure of listening to opera. To which I respond with a very well-thought out, 'Tough. It's how I like it.' I know nothing about opera, really, other than the ones I've actually seen. I've seen this one more than once, but I couldn't at all tell you what's happening in this part.

8) Monty Python, Sit on my Face, The Final Rip-Off - no words need be said. A classic song by icons of comedy.

9) Richard Wagner, Wie hehr erkenn ich unsrer Liebe Wesen!, Lohengrin - I've never seen it, know nothing about it, and the soprano is a bit weak. I'm slowly shaking my head.

10) Moloko, Sing it Back, Chillout Mix - the concept of 'chillout music' is palpably boring. That being said, this compilation is often background music when we have people over for dinner, and there's some very listenable stuff on it. Like this.

11) Dan Turèll & Halfdan E., untitled, Åbningstiden - Dan Turèll was a hippie author/poet/I don't know what else. I have this cd and another, each one being spoken word with a band backing. His Danish is very clear, and I really should listen to it more. What I understand of it, it's so funny. But there's a lot I don't get. Like this one, for instance. Could he be...talking on the phone? Your guess is as good as mine.

12) Rob Wasserman (with Edie Brickell and Jerry Garcia), Zillionaire, Trios - Jerry Garcia died the month before I moved to Portugal. I was very sad, not because I was especially a deadhead (although I liked the idea of it), but because I harbored a desire to see the Dead in Europe. Edie Brickell I'm fairly ambivalent about, but I like her voice. This is an otherwise nothing special album, but Zillionaire just works somehow.

13) Tracy Chapman, Why?, Tracy Chapman - Yes, why, exactly? I'm not sure I should admit to this, but I am shaking my head. I truly liked this album when it came out, but I don't feel it as I used to. Well, I should reword that. I still like it musically, but the lyrics just sound overstated.

14) Cat Stevens, Maybe You're Right, Mona Bone Jackon - this may be the artist I've liked for the most time, ever since seeing Harold and Maude (my early favorite film, with Cat Stevens soundtrack) when I was about 12. It may hold the record for the artist whom I've sung along with the most while driving (back in my California driving days). I'm in awe by the fact that he spent so much time searching for faith...and then actually found what he was looking for. It's not the answer I would have chosen, but I'm impressed anyway.

15) Bob Dylan, I'll Keep it with Mine, Biograph - 'How long can you search for what is not lost?' You can always count on Bob to come up with the important questions. 'I can't help it if you think I'm odd.' Yes, that's about right. Hey, nice harmonica there, Bob. I had pictures of him in my school locker in high school.

16) John Lennon, Instant Karma!, The John Lennon Collection - I can't explain John Lennon. He spouts platitudes. 'We all shine on, everyone.' What does that mean anyway? And yet, I like it. It's pleasant. And, sad as I am to admit it, pleasant is not bad. I'm clearly getting very, very old.

17) David Bowie, We are the Dead, Diamond Dogs - My teenage goal was to have all of his albums. I started buying them when they started being released on cd by Ryko disk, and then lost interest, or maybe ran out of funds, I don't remember which, after this one. 'You're dancing where the dogs decay, defecating ecstacy', not as pleasant as John Lennon. And that's not bad, either. But I'm still getting old.

18) The Prodigy, One Love, Hackers Soundtrack - I haven't seen this film, and don't have anything else by any of the bands on the cd, but it's a cool cd. I'd classify it as chillout, and play it during dinner. Otherwise, it's listenable, if a bit repetitive.

19) Fleetwood Mac, Sara, Greatest Hits - there's a (no-longer) secret part of me that likes old mellow classic rock. More proof of how old I really am. It's not my fault, it's Stevie's voice. She's addictive. I have an Eagles album, too...how's that for too much information?

20) Handel, Affetuoso, Watermusic Suite #3 - and it's all capped off by 46 sublime seconds.

I'm impressed you've made it this far, and I thank you. Now, I'm off to hear what comes next, and next, and even next, and to curse Phiggy for all the cool stuff that she didn't play in the first 20 (like the Rammstein song she's playing now).

27 kommentarer:

kimananda sagde ...

Sangroncito, that will be a great post. I look forward to reading all about it, and could probably make a companion post to that also.

Jackt, it's a long story, but as I have the time...I name most everything. I named Thor's iPod Ignacious Pod...or Iggy Pod for short. My iPod is a Photo iPod, so Phignacea, or Phiggy for short. Any future iPods will be named along the same lines, within reason, so no iPod nano's named 'Niggy', for example.

Devil Mood sagde ...

Oh, I liked it :) Very eclectic.
I guess the reason I write about music is when I like a song too much and I need to share it with other people, or if there's a significant lyric I think I should talk about...But I actually enjoyed to know your shuffle. That Tracy Chapman album was the 1st cd my parents bought (there were no cds before) and I used to sing along to all the songs when I was 6 and didn't know one single english word. I like it still...Mountains O'things ;)

Daphnewood sagde ...

iPods are so awesome. I can't imagine hearing some Monty Python song and Fleetwood Mac on the same radio station. Only a private collection could be so diverse. Speaking of diverse, I need a new word. I find myself saying awesome a lot lately. My kids must be influencing me.

Nabeel sagde ...

i would love to see your song of the day lists in each post .. you named your IPOD? awesome .. I need to name mine .. i'll probably name it .. hmmm ..

ohhh .. and your IPOD is a female... awesomeee .. why do u think it's a female and not male? IPOD is a male term I guess .. see things have gender too .. we have a sense of things with gender .. why is your IPOD a she?

Admin sagde ...

rad, i might have to steal this idea. can i can i? elvis costello is awesome.

erin sagde ...

Why is it that every time I try to do this mine decides to play every weird embarassing and random song I have and I end up not doing it?

mary bishop sagde ...

Your taste in music reflects your very -- gotta say it -- eclectic tastes in general.

I cannot bear to shuffle: classical music, opera, instrumentals of any kind.

I cannot shuffle: genres.

I cannot shuffle...

because I do not own an iPod.

Scholiast sagde ...

I've got all Bowie albums... But they're not actually mine, I'm keeping / borrowing them from my friend Børge as he hasn't got an old-fashioned record player. I do..

I love my iPod too. I feel a post coming up...

kimananda sagde ...

Ms. Mood, I'm realizing from this post that I don't really know what to make of the word eclectic. I think it's a good thing. I'd love for you to do this exercise as well...you have some seriously good taste in music.

Daphnewood, look...the two commenters after you also used the word awesome...maybe they've been unduly influenced by your kids, too! ;-)

Nabeel, I'm not sure why Phiggy is a girl. Maybe it's to differentiate her from Iggy, who is a boy. Or maybe it's cause I'm a girl, and should therefore have girl things. And...have you thought of a name for your iPod?

Vesper, your list was fabulous. And Elvis is great...he's one of my favorites to see in concert as well.

Erin, you don't think this is what happened here? I like the songs here, but it does sort of put me into a mainstream soft sounding music thing which I don't feel I particularly deserve.

Mr. American, I'd love to see what you come up with. And Monty Python is a must for any music collection.

Connie, I so do not know any new music, basically because I never listen to the radio, or try to hear what's new. It's kind of sad, really.

Mary, I used to shuffle on my cd player. Shuffle on the iPod is the same, only more to shuffle from. And, I'm now on a hunt to figure out what it means to have eclectic tastes. I mean, don't we all get our style/taste/etc. from different sources at different times in our lives?

Maddy, yes, when Woody sniggles at his own jokes, that makes it for me, too. And let me know what you find when searching for the ones you didn't know...I should be doing that for all of your wonderful songs of the day, and I might do now that I have a bit more time.

Scholiast, I look forward to reading your post. And, all the Bowie albums? I'm so jealous...that was my teenage dream!

Day, never say never. I never thought I'd write about music either, but it just happened. And I've exchanged cd's, too...and the two who recieved my cd were very careful to let me know that they would listen to my cd later...and then never said anything about it! Makes me a bit nervous to send any more cd's out...clearly my eclectic tastes make for bad mixes!

Fatma sagde ...

You love muic? hmmm... You know that song by India rie called Complicated Melody? It's beautiful. She describes a man and says if he were a song he'd be a complicated melody etc...

I just A-D-O-R-E Tracy Chapman! Those lyrics!

Am like that too, no definite type of music...

Am savibg to buy an ipod since forever! :-( I'd name mine too! :-)

Fitèna

kimananda sagde ...

Hi Fitèna, and welcome! I didn't know the India Rie song, but I just listened to a very small sample of it on iTunes, and it sounds lovely...we are all beautiful, complicated melodies, aren't we?

i'm marion sagde ...

Brilliant idea! I can totally see how this is addictive... ;-)

Nabeel sagde ...

hmmm .. whats the book about? I love back covers like that .. and what's DANMARK? I know Denmark .. but what's DANMARK?

Hope you have insruance on your IPOD .. i had a reuglar IPOD and the battery dies out after a few months .. since i had insruance .. they always replaced my old one with a brand new one .. works like a charm mate.

What song is playing when u took the picture? I can't read it.

David Edward sagde ...

its is a great way to get to know you
I have NO ipod - i am a technophobe

x sagde ...

i think you have great taste in music and it is wrong to keep it to yourself. I listen to the cd you sent me all the time.
Phiggy is a great name for an ipod. I believe in giving names to machines. They behave better.

Meow (aka Connie) sagde ...

What an interesting assortment of music you have on your iPod ... I don't have one yet, but soon ! I listen to a huge variety of music, from classical, country, classic rock, to pop and anything in between. Music makes the world go around, doesn't it.
Thanks for sharing.
Take care, Meow

Unknown sagde ...

i am so glad you do 20. the first 10 made me feel so culturally illiterate!

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

i named my ipod as well. it is the iPseudopod, or sometimes the iCephalopod 9it has multiple personalities).

I'd be afraid to just set th e thing to fully random, as i tmight produce some music out of the seven gigabytes of songs currently on it that I don't want to hear right hten. I have oodles of playlists, ranging from Booze and Blues (angsty gothabilly music to drink to) to Joytron (all my Joy Division songs, which is to say everything Joy Division ever did that has been put to cd, and all my Ladytron songs, which is about three album's worth).

HanktheDog sagde ...

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Molly has her own collection of songs about me, I'm afraid to tell. I'm partial to the Philosopher's Song by Monty Python...

Greg Mills sagde ...

interesting list. Ana Ng is a great song, good for washing the dishes to. My own I-Pod is broke-ish, rather it's caught in a swirling Kafka-esque whirlpool of software updates and used laptop registered to someone else. It's a nightmare really.

Last CDs purchased: Under the Covers, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. Great.

And Hawkwind: Doremi Fasolatido. Haven't listened to it yet, too scared.

Jack Steiner sagde ...

Good stuff. I am not familiar with all of it, but what I know I do like.

Attila the Mom sagde ...

Interesting list!

My son, who is 16, has recently discovered Fleetwood Mac (and Steppenwolf and the Go-Go's). Talk about a blast from the past!

I can't get that damn Monty Python song out of my head now! ;-)

Daphnewood sagde ...

how come Chloe's CD works that you sent and mine doesn't? Not fair! Actually Mr. Daphnewood has it sitting on his desk and when he is on vacation next week he is going to see if he can get it working for me. How many songs do you have on your iPod? And what is Phiggy playing now?

kimananda sagde ...

Marion, yes, it was fun...I recommend it!

Nabeel, you ask great questions! Danmark is Denmark in Danish, and the book is a sort of encyclopedia of Denmark (the full name of the book translates as 'Denmark: country and people'). I didn't buy insurance on Phiggy, but she seems o.k. so far...I've had her for almost a year and a half now. And I believe the song playing was the Cat Stevens one. And, a question for you...have you named your iPod yet?

David, technophobes are alright...you can sit around the fire and play the fiddle and sing...or am I thinking of Little House on the Prarie? ;-)

Chloe, giving things names definitely helps.

Meow, thanks! I'd love to see your playlist, too.

Treespotter, you could do the same exercise, and I guarantee I'd be equally lost. I tend to only know the music that I have already.

Morose, that's why I like the full-on random setting. Do you really ever know what you might like to listen to? Sometimes your iPod might have some good ideas.

Hank, you should do your list...you could dispell the myth about dogs only listening to songs which refer to dogs (like 'Who let the dogs out').

Greg, Ana Ng to do dishes by...I hadn't thought of that, but I will definitely try it out.

Neil, I believe my socks normally match each other. Now, whether they match the rest of my outfit is another question entirely.

Jack, I'm glad you liked it!

Attila, isn't that always the way...we rediscover our parent's music, and take it as our own! Of course Monty Python is timeless....

Daphnewood, how strange! I made the cd's using iTunes, but as MP3 files. Maybe your cd player won't play MP3's?

Anonym sagde ...

http://www.sorabji.com/_/Stuff_People_Write_on_Money?page=1

The things, people write on dollar bills =)


-theblackscorpio

kimananda sagde ...

Hey, that's cool...check out this one, too...

http://nabeelzeeshan.blogspot.com/2006/05/stuff-that-people-write-on-money.html

Greg Mills sagde ...

Obviously, depending on how many dishes you have to wash, you may need to play other songs. I suggest the following:

*I often dream of trains -- Robyn Hitchcock

*Funk 49 -- James Gang

*Girlfriend -- Matthew Sweet

*Hallogallo -- Neu!

*Brighton Rock -- Queen

*Overkill -- Motorhead

*Waiting Room -- Fugazi

*Boredoms -- Vision Creation Newsun

*La-Di-Da-Di -- Slick Rick

*King Crimson -- 21st Century Schizoid Man

*Lush -- De-Luxe

*High On Fire -- To Cross the Bridge

*Led Zepplin -- Houses of the Holy (The album)

*Roland Kirk -- Untitled Blues

*Hendrix -- Manic Depression

*Pixies -- Planet of Sound

*Tom Waits -- Earth Died Screaming

*Mingus -- Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Merely suggestion. Your results may vary.