my ipod's recent playlist

The real joy of iPod is the ability to play a wide range of songs randomly for long periods of time, and not want to skip to the next song. At 2,677 songs, I have not yet begun to properly represent my library on this wonderful invention. Nonetheless, I have created one playlist with about 600 songs in it that keeps me entertained and creates some interesting segues.

So without fanfare, I present The Last 25 Songs That My iPod Played. There are no particularly intriguing transitions in this grouping, and because the vast majority of my library is not included, this list is not wholly representative of my musical preferences. But it is a tidbit. A taste. A smattering.

I only wish this list could play the songs for you. Perhaps I could at least link each to another site on the web where you could listen. Perhaps I could include details for each song to explain the reason I like it, or a piece of trivia on the artist. Perhaps I could update this entry to do those things. Some other day. Perhaps (or not).

And now, the List:

“Peel Me a Grape”
Diana Krall

“Welcome Home”
Coheed and Cambria

“Ruby Baby”
Donald Fagen

“Crazy”
Javier

“Miss Chatelaine”
k.d. lang

“On Love, In Sadness”
Jason Mraz

“L-L-Love”
Blondfire

“Higher Ground”
Stevie Wonder

“Airwaves”
Thomas Dolby

“Letter Read”
Rachael Yamagata

“Why Georgia”
John Mayer

“How Soon is Now”
The Smiths

“Even Flow”
Pearl Jam

“Concert Fantasy on themes from Bizet's ‘Carmen,’ for violin & piano, Op. 25 (arranged by Sarasate)"
Sarah Chang

“Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well”
Mike Doughty

“Sin Wagon”
Dixie Chicks

“Daydream Believer”
The Monkees

“But Not For Me
Joey DeFrancesco

“Sunrise”
Barry Manilow

“Come On! Feel the Illinoise!, Pt. I: The World’s Columbian Expedition/Pt. II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream”
Sufjan Stevens

“Vasoline”
Stone Temple Pilots

“Human Racing”
Nik Kershaw

“My Lover’s Box”
Garbage

“Anima Sola”
The Magic Numbers

“Grace”
Jeff Buckley

All songs I like. Some more than others. "How Soon is Now?" and "Sunrise" would both easily be in My Top 500 Songs of All Time (a list that doesn't currently exist but maybe, in my spare time...). This particular Smiths' song would most likely be in the Top 10 of that list. Find it and play it very loudly. I think Jeff Buckley's "Grace" album is an amazingly sublime and nearly perfect record.

k.d. lang's voice is unparallelled, irrespective of the genre she chooses to sing at any given time. And I can only hope that Sufjan Stevens has a profound effect on the sound of pop music for years to come. Women are underrepresented by this group, although that's certainly not the case with my collection (that's what happens when it plays randomly). There's an uneven distribution of genres, and if the decades were included by volume of play and penetration of playlist, there would be a larger number of songs from the 80s.

Like I said, it's a tidbit.

And for now, that's all there is.