Stephen Levy, of Newsweek, writes:
“Surfing someone’s iPod is not merely a revelation of character but a means to a rich personal narrative, navigated by click wheel.” (Newsweek, October 23, 2006) — an excerpt from Levy’s book called The Perfect Thing.
I don’t have an iPod (I have a thing against Digital Rights Management locks) but I do have an MP3 player that has made long flights bearable and walks around the neighborhood enjoyable. So, what is playing in my mind? I click on my player and here are the first 20 or so songs that come up in shuffle mode:
- James Hunter “Until Your Fool Comes Home”
- The Subdudes “Save Me”
- Dave Mathews “Ants Marching”
- Jason Mraz “Mr. Curiosity”
- John Mellencamp “Worn Out Nervous Condition”
- Matthew Sweet “You Don’t Love Me”
- Shelby Lynne “I’m Alive”
- Brian Setzer “Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache”
- Tiny Town “Little Child”
- The Cure “Boys Don’t Cry”
- Rolling Stones “Happy”
- Bruce Springsteen “Into the Fire”
- Indigo Girls “Virginia Woolf”
- Ben Harper “Where Could I Go”
- GooGoo Dolls “Strange Love”
- BoDeans “Say about Love”
- Ryan Adams “Political Scientist”
- Average White Band “Pick up the Pieces”
- Marc Cohn “Walk on Water”
- Beastie Boys “Ask for Janice”
- Steve Earle “Copperhead Road”
- Joan Osborne “One of Us”
One thing I notice: not too many female artists on that list and I realize that I don’t have too many on my player, although I have quite a few rocking women groups and solo artists in my collection.