Anybody wanna play Random 10? Set your iPod to shuffle, on the widest possible focus (that is, on “songs,” not a particular playlist) and then tell the truth. No skipping to emphasize your coolness. I’ll start:
“The Loco-motion,” Little Eva
“Motor City Baby,” The Dirtbombs
“May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose,” Little Jimmy Dickens
“Fourth of July,” X
“Things You Left Behind,” The Nails
“Don’t Tell Me,” Madonna
“Feeling Gravity’s Pull,” REM
“Red Hot,” Robert Gordon
“Hot Rod Lincoln,” Commander Cody
“Groove is in the Heart,” Deee-Lite
Well, that wasn’t too embarrassing. Some of you may be wondering what Little Jimmy Dickens is doing in my iPod. Keeping alive the thread of country music the way it was meant to be — made by hillbillies. I still laugh when he gets to the second verse:
My laundry man is really on his toes
Found a hundred-dollar bill among my clothes
When he called me I came runnin’
Gave him back his dime for phonin’
And I heard him sayin’ as I turned to go…
I also have “Take an Old Cold Tater (and Wait)”, if you’re interested.
LA mary said on November 13, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Does He Love You? Rilo Kiley
Carry That Weight The Beatles
Dirty Love Frank Zappa
Oh My Golly! The Pixies
In a Future Age Wilco
Red House The Jimi Hendrix Experience
No Woman No Cry Bob Marley
Subterranean Homesick Blues Bob Dylan
Stumbling Through the Dark The Jayhawks
You Turn Me On I’m a Radio Joni Mitchell
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LA mary said on November 13, 2007 at 1:01 pm
The next song was Kathy’s Waltz by Dave Brubeck
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nancy said on November 13, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Editor’s note: LA Mary is too modest to say that all those people on that list were once her neighbors. Some still are.
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Dorothy said on November 13, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I have no iPod so I can’t be cool. But I do remember hearing a few years ago that the Steelers had “Groove is in the Heart” playing in the locker room quite a bit.
I just bought Down to the Bone’s Greatest Hits and I can’t stop listening to “Long Way from Brooklyn.” The song runs 5:44 and it’s exactly how long it takes me to pull out of my parking space and get to my office!
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Hank Stuever said on November 13, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Everything Will Be All Right — The Killers
Suite from 44 Duos Part 7 — Matt Haimovitz
Lullaby for Cain — Sinead O’ Connor
I Must Have It — Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks
Bang the Drum — Rail Road Jerk
uMass — Pixies
Open Season — Imperial Teen
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic — Police
Gigue — Matt Haimovitz
Thru the Window — Seaweed
I’ve always wanted to read about iPod’s algorithms. Why TWO songs randomly from cellist Matt Haimovitz, from different albums, out of a library of 3,800 songs? This happens all the time. Also, sometimes it seems like random shuffle is messing with my mind, picking weirdly appropriate songs as I walk the streets of DC.
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LA mary said on November 13, 2007 at 1:23 pm
A lot of them are dead.
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Peter said on November 13, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Nancy, the Nails? Well played – although I would have gone for Land of the Free instead – talk about great lyrics!
Dorothy – 5:44 to pull out of your parking space and get to your office – it takes me about 5:44 to FIND a parking space when I get to work, never mind about the commute to get there…
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LA mary said on November 13, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I get through four tracks on the The Best of Benny Carter when there’s no traffic.
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alex said on November 13, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Amen, hallelujah, Peter. And that’s just once I’m inside the parking garage.
No iPod here yet either. I look at it as one less electronic time waster to lose.
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brian stouder said on November 13, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I have a cheap white thing (now there’s a band name for you) that holds maybe two or three hundred songs, and all my Pearl Jam albums and ep’s are on it, along with all the Police, and that’s it. If I put it on ‘shuffle play’, God only knows what oddball list of tunes it would play, but all of it would feature Eddie or Sting
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Laura said on November 13, 2007 at 2:22 pm
“Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Jeannie C. Riley
“Vanity Fair,” Squeeze
“I Got You,” Split Enz
“Promised Land,” Spanic Boys
“Dancing with Myself,” Billy Idol
“Moondance,” Van Morrison
“Another Place to Fall,” KT Tunstall
“Tell It Like It Is,” Aaron Neville
“I Know Where I’ve Been,” Queen Latifah (Hairspray)
“If Sugar Was As Sweet,” Rockpile
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Laura said on November 13, 2007 at 2:31 pm
What’s more telling, though, is the first ten on your 25 most played. Mine:
“Gone Daddy Gone,” Violent Femmes
“Johnny Strikes up the Band,” Warren Zevon
“Beyond the Sea,” Bobby Darrin
“Run and Tell That,” Cory Reynolds (Hairspray)
“Dancing in the Moonlight,” King Harvest
“The Rose of England,” Nick Lowe
“King of the Road,” Roger Miller
“Top of the World,” Shonen Knife
“The Look of Love,” ABC
“Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens,” BB King
Lots of guilty pleasures, here.
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Mindy said on November 13, 2007 at 2:50 pm
No iPod here, either. What Alex said.
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Dorothy said on November 13, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I admit – I drive faster than I should most of the time. I’m keeping a sharp eye out for deer these days. But I am staying only about 3.5 miles away from my office. AND I work a 35 hour week instead of 40. This college life is the bomb!
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Elaine said on November 13, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Okay, I’ll play:
The Core – Eric Clapton
Taunt – Monty Python & the Holy Grail Soundtrack
Mornin’ – Al Jarreau
Will You Love Me Tomorrow – Carole King
Birds Eye View – Uman
Call Me When You Get This – Corinne Bailey Rae
I Feel Fine – Beatles
Mother – Afro Celt Sound System
String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor – Grieg – Emerson String Quartet
Up Above My Head – Ruthie Foster
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John C said on November 13, 2007 at 3:15 pm
“She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” Guy Clark
“Silent Night” Blind Boys of Alabama
“Johnny Strikes Up the Band” Warren Zevon
“We Walk” REM
“Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home” Louis armstrong
“Rodeo Boy” Fred Eaglesmith
“Cowboy Calypso” Russ Barenberg
“Landing” The Flops
“Dunmore Lassies” Chieftans and Ry Cooder
“I Am A Grocery Bag” They Might Be Giants
I refuse to put my Most Played on there, because it is all kids’ songs. (The Ipod is in the kitchen.)
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ashley said on November 13, 2007 at 3:23 pm
iPhone:
my my, hey hey: neil young
just what I needed: the cars
tipitina: professor longhair
I like it like that: Chris Kenner
Sam Hall: Johnny Cash
Jenny Says: Cowboy Mouth
Angel from Montgomery: Bonnie Raitt and John Prine
Word up: Cameo
Slave to my dick: subhumans
here it goes again: OK Go
And the Laura list:
Boom boom boom: Iguanas
Hurt: Johnny Cash
Fire and Gasoline: Iguanas
Summertime: BIllie holliday and Louis Armstrong
Hasta siempre commandante Che Guevara: Carlos Puebla
Wichita Lineman: Johnny Cash
Rednecks: Randy Newman
Fire on the Bayou: the Meters
Blood makes noise: Suzanne Vega
Miss Broadway: Kevin Gilbert
Mercy Seat: Johnny Cash
And the full blown random list:
doubleback: ZZ top
reconsider me: warren zevon
the cross: 5 blind boys of alabama
jambalaya: jo-el sonnier
meet me at no special place: mose allison
miles from nowhere: the smithereens
southern nights: allen toussaint
baby, I’m drunk: reverend horton heat
life’ll kill ya: warren zevon
when you wish upon a star: louis armstrong
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Julie Robinson said on November 13, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Okay, I’ll fess up, I don’t really belong here at NNC. Lost interest in the rock scene about 1972 when a great teacher reintroduced me to classical. Reintroduced, since it was always playing at home but I hadn’t paid much attention before. That and musicals are what interest me now, particularly Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.
Although. A few years ago when “Camp” came out and we bought the soundtrack, I listened to a song over and over. Finally I looked for the composer, and was stunned to read “M. Jagger & K. Richards”. That’s right, it was “Wild Horses”, and I’d never heard it before. So have a good laugh everyone, the geek is in the house.
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nancy said on November 13, 2007 at 4:19 pm
We should do this more often. I’m getting some great ideas for my next iTunes shopping spree. And thanks, Mary, for putting “Dirty Love” in my head. I’m finding the ol’ hard drive, despite not having heard that song since maybe 1979, can still call up whole verses.
“Slave to my dick” — snicker.
And now the real revealer: The most-played list.
Camel Walk — Southern Culture on the Skids
Magic Carpet Ride — Steppenwolf
(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again — L.T.D.
Let’s Work Together — Canned Heat
London Calling — The Clash
Dancing With Myself — The Donnas
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) — Jimi Hendrix
Folsom Prison Blues — Johnny Cash
Something in the Air — Thunderclap Newman
Itchykoo Park — Small Faces
I know: Lame. All I can say is, I spent the largest chunk of my adult life in places with terrible radio stations.
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nancy said on November 13, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Oh, and Hank:
>Also, sometimes it seems like random shuffle is messing with my mind, picking weirdly appropriate songs as I walk the streets of DC.
This happens to me constantly. The only time it made me sort of paranoid — like I was being tracked on satellite or something — was when I was riding my bike once, and crossed Alter Road, the border between Grosse Pointe Park and Detroit. On the GP side, it was playing some happy Motown tune, and as soon as I crossed Alter, it switched to hip-hop.
Another time, I was out riding, starting to get tired, and it threw up a Madonna song. I thought, hmm, there’s a song with a Detroit connection. Next track: Ted Nugent. So I thought, I’ll ride until I get a song with absolutely no Detroit or Michigan connection, and then I’ll turn for home. After that: Bob Seger, Eminem, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, George Clinton, etc. I was out another 40 minutes. I don’t know if this speaks to the depth of Detroit’s influence on pop music, or if in fact my iPod can read my mind. I’m leaning toward the latter.
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deb said on November 13, 2007 at 5:04 pm
random ten:
“for my next trick i’ll need a volunteer,” warren zevon
“mixed emotions,” rolling stones
“play it loud,” mxpx
“superchicken” theme, sheldon allman
“ruby tuesday,” rolling stones
“when the levee breaks,” led zeppelin
“caledonia,” robin trower
“the great river,” howard shore
“mickey,” toni basil
“the heartache,” warren zevon
cringe. i actually lost my first random 10 list, which was infinitely more interesting, with four zevon tunes, one david johansen and one truly eerie pairing — “dante’s prayer” followed by “dirty little religion.” the ipod, she is a little creepy at times, no?
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John C said on November 13, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I put on the shuffle this morning in the kitchen, on a mellow playlist I put together. It played “I Still Believe in You” by the Beach Boys, followed by Annie Sofie Von Otter (or however you spell her name) and Elvis Costello covering the same song. It was spooky.
Another of my favorite shuffle things is when it plays a hilariously short filler track, totally out of context. You might roll out of a Clash song, then into the Who singing 12 seconds of “A SON! A SON! A SUUUUUUN!” then right into Hank Williams.
It’s also fun in the car to play “Name that Tune.” I have almost 6,000 songs on my Ipod and Mary will either shuffle through them, or look for obscure songs and put them on. When I get almost all of them and she says: “You’re amazing.” I can’t tell whether she means it, or whether she thinks I’m a freak.
And Julie Robinson, I think having a boatload of showtunes on shuffle play in the car would be fantastic, if you like to sing along.
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Dave said on November 13, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Ugh, I’m such a fogey. No Ipod, don’t recognize lots of those songs. Woe is me.
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LA mary said on November 13, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Johnny Cash singing Mercy Seat is a wonderful thing. Even Nick Cave likes it. Nick Cave singing Into My Arms is a wonderful thing as well. I need more Nick Cave on the IPod.
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Julie Robinson said on November 13, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Oh, John C, would I like to sing along? It’s all the family can do to get me NOT to sing along. I have snatches of songs that pop into my head for almost every occasion! BTW, I’m shopping for an MP3 but not an iPod. I can spend $200-$300 and I want one that is easy to use. Anyone have suggestions?
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LA mary said on November 13, 2007 at 7:01 pm
My kids were so happy when my cassette of Oklahoma finally broke. They couldn’t stand one more round of Oh What a Beautiful Morning performed by Gordon McRae and Mom.
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basset said on November 13, 2007 at 8:04 pm
a few years ago I got off a Southwest plane at the old Detroit City airport, rented a car, turned on the radio just as I hit the interstate onramp and there was the Nuge doing “Stranglehold.”
Yes, now we are really in Detroit.
Or maybe we are back at the start of sophomore year, passing out across a bare mattress after moving into the dorm with the help of fifteen Pabst malt liquors.
First piece of journalism, or lightly edited stenography in this case, that I ever got published nationally was an interview with Ted in CREEM about 1976 or 77… noticed in Borders yesterday that there’s now a CREEM coffee-table retrospective out, they had the usual Detroit suspects (Iggy, Seger, Alice Cooper and so forth) in it but I didn’t see a picture of Nugent.
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del said on November 13, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Thank You — Alannis Morrisette(sp?)
Broken Revisited — Tears for Fears
Ain’t to Proud to Beg — Temptations
The Humpty Dance — Digital Underground
Long Time Gone — Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
A Sort of Homecoming — U2
The Look of Love — ABC
Amazing Grace — Anne Murray
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway — Genesis
Oh Very Young — Cat Stevens
P.S. I cheated. First shuffle had 4 selections from one artist.
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Cosmo Panzini said on November 13, 2007 at 11:07 pm
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Joe K said on November 14, 2007 at 12:11 am
N.
Camel walk, I wonder how many N.N. readers know that song. Every time you hear it, it makes you want to walk like a camel.
Joe
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Carmella said on November 14, 2007 at 6:48 am
Dixie – Dwight Yoakum
You Never Even Called Me by My Name – David Allen Coe
Ramblin’ Fever – Merle Haggard
Mama Don’t Forget to Pray for Me – Diamond Rio
Breakdown Dead Ahead – Boz Scaggs
Masquerade – Leon Russell
One Fine Day – The Chiffons
Come Next Monday – KT Oslin
Cowboy Take Me Away – Dixie Chicks
A Picture of Me without You George Jones
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derwood said on November 14, 2007 at 7:27 am
“Marathon” – Rush
“Goolie Get Together” – The Toadies
“I wanna be a Cowboy” – Boys Don’t Cry
“Lady” – Dennis DeYoung and Symphony Orch
“What About Love” – Meatloaf
“Love Bites” – Def Leppard
“Big Love” – Fleetwood Mac Live
“You Are” – Christine McVie
“I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing” – Pet Shop Boys
“True” – Spandau Ballet
Seems to be a love theme today.
#11 Rock the Casbah” – Clash
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Jim said on November 14, 2007 at 8:45 am
1. Luck Be a Lady — Frank Sinatra
2. Prisoners of Love — The Producers soundtrack
3. When You Got It, Flaunt It — The Producers soundtrack
4. Texas Plains — Riders in the Sky
5. Ring of Fire — Walk the Line soundtrack
6. Woody’s Roundup — Riders in the Sky
7. We Didn’t Start the Fire — Billy Joel
8. My Three Sons — TV’s Greatest Hits
9. The Tonight Show theme — TV’s Greatest Hits
10. The Ballad of Jed Clampett — Flatt & Scruggs
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ashley said on November 14, 2007 at 10:30 am
“Johnny Cash singing Mercy Seat is a wonderful thing.” — indeed.
Bassett: In 98 or thereabouts I was teaching a 3 day class for Oracle in Detroit. When I got into my rental car at the airport, what was playing on the radio? KISS doing Detroit rock city. I looked at the speedo and I was doing about 90 on the interstate.
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wade said on November 14, 2007 at 4:00 pm
My iPod is in the car, so I went to iTunes Party Shuffle and got this list (hope that ain’t cheatin’…):
Party By Myself – Dan Bern
Sea Chanty – John Lennon
The Crucifixion – Alan Doggett & Ian Gillan
Mary-Anne – Adam Richman
Half Your Angels – Crosby, Still and Nash
Bubblegum Gangster – George Clinton
Unwelcome In Your Town – Johnny Winter
Tonight I Celebrate My Love – Peabo Bryson/Roberta Flack
Hippy Hippy Shake – The Swinging Blue Jeans
Hot Times Tonight – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown
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