On a lighter note, let's play...

... the "Random iPod Playlist" game, as instituted by Fr. Jim Tucker of Dappled Things. The directions are simple:

Get your ipod or media-player of choice, select your whole music collection, set the thing to shuffle (i.e., randomized playback), then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

I'm going to play a revised edition of the game, using iTunes since I have a better selection (13,350 songs) than my iPod allows (3,500). Here goes:

1. "Leit af lífi", Sigur Rós, from "Von brig"
2. "Running Boy," Frost, from "Melodica"
3. "November Rain," Guns N' Roses, from "Greatest Hits"
4. "Please, Please Baby," Dwight Yoakam, from "Austin City Limits: Live From Austin, TX"
5. "Sister Moon (Feat. Sting)," Herbie Hancock, from "Possibilities"
6. "Premiere Lamentation Pour Le Jeudy Saint Au Soir", by Joel Cohen; Boston Camerata, from "Lamentations-Holy Week In Provence"
7. "By Candlelight," Peter White, from "Acoustic Heart: Acoustic Guitar Masters"
8. "So What," by Donald Harrison Jr., from "Kind Of New"
9. "O Sanctissima," by Our Lady Of Good Counsel Choir, from "Sacred Music of Our Church"
10. "Libra," by Mary Lou Williams, from "Zodiac Suite: Revisited"

Okay, ten more:

11. "Love Now Till Eternity," Asia, from "Anthologia: 20th Anniversary Geffen Years Collection, 1982-1990"
12. "Blackbird, Bye Bye," by Keith Jarrett Trio, from "Bye Bye Blackbird"
13. "Deep River," by Denyce Graves, from "Angels Watching Over Me"
14. "Still Motion," by Ben Monder, from "Oceana"
15. "There Is A River," by Jars Of Clay, from "Good Monsters"
16. "King Arthur - Aire," composed by Purcell, Henry, from "Purcell: Ayres For The Theatre"
17. "Home," by Sarah McLachlan, from "Solace"
18. "Blue In Green (Evans)," by Anthony Braxton, from "23 Standards (Quartet)"
19. "Le Mistral," by Keith Jarrett, from "The Impulse Years, 1973-74 /Treasure Island"
20. "Summertime In England," by Van Morrison, from "Common One"

Hmmm...641 Sinatra songs and not one appears, compared to 222 songs by Keith Jarrett who appears twice. And, for the record (ha!), I don't know how that Guns N' Roses tune got in there. I'll have to talk to my six-year-old daughter; she was probably responsible.

Comments

[Cate]

The six-year-old is listening to G&R? Hmmmm...

[Carl Olson]

Probably more out of historical interest than because of any affection for the music of G&R. ;-)

[Nick Milne]

Carl Olson listens to Sigur Ros!

My day has just been made. :)

My own list, for the sake of topicality:

1. Johnny Cash - "Like the 309"
2. Mascagni's Easter Hymn, from a larger work that escapes me (Cavalleria Rusticana, likely)
3. The song "Brave New World" from Jeff Wayne's rock opera version of War of the Worlds
4. Shivaree - "Good Night Moon"
5. Brian Setzer's excellent rendering of the Malaguena
6. A Beatles mash-up in which the baseline from "Tomorrow Never Knows" is added to "Within You Without You"
7. Eumir Deodato's infamous funk cover of "Also Sprach Zarathustra"
8. "All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons," from the weirdly compelling off-Broadway musical version of The Evil Dead
9. "Dixieland," by Steve Earle (with the Del McCoury Band), in which the exploits of one 'Buster' Kilran are told and the name of Col. Joshua Chamberlain is venerated
10. Nelly Furtado - "Forca," a very vivacious and catchy song

There you go. The eleventh song was The Pogues' "The Body of an American," which is a fine piece of music but falls outside the bounds of the list, alas.

[pazdziernik]

1. The Stars And Stripes Forever -Arthur Fiedler
2. Begin the Begin -R.E.M.
3. Sucia / Shallow Bay -Michael Gettel
4. A Message -Coldplay
5. Hangin' Around Again -Ingram Hill

6. Sentimental -Porcupine Tree
7. Invisible Touch -Genesis
8. Clampdown -The Clash
9. Every Word I Say -Hanson
10. Shenandoah -Bruce Springsteen

[Carl Olson]

Carl Olson listens to Sigur Ros!

Oh yes. I have nearly everything, or at least the major releases.

3. The song "Brave New World" from Jeff Wayne's rock opera version of War of the Worlds

That sounds frightening. A very eclectic mix!

6. Sentimental -Porcupine Tree

Isn't "Fear of a Blank Planet" a great CD? Have you heard "Blackfield II"? Also excellent.

[Roger H.]

1.Tom Sawyer - Rush
2.A Girl in Trouble - Romeo Void
3.Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon
4.I Miss You - Klymaxx
5.Drown - Smashing Pumpkins
6.Kids in America - Kim Wilde
7.Come Go With Me - Expose
8.Rocket - Def Leppard
9.Shock the Monkey - Peter Gabriel
10.Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse

Seems I have a strong leaning toward '80s Top 40 stuff.

[kathryn]

"5. Brian Setzer's excellent rendering of the Malaguena"

Which album did this come from? I loved how he brought back the Big Band a few years ago. Kathryn.

[MMajor Fan]

1. You Can Never Go Home - The Moody Blues

2. Spanish Sounds Lesson 3 - Spanish Instant Immersion

3. Lay Down My Pride - Jeremy Camp

4. In Me - Casting Crowns

5. Spanish Verbs Lesson 8 - Spanish Instant Immersion

6. 5D (Fifth Dimension) - The Byrds

7. white riot - The Clash

8. Somebody Loves You - The Delfonics

9. Mr. Spaceman - The Byrds

10. Long Train Runnin' - The Doobie Brothers

[Carl Olson]

1.Tom Sawyer - Rush

Just listened to this song yesterday–not Rush's original version, but a jazz version by the piano trio Bad Plus, from the album "Prog." Very good!

4.I Miss You - Klymaxx

Whoa! That is a serious '80s blast.

8.Rocket - Def Leppard

I saw them in concert in 1988, and they put on an excellent (and clean) show. The opening act, Tesla, was horrible.

5. Spanish Verbs Lesson 8 - Spanish Instant Immersion

Hmmmm...is that "pop", "rock", or "world"? ;-)

[Nick Milne]

Kathryn, I believe it was off the album Vavoom, though I could be mistaken. I have it downstairs somewhere, but I don't quite know where. I also must (regretfully?) say that his malaguena is not done in a big band context, but rather through some especially blazing guitar work. It's still good, of course, just not big band.

And Carl, re: War of the Worlds rock opera... it's not as bad as it sounds. In fact, it's really quite good, incredibly. There was some excellent talent involved in the thing and the merits of its novelty far outweigh its dubious eccentricity. I certainly recommend it.

And again, for the heck of it:

1. Tom Waits - The Ol' 55
2. The White Stripes - The Union Forever
3. Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
4. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
5. Ennio Morricone - Playing Love (piano version, from soundtrack to The Legend of 1900, a wonderful film)
6. The Tannahill Weavers - The Standard on the Braes o' Mar
7. The Benassi Bros. - Blackbird
8. The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
9. Dropkick Murphys - Time to Go
10. Bear McCreary - Destiny (from the soundtrack to the latest incarnation of Battlestar Galactica)

[MMajor Fan]

5. Spanish Verbs Lesson 8 - Spanish Instant Immersion

Hmmmm...is that "pop", "rock", or "world"? ;-)

lol Carl! That was my attempt to learn enough Spanish to understand symptoms when I considered working as a psychiatric counselor in the Southwest.

[Carl Olson]

Okay, Nick, I see that you have the "eclectic" award wrapped up, but I'm game for another set:

1. "Body And Soul," by Kurt Elling, from "Nightmoves"
2. "Full Of Grace," by Sarah McLachlan, from "Surfacing"
3. "An Ending (Ascent)," by Brian Eno, from "Traffic Soundtrack"
4. "After You've Gone," by Nicholas Payton, from "Gumbo Nouveau"
5. "Sugarcoated," by Aimee Mann, from "Live At St. Ann's Warehouse"
6. "Everybody Hurts," by Paul Anka, from "Rock Swings"
7. "One Faith," by Michael Card & John Michael Talbot, from "Brother to Brother"
8. "I'll Never Be The Same," by James Carter, from "Chasin' The Gypsy"
9. "Sunset," by Kate Bush, from "Aerial - A Sky of Honey"
10. "Northbound...," by Iro Haarla, from "Northbound"

[Cate]

Carl! "Rock Swings"?! Seriously? I like to imagine how the pitch to the studio execs must have gone: "We feel that Paul's version really plums the lyrical depths of 'Eye of the Tiger'...You haven't heard 'Blackhole Sun' till you've heard it SWING, baby!"

It reminds me of Will Ferrell as Robert Goulet: "I don't care if he is Mr. Notorious Big--can he croon?"

[Rick]

1. Nirvana-All Apologies
2. Guns-N-Roses-Sweet Child of Mine
3. Moody Blues-Nights in White Satin
4. Pearl Jam-Jeremy
5. Super Tramp-Take the Long Way Home
6. Journey-Only the Young
7. Asia-Only Time Will Tell
8. Bill Conti-The Final Bell (Rocky 30th Anniversary Album)
9. Van Morrison-Into the Mystic
10. The Police-Every Breath You Take

[Carl Olson]

Carl! "Rock Swings"?! Seriously?

Well, Anka is certainly serious about it, in the right way, and it does really swing. The arrangements are very good. And Anka has fun with many of the songs, which keeps it from becoming mawkish or tedious.

Rick: Nice list! Looks like we share about 70% of the same music.

[Rick]

Carl, thanks! The list was more eclectic, removed some of the sacred/classical stuff to go more "meathead" (my wife's term for my workout music), hard to run/lift to Pavarotti. After viewing the lists here, I have to go out and buy another Napster card, have to add some Rush and Doobie Bros! Perhaps you could do a top 10 "must have and why" of MP3 songs? There are some great tunes listed here.

Cate, somewhat embarrassed, I must admit that Eye of the Tiger is on my MP3, I have a soft spot for music from the Rocky movies.

[Roman]

1. Rickover’s Dream - Michael Hedges
2. Dear Lord - John Coltrane
3. Catechism Q&A 5 of 7 Fr Corapi
4. Love Struck Baby - SRV
5. Pure of Heart - Jason Evert
6. Starless - King Crimson
7. Tipatina's - Mike Stern
8. Millionaire to Roman Collar - Fr Corapi
9. Pure of Heart - Jason Evert
10. My Role in Reconciliation - Fulton Sheen

[Tony Murphy]

I am not even sure how I got here ... but, thought this would be fun:

1. Here is our King - David Crowder Band
2. Let me Ride - REO Speedwagon
3. Verge of a Miracle - Rich Mullins
4. You Wear it Well - Rod Stewart
5. Over and Over Again - Tree63
6. One - U2
7. Don't let me down - Beatles
8. Everytime We Say Goodbye - Rod Stewart
9. Get it Right the First Time - Billy Joel
10. Misty Mountain Hop - Led Zepplin