Ipod Shuffle: Volume I

Ipod Shuffle Volume I

Here’s the deal. I put the ol’ Ipod on shuffle, write down the first five songs that play and then B.S. about them. I'll either say something interesting or booooring, so either way you have to stay tuned. Hopefully it will be entertaining, if not, send your angry emails to [email protected]. Here we go...

1) The Beatles: “Within You Without You” - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
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Sitar madness. For those not in the know the sitar is “probably the best-known Indian instrument in the West. It is a Hindustani classical stringed instrument which utilizes sympathetic strings along with regular strings and a gourd resonating chamber to produce a very distinctive sound.” (Wikipedia) I can say without a doubt that this is one of my LEAST favorite tracks on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and probably one of my least favorite tracks in the Beatles entire catalog. Somewhere George Harrison and Ravi Shankar are giving me the finger...sorry boys.

2) The Decemberists: “The Tain” - The Tain EP

I think I bought this one on Emusic because it was over 18 minutes long. I'm a big Decemberists fan but I was entrhalled with the bang for your buck aspect of the download. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to all 18:35 of the bands take on the Irish mythological epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. That being said, it does have its moments, particular part IV. I hear part IV is where it’s at. Maybe one day I'll get to it.

3) Dr. Dre: “Bitches Ain't Shit” - The Chronic
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“Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks.”
I don’t think I can add to this fine piece of American music.

4) Pearl Jam: “World Wide Suicide” - Live 6/01/06 @ Continental Airlines Arena
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I saw Pearl Jam three times on their last North American tour and each time the band never failed to deliver an impassioned and stellar performance. Eddie doesn’t let his vocals rip like in the days of old but every once in a while he’ll surprise you with a vintage performance. His delivery of Pearl Jam's number one rock single "World Wide Suicide" was one of those vintage moments. 

5) Think Differently: “Think Differently” - Wu Tang Meets the Indie Culture
Featuring: Casual, Rock Marciano, Vordul Mega & Tragedy Khadafi

I have to admit I haven’t listened to this album much since I bought it. There's something about it that's missing. Maybe it has to do with the Wu Tang name on the cover and the un-Wu-tang like sound on the compliation. It’s no surprise that the only two songs that did click are “Lyrical Swords” by GZA and Ras Kass and "Biochemical Equation" by RZA and MF Doom.

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One of my music mentor. He's the man!