Fifteen Songs – “Five on Shuffle” edition

If you’ve been with me for awhile, you know that for the past few years, on or around July 4th, I’ve played the “Fifteen Songs” games here. It’s a trivial and now dated bit I stole from Facebook where you put your iPod, or other music player of choice on shuffle, and then you post the first fifteen songs that appear. The idea behind the whole thing is something akin to an icebreaker, where one is suppose to discard all pretenses and impressions as one’s guilty listening pleasures are laid bare for the world to see. Eh…sure. For me it started as a simple way to post something around July 4th, which is usually my busiest weekend of the summer.

Five on Shuffle, #6

Welcome to my new monthly series called “Five on Shuffle” where I attempt to reconnect with my iPod by using it regularly throughout the year and using it only and continuously on “shuffle.” Once a month I’m going to stop at a completely random interval, snap photos of five songs in a row, and then post and write about them here. The writing may be heavy or light, depending on whether or not I’ve anything remotely clever to say about any given song in the moment.

Five on Shuffle, #5

Welcome to my new monthly series called “Five on Shuffle” where I attempt to reconnect with my iPod by using it regularly throughout the year and using it only and continuously on “shuffle.” Once a month I’m going to stop at a completely random interval, snap photos of five songs in a row, and then post and write about them here. The writing may be heavy or light, depending on whether or not I’ve anything remotely clever to say about any given song in the moment.

Five on Shuffle, #4

Welcome to my new monthly series called “Five on Shuffle” where I attempt to reconnect with my iPod by using it regularly throughout the year and using it only and continuously on “shuffle.” Once a month I’m going to stop at a completely random interval, snap photos of five songs in a row, and then post and write about them here. The writing may be heavy or light, depending on whether or not I’ve anything remotely clever to say about any given song in the moment.

Five on Shuffle, #3

Welcome to my new monthly series called “Five on Shuffle” where I attempt to reconnect with my iPod by using it regularly throughout the year and using it only and continuously on “shuffle.” Once a month I’m going to stop at a completely random interval, snap photos of five songs in a row, and then post and write about them here. The writing may be heavy or light, depending on whether or not I’ve anything remotely clever to say about any given song in the moment.

Five on Shuffle, #2

Welcome to my new monthly series called “Five on Shuffle” where I attempt to reconnect with my iPod by using it regularly throughout the year and using it only and continuously on “shuffle.” Once a month I’m going to stop at a completely random interval, snap photos of five songs in a row, and then post and write about them here. The writing may be heavy or light, depending on whether or not I’ve anything remotely clever to say about any given song in the moment.

Five on Shuffle, #1

Welcome to my new monthly (I think) series called “Five on Shuffle.” With the demise of my iTunes Diaries series, I wanted to re-inject this blog with a little musical flair, and also give myself good reason to use my poor, old iPod. Indeed, there once was a time when I was perfectly tethered to my iPod nearly 24/7. I’d create and kill playlists on a wing and a prayer, and I’d scoop up music faster than it could be added to ye olde iTunes. And while I’ve not completely abandoned my iPod, nowadays, with the likes of Pandora, Spotify, etc., it’s easy enough to get music anytime, anywhere without the little device taking up a pocket.

So here’s the deal (which I think I kind of explained already but maybe not in any exact terms): this year, I’m going to attempt to re-attach myself to my iPod, taking it with me wherever I go and, as the scary kicker, using it only on shuffle. Once a month I’m going to stop at a completely random interval, snap photos of five songs in a row, and then post and write about them here. The writing may be heavy or light, depending on whether or not I’ve anything remotely clever to say about any given song in the moment.

So…since I’ve nothing more interesting to say right now than that, let’s just get on the with first five random songs!

iTunes Diaries, entry #43, “Thieves” by Ministry

I was once a little…um, okay, terribly obsessed with iTunes.  I got my first iPod in 2004 and became immediately entranced by Apple’s seeming infinite lists of music for sale.  Over the years, I spent way too much time on iTunes and spent way too much money on music, some of which was great, and some of which was not.  In 2011, for the sake of my sanity and my bank account, I went cold turkey.  I suspended my iTunes activities and completely stopped visiting site.  With the iTunes Diaries, I take a look back, highlighting the good, the bad, and the ugly in music that I just had to have in the moment. 

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Industrial metal has never really been in my wheelhouse. Certain songs and groups have flitted in and out of my purview over the years — Nine Inch Nails, Prong, and the Revolting Cocks come first to mind — and I’ve enjoyed the occasional compilations involving industrial sounds, but it’s not a genre that ever stuck with me. (Meat Beat Manifesto’s Subliminal Sandwich is quite good, though it’s also very removed from anything strictly industrial, which may lend strongly to my liking of it.)