iPod Shuffle

The concept was created by a blogger named Patrick Walsh. Rules: Put your iPod on shuffle and share with us all the first ten songs that come up. No cheating.

"Good Fortune" - PJ Harvey. Starting off on the right foot. I would have to put her albums "Stories from the City..." and "To Bring You My Love" in my top ten list of albums by female artists. The former is a solid rocking album with guest vocals on a couple tracks by Thom Yorke, while the latter is more bluesy and gritty. Go out and buy one of them if you haven't already.

"Call it a Day (live)" - The Raconteurs. Some good rocking sh*t, with the live version a little harder and faster. I really like Jack White's side project, as it is able to add more variety than the Jack and Meg formula. Still love the Stripes though.

"Stories for Boys (Original Version)" - U2. Holy crap! I should quit this shuffle now, as it is kicking ass. I haven't heard this version in ages, but it is great. It is from the U2 Three EP - the band's first official release. CBS records didn't sign them to a contract though, and Chris Blackwell took a chance with them on his Island Records label. The A&R rep for CBS still curses the day his bosses wouldn't let him sign them.

Bottle Up and Explode! - Elliot Smith. He wrote great songs that I always enjoy listening to on rainy days. RIP

"N2U" - Outkast. I haven't listened to this song more than twice. After typing this in, I sat and tried to figure out what N2U stood for, B4 realizing that my eighteen year old niece would be ROTFLMAO about my cluelessness. OMG. This is from the soundtrack to their movie Idlewild. Not a bad soundtrack, but the album doesn't measure up to past Outkast releases.

"Spitting Venom" - Modest Mouse. Off their latest album which includes guitarist Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths. I enjoy the flourishes of bombastic guitar that he adds to the Modest Mouse equation.

"The Way Young Lovers Do" - Jeff Buckley. From Live a Sin-E album. Such an amazing voice. I was watching the Leonard Cohen doc, "I'm Your Man", and Rufus Wainwrights' version of "Hallelujah", although good, reminded me of how just amazing Jeff's version is. Second artist on this list that we lost too soon.

"Rock me" - Liz Phair. This is like Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards. Yeah, it is Michael Jordan, but he is a step slower and plays for the Wiz. Some Matrix produced crap. I would add "Exile on Main Street" to that top ten list with PJ Harvey's albums though.

"Ships" - New Ruins. I downloaded this album from emusic a few months ago. They hail from Champaign-Urbana, Il (yeah, I had to look that up). Decent tunes.

"Break You Off" - The Roots. Often called the best live band in hip hop, but I can't think of too many other live bands in hip hop to compare them too. I still don't think they ever reached the potential everyone expected. Good stuff anyhow.

Wow, I avoided having to disclose any of my guilty pleasures.

TTFN