Do the iPod Shuffle, Do It!

 Three years old, listening to Peter and the Wolf, I was obsessed.

I can't work without music. It's just quiet and impossible. I set my iPod on shuffle most days at work. I don't have to pay attention or choose anything and it plays all day. It bounces through the eclectic collection of music that I enjoy, or the occasional piece of crap song that somehow creeps its way onto a playlist.

But every time I say shuffle I think of the Goonies' Truffle Shuffle. (That Corey Feldman is a cruel bastard.)  I don't know why. I've only seen Goonies 1,500 times or so. And then I saw this glorious t-shirt the other day and now I can't stop thinking Truffle Shuffle every time I even turn my iPod on at all. So this post is dedicated to the Truffle Shuffle, a dance move that is eternal and always a hit with the ladies.

Just a quick sampling from (truffle) shuffle songs that I enjoyed yesterday afternoon at the office. Let me regale you with a quick description of the 20 or so songs, why I like them or why in god's name they are even on my iPod at all:

1. Paper Thin Walls by Modest Mouse - Obviously based on previous posts, I have a deep and abiding love for Modest Mouse. There is a lot of Modest Mouse on my iPod. And based on the algorithm that makes shuffle possible, I'm surprised half the songs that popped up weren't Modest Mouse.

2. skipped - Album Credits by disembodied Death Cab for Cutie credits guy- This always pisses me off. Why did Death Cab feel the need to include their album credits as an actual track? And the guy reading it creeps me out. He may be a computer.

3. Lover by Devendra Barnhart- off the Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist Sndtrk-  I thought this movie was sweet and funny and clever and the soundtrack has introduced me to new groups that I know nothing about. This is a great song, but if I heard another song by Devendra Barnhart I would have no idea it was even them. Is this a band or one person? No clue. I should google that.

4. Roam by The B52's - This song is wonderful. B52's are quirky and a little goofy, jokey for me. Love Shack, Rock Lobster and Mesopotamia are all ridiculous fun, but Roam is beautiful. I love the lyrics and the idea of wandering around the world with no ties and no rules.

5. The Body of an American by The Pogues - The Pogues make me want to drink whiskey and punch that slag in the face for snogging my boyfriend in front of everyone at the pub.

6. Go with the Flow by Queens of the Stone Age- I like this song. I don't listen to a lot of heavy metal. I tend toward more of the sad bastard music, as we call it here. (Thanks, Jon Sands.) But this one is fun. Plus it's off of an album with the title Songs for the Deaf-or more likely songs to become deaf to.

7. Party Up by DMX - Gravely voiced, rage filled, gun clips and dick sucking. I know I'm trying not to lose my mind up in here. Totally relate to your problems, DMX.

8. No Name No. 5 by Elliot Smith - Elliot Smith was a genius. Gone too soon.

9. skipped Porcelin by Moby- not in a green tea meditation kind of mood. I want to see Eminem beat Moby up someday.

10. Annie Waits by Ben Folds- I met Ben Folds and his 5 at the Paradise Cafe in Lawrence in 1997. I got an autograph. I felt like a total moron for asking while a table of my friends watched me, but he was very cool.

11. Temptation by New Order -Trainspotting Sndtrk- Another soundtrack with great music. New Order makes me think of high school and not heroin, so that's good.

12. Screenwriter's Blues- Soul Coughing - One of my favorite bands and front men, M. Doughty. This was a live B side version. I still prefer the slick album cut, this one is a little slow, smoky jazz club freestyle though.

13. J'ai Deux Amours by Madeleine Peyroux- Because I'm a whore for lady jazz singers performing in French

14. Down to the Waterline by Dire Straits - Joe and Dad influenced. That concert was so damn good.

15. Use It by The New Pornographers- One of my favorite indie bands. Their name is supposedly from nut job religious fanatic Pat Robertson or Jimmy Swaggart, who called rock music "the new pornography." Which only makes me love them even more.

16. Clampdown by the Clash - I can't even say anything about the Clash that would do them justice. Every new rock/punk/pop band is trying to be 1/18 as good as the Clash. And they fail about 99% of the time.

17. O Beijo (The Kiss) by Claudio Ragazzi on the Next Stop Wonderland Sndtrk- I have a lot of soundtrack music here. 1. I love movies. 2. I love Bossa Nova, but I didn't even realize it until I saw this movie. 3. Buy some Bebel Gilberto, you'll want a mojito and a hammock.

18. Gravity by John Mayer- John Mayer is ok. Then I watched him on an episode of Storytellers that Joe recorded the other day and I like him a lot more.  That dude is funny and self deprecating and probably still a douche, but he makes strange faces when playing the guitar and I like that.

19. Anyone's Ghost by The National - I have said before that I want the lead singer of The National, Matt Berninger, to narrate my everyday activities. His deep, sexy, baritone would make everything sound more urgent and dramatic. I could listen to them all day. Especially as they narrate my sorting the laundry. "Kassie put her delicates in a pile. Kassie turns the dryer on to fluff."

20. Kick by INXS as performed by Beck's Record Club- That clever little Beck. He and some of his musician friends are covering classic albums. So good.

ok, I skipped two songs so I get to add in two others, Bonus Songs:

21. The Joker by Steve Miller Band - I really like your peaches and I want to shake your tree. No seriously, I mean it. No, I'm not high right now.

22. Sinner Man by Nina Simone- ah Nina, glorious soulful earthy raspy powerful Nina. She is the queen.

(Other songs I will admit to skipping: Champagne Supernova by the intolerable Oasis, aack, Champion by Kanye West because he doesn't like books and I wasn't in the mood for his ego, Fuck and Run by Liz Phair, because though I love her, someone walked into my office and the language is NSFW.)

What are you listening to today? Little River Band? Justin Bieber? Muddy Waters? Someone cool I've never heard of before? Tell me, tell me! I've got iTunes $ to spend, what should I buy?