Come On! Do The Shuffle!

Most of the blogs I read are music blogs (i guess i'm floating, Silly Pipe Dreams, etc.), unlike my mom and sister, who seem to mostly check out those artsy, personal going ons of people's lives blogs. So why not combine the two? My thoughts exactly. Got this idea from Silly Pipe Dreams, and I thought it would be fun, and at the time it was the perfect thing to do in order to avoid studying for the dreaded Biology test.

So it's an iPod shuffle. I did an original test run with it, and found some of the songs far too embarassing to even post here (you know, that Panic! At the Disco stuff *bows head in total and complete shame*). I have since done a pretty significant fixing-up of my iPod, and I can now say that there are very few songs that I would be embarassed to post here. So here goes. I change the setting to shuffle. And start with the next song after this one (which happens to be "Look After You" by The Fray).


Kicking the Heart Out by Rogue Wave: Love this song. Took it from Katie's music library on her computer. Love this artist. Wanna know how I first heard of this great band? The O.C. (from The O.C. Mix 5 - their song, "Publish My Love," was featured on it), which unfortunately can no longer supply me with brand new artists. In fact, I guarantee at least six of these songs will have been featured on The O.C., although this one was not.


China by Chris Holmes: Ah, what did I tell you? An O.C. song. Love this song, although I can safely say that the times that is was featured on the show were not some of my favorites (Sadie Campbell, anyone? *rolls eyes wondering what the heck the writers were thinking there*). But good song nonetheless. Also, check out Into Dust by Ashtar Command. Holmes, who has actually produced some stuff for Joshua Radin, is actually a part of that band/ensemble, and it's a wonderful song, and a great cover of the Mazzy Star original (more O.C. songs, here).

The End's Not Near by Band of Horses: Two O.C. songs in a row. Man am I on a roll. Okay, so another great song, featured in the wonderful music-packed fourth season. It's also on The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks, an album that I would encourage anyone to buy, as 10 of the 12 songs are worth buying and listening to. So this a cover of the song originally done by The New Year (also on The O.C., as that was the theme of Covering Our Tracks - covering songs that had been on the show before).

(It should also be noted that I get sad whenever I hear this song or something similar to the title of the song, as it's first lyric, "The end's not near, it's here" is the title of the series finale of The O.C. (see my only other post for more details on the awesomeness of that.)

Wonderwall by Ryan Adams: Two covers in a row. Three O.C. songs in a row. Perhaps I need to listen a wider variety of song. So the cover of the ever-popular Oasis song. Much more mellow. And as of right now I can't really say which version I like better. I tend to go back and forth with Oasis covers ("Champagne Supernova" by matt pond PA is an example of this). Maybe it's just nostalgia from the ending of The O.C. Will I ever be able to listen to a song that was featured on this show without getting either midly depressed or happy as I smile and think of something stupid Marissa did while drunk when the song played?

The West Coast by Jason Schwartzman: My feeling when I heard the beginning notes of this song? Joy. Ah, I love this song, and the newer, much better version that does not feature the voices of Taylor Townsend, Ryan Atwood, and Taylor's French ex-husband, Henri-Michel (that's right, it's yet another O.C. song) is, to say the least, refreshing.

So you may or may not know Jason Schwartzman's name. It's more likely that you recognize it from a movie or two (Rushmore or Marie Antoinette) . It's less likely that you recognize it from Phantom Planet, the band for which he used to be the drummer. (It may or not be less likely that you know that Phantom Planet is the band behind "California," the theme song for The O.C. (yay for more O.C. stuff!).

Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell On You) by Aqualung: Another O.C. song. Geez. I have a sad, or rather one-dimensional (you choose), taste in music, don't I? So this is actually a good song, and it's grown on me quite a bit since I first listened to it. Pretty slow and mellow, but nevertheless a good song.

From Here On In by South: Fortunately, this song was never featured on The O.C. But you didn't think it was just that easy, did you? Nope. South actually was featured a few times on the show, and that is how I found about them. This is such a good song. But they have so many more other great ones. A few I recommend: "Paint the Silence" and "Up Close and Personal."

(It should be noted that the shuffle got a little messed up after I stopped, not paused, "From Here On In," and then, of course, could not pick up on the previous order of songs. So the following songs followed "From Here On In.")

Emaline by Ben Folds (Live): Featured on some mix CDs that I've made for my mom, for a while this song made me sick. I'd listened to it too many times. (Other songs that have racked up triple-digit plays in my iTunes library (although Emaline has not. It's sitting at a cool... 7 plays) - "Speeding Cars" by Imogen Heap (177), "Earthquakes and Sharks" by Brandtson (167) "Good Day" by Tally Hall (155), "Honey and the Moon" by Joseph Arthur (101, and I'm glad to see it's broken into triple digits) - have not, however.) Ah, well, it's good right now. That Ben Folds Live album is great. And, I can make another O.C. connection here. I know, I'm relentless. But Seth actually had a Ben Folds Live poster in his bedroom. Sorry, I just had to say it.

(Yet again, I think I may have messed up the correct shuffle order, as I checked out my most-played songs in my library. So I guess the following songs will follow "Emaline.")

Pioneers by Bloc Party: Back to O.C. songs. I knew it couldn't last more than about two songs. But what a cool song this is. And a cover of it by Tunng was actually featured on The O.C.... in the same episode. I know, I know, The O.C. and covers are an unbeatable combination. But this is just a really cool song. Completely energizing. Very Bloc Party-ish (duh).

Bossy by Kelis: And I thought I had removed all embarassing songs from my iPod. But I have an excuse for this one. It was on The O.C. and is therefore a part of my master O.C. playlist, which is on my iPod. This, of however, does not explain my motive for actually pursuing the song and putting it on the master playlist.

I Won't Be Left by Tegan and Sara: Another song from Katie. I actually think this may be a Grey's Anatomy song. I know Tegan and Sara has been featured on the show, but whether the song has I am not exactly sure.

Inside Your Head by Eberg: Is it repetitive to again say that this is an O.C. song. Anyway, a good song. Kind of electronic-y, but I like it anyway. And a really cool time when it played on the show. I immediately wanted to know the artist of the song.

The Celibate Life by The Shins: I would make ties to The O.C. (trust me, there are definitely some), but why when the greatness of The Shins speaks for itself, regardless of whether they've been featured on a TV show (that's right, it is a TV show, despite my claims that it's more than that). This was on their debut album, Oh, Inverted World, which I definitely like more than Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing The Night Away, although each album is good in its own right (even though Wincing The Night Away didn't blow me away so much).

Rains In Asia by Jump, Little Children: Man, this is the first song on here that I have not been able to come with any actual television ties for. Wow. Bet you didn't think I had any songs like that on my iPod, right? But I was actually introduced to Jump, Little Children a few years ago, when Katie first heard them. As I think about it now, it was probably 3 or 4 years ago. But I actually found this song a few months ago, after barely listening to the band for a while, but I liked it and had never even heard of it before.

Weird Divide by The Shins: Crazy how you can have two Shins songs practically right after the other. But everything I said about "The Celibate Life" can apply here, so there's no need to repeat it here.

I Turn My Camera On by Rock Kills Kid: Wow, I love this song. This is one of the first songs on here that I really, really, really like. Of course, it's an O.C. cover, but it's so good. It's probably one of the best ones on Mix 6. It's a cover of the Spoon song, which is has a much more upbeat, fun sound. What's so great about this song is RKK's completely new spin on the original.

Mr. Brightside by The Killers: Man, how old is this song. Another O.C. song, but The Killers were about to kit it big before when they were featured on The O.C. Still a good song, as pretty much their entire first album.

Clarity by John Mayer: This song is actually from John Mayer's second album, Heavier Things, which I have never actually heard in its entirety. But I love his first album, Room For Squares, so much that I don't think I'd actually like any of his other albums more. Still, this song is so unbelievably catchy it's crazy.

Northern Sky by Nick Drake: This guy has a cool voice. Strange that the only way I recognized this song or another one of Drake's songs was through Serendipity, as many of his songs were on that soundtrack.

Rapid Hope Loss by Dashboard Confessional: I can already hear the laughs and see the rolled eyes. Katie, I know I'll get grief for this one, but I believe it was you who put this on the iTunes library in the first place (although I do take responsibility for having this on my iPod, but still).

(Even worse, I find myself singing along to this song. I'm hopeless, I know.)

Save Yourself by Sense Field: I purchased this song on iTunes probably about a year ago, and I still like it. But there's not much more to say there. I don't know too much about Sense Field, except that this a good song by them.

Ooh La La by The Faces: My mom was singing along to this song in the car Friday night. Hee.
Love Song For No One by John Mayer: Another John Mayer song, but this one is from Room For Squares. I think was on one of the mix CDs I made for my mom. I'm pretty sure it was the Love Songs one from Valentine's Day 2006 (good songs that had the word "love" in them - original, I know).

Twenty Four by Switchfoot: I totally love this song. When I got their album a few years ago for Christmas, I had no idea that they were a Christian band. But I still love this album, and this is probably my favorite on it.

Mr. Blue by Catherine Feeney: Ah, O.C. song. There hasn't been one in a while, it seems. Ah, well, I love this song. Really happy song:

"Mr. Blue
Don't hold your head so low that you can't see the sky...
Mr. Blue
It ain't so long since you were flying high...
Mr. Blue
I told you that I love you
Please believe me"

You're So Damn Hot by OK Go: Hee. Okay, this was also an O.C. song, so maybe they come in cycles on my iPod, who knows. But OK Go definitely has some much better songs, but this is just a fun one. To check out treadmill choreography (yes, there's such a thing), check out this video for Here It Goes Again.

And so that does it for my iPod shuffle. A quick little "By The Numbers" feature.

26 - number of total songs
12 - number of songs featured on The O.C.

3 - number of songs that are covers
2 - number of songs that came up that I'm embarassed about
31 - approximate number of hours it took me to start and finish this post