Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The iPod as Revelation

Quote of the day:
“There’s this authority that’s going to say, ‘This is mine first, then it’s going to be yours, then it’s going to be yours.’ At some level, we all shared it, and that has never happened before in history. I hope that is really taken into account.”
--Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Memorial, talking about a World Trade Center Memorial.

Last Sunday’s "New York Times" had a review of a new book called "The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness." It’s written by by Steven Levy, the technology editor of "Newsweek."

The review mentions Levy’s reflection on the iPod’s essential characteristic--the ability to play hundreds of pieces of music in random order. If you have an iPod and use this feature, you know how fascinating this can be.

Before I figured out how to set up playlists, I would get some unusual and jarring combinations. I especially remember the weirdness of the moment iTunes went from the White Stripes right into a section of Messiah.

Now, though, I find myself rediscovering music, because a song will sound different (and fresh) when it’s removed from its familiar album context. Musicians may fret that the integrity of their careful album flow has been violated. For me, what really happens is the discovery of hidden treasures buried deep.

Occasionally I still get a strange or rough juxtaposition. Most often I find myself smiling, as Joni Mitchell comes up after Duke Ellington comes after Postal Service comes after Paul Simon comes after Sigur Ros comes after Count Basie and on and on.

Ain’t life grand?

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