The iPod Meme

Sort by song name:

First: “’Agitated’ - Hyperextended Mix” by Devo. The problem here is that I’ve got this song which starts with a single-quote, another one that starts with a double-quote, seven that begin with an open-paren, one that begins with a questionmark, one with an open-bracket, and one that’s just a random 5-digit number before you get to the first “real” song title, which is “13 Above the Night” by My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult.
Last: “Zoroaster 2000 (Reces)” by Laibach nudges out Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ “Zoot Suit Riot” and several Zencast podcast dharma talks.

Sort by time:

Shortest Song: “Jive” by Cibo Matto and “Drunk Drivin’” by Sublime are tied at a big 18 seconds.
Longest Song: Well, there’s the 3-hour KPFA “Over the Edge” radio show that’s put on by the gents in Negativland. Then the next 23 are all dharma talks from either Zencast or Audio Dharma. The first actual song is a 22-minute version of Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn”.

Sort by artist:

First: The entire “Royal Astronomy” album by µ-Ziq.
Last: “TV Dinners”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, and “Gimme All Your Lovin’” from ZZ Top’s “Eliminator” album.

Sort by album:

First Album: Same story. the Dufay Collective’s “’a L’estampida’ Medieval Dance Music” wins because of a quote. The first “real” album would be (surprise) “13 Above the Night” by Thrill Kill Kult.
Last Album: Here’s where CPD make it onto the list with “Zoot Suit Riot”.

Top Five Most Played Songs:

1. Eek-a-Mouse’s “Bicycle”
2. Peter Tosh’s “Shame and Scandal in the Family”
3. Wall of Voodoo’s “Back in Flesh (live)”
4. ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” (huh?)
5. 43-way tie, sorry…

First five songs that come up on Shuffle:

1. They Might Be Giants’ “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Clothes”
2. Cibo Matto’s “Beef Jerky”
3. Wall of Voodoo’s “Back in Flesh (live)” (surprise)
4. Burning Spear’s “Appointment with his Majesty”
5. Toots and the Maytals’ “Funky Kingston”

Some Fivers

Every so often you have to do the Friday Five. Or two, since there’s two of them going now…

thefridayfive:

What is the oldest object in the room with you?

Probably an early Waltham 8-day deck watch / marine chronometer, in its original gimabelled mahogany case. It was probably manufactured around 1920, and came to me via my father, who was in the jewellery business back about 45 years ago. It’s probably work around three grand.
 

What is the newest?

A CD-ROM backup of DargonZine’s Web site that I cut this afternoon in preparation to move the site to a new ISP.
 

What is your favorite object in the room with you?

Hands down: the Puggle.
 

What is the most valuable object?

In terms of dollars? Probably that chronometer.
 

What is the ugliest object?

An early art project of mine which shows a scientist standing next to a large telescope that reveals a pair of woman’s lips.

fridayfiver

What's your favorite radio station?

Hmmm. I haven’t listened to radio in a long time. I used to listen to Indiana Pacers games on WIBC, until the NBA shut them down. Recently, my employer gave us Sirius Satellite Radios as a gift, and I’m still exploring the available channels. I most frequently listen to the classical “Symphony Hall” channel, and certain NBA games, but you might catch me listening to a reggae, 60s, 70s, 80s, or techno channel. Back in the day, I used to listen to Emerson’s WERS, BC’s WZBC, and Brown’s WBRU (not WBUR).
 

How would you describe the format?

Huh? Hard drives have formats; radio stations either play music, talk, or commercials.
 

Do you think satellite radio will become commonplace, like subscribing to cable TV?

Interesting question, since I’ve just been given one! It certainly could, if it doesn’t suffer from the same inanity that cable television has become. But as I see it, the real problem is that unlike cable television, on satellite radio the same company that bills you is the same one that produces the content, which is highly monopolistic. I’d rather have the delivery company be independent of the content producers.
 

Have you thought about buying a satellite radio subscription?

No. I got one, even though I really wasn’t interested in it. Despite that, so far it’s been tolerable.
 

When is the last time you said goodbye?

Leaving work.