It’s a chilly morning here in the UK and I couldn’t decide what to play to put a spring in my step on the walk to work. I put the iPod classic on shuffle and up popped Jackie Leven, subject of much admiration here this week. I wasn’t really surprised. iPods are psychic like that.
This made me think that we haven’t had a randomiser thread for a while, so here we go. Usual rules apply – set your device of choice to play tracks in a random order and let us know what the first 5 are. No cheeky editing to make your playlist look cool or we’ll know.
Mine took it’s lead from Jackie Leven and delivered an exclusively male list of tracks in a singer-writer vein, all very Mojo.
1) Gomez – Devil Will Ride
2) Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve – Why Can’t a Man Stand Alone?
3) Roger McGuinn – Lover of the Bayou
4) Richard Thompson – Dad’s Gonna Kill Me (NPR live session)
5) Pulp – Help the Aged
1 Don Wade – Bust head gin
2 Aqua Velvets – Moodswing sonata
3 Louisiana Rhythm Kings – Basin Street Blues
4 Bill Nelson – Baby Ruth’s big special
5 Rod Stewart – Angel
If my iPod is psychic God help me !
This is fun!
1) The Men They Couldn’t Hang- Ghosts of Cable Street
2) Dukes of Stratosphear-Vanishing Girl
3) Billy Bragg-A13
4) Green On Red-Black River
5) Stiff Little Fingers-Listen
Happy with that, no skipping needed!
@nick-l – Vanishing Girl is great, isn’t it? … and I love A13
I note that someone else rather than me has written “Stiff Little Fingers” on T’Afterword.
I am not alone!
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
Rigid, you can’t beat a bit of SLF cropping up on a random shuffle. There may even have been a bit of (very) discreet air guitar after the “oh oh oh oh oh oh oh” bits…
I’ve mentioned it before, but I prefer to listen to complete albums (as selected by the iPod) so as soon as I’ve heard five albums today I will let you know what I’ve been listening to.
Generally my preference, but my walk to work takes just over half an hour and I often find I listen to the first 8 or so tracks on lots of albums and never get to the end.
I normally do that as well really, but I’ve not done the randomiser thing on here before and thought it would be fun. It was actually a really good way to start the day, I sat down, put on some headphones, read some emails, and tried not to punch the air during “Listen.”
I said I would and so I will.
We began this morning with disc two of Suede’s sophomore effort, [Dog Man Star (Special Edition) before hurtling forward to a selection of 2013’s chart smashes on the second half of Now 86. We took a trip back in time next with The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan before our journey continued in the clubs and pubs of a post-millenium, underground Liverpool, courteousy of Tramp Attack’s debut album Attack! Attack!! Attack!!! Our five album journey concluded just before the designated lunch hour with a collection of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flame’s Greatest Hits.
That’d be handy if you were listening to a Blur album, as they usually go downhill after that point.
The Decemberists – Won’t Want For Love
Deleted Waveform Gatherings – Alone Down Here
Roy Harper – These Last Days
Dan Fogelberg – Comes And Goes
The Smiths – Never Had No One Ever
No idea about the first two.
Harper’s These Last Days is one of his lesser known songs, but one of my all time favourites of his.
Agreed Carl
From his best album
Busy Signal – Reggae Music Again
Jerry Goldsmith – Jake & Evelyn (Chinatown soundtrack
Gerry Mulligan/Johnny Hodges – What’s It All About
Victoria Spivey – Going Blues
Sonny Rollins – Surrey With a Fringe on Top
Ivor Cutler – I Love You
Richard Thompson – I Feel So Good
They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse In Your Soul
Theoretical Girls – Computer dating
Stone Roses – Bye Bye Badman
My iTunes random generator seems to be channeling some sort of listening time wormhole.
About an inch of snow here and the temperature is 1°C but feels a bit colder. Fortunately, I’m stocked up enough with provisions so I don’t need to go out today.
But anyway. Randomising on my laptop takes it’s usual form of taking previously-unplayed tracks from my digitised library. Can’t remember the last time I played any music on my phone or my 2 iPods (both currently with flat batteries)
I’m currently not randomising as much as previously. Instead I’m playing through all the previously-unplayed stuff in artist order. Loads of Duke Ellington tracks last week. This week there are lots of Ella Fitzgerald tracks.
At some point I’ll have to tackle the accumulated unplayed podcasts too.
Frank Zappa – You Didn’t Try To Call Me (Live, Paris Gaumont 1970)
Miles Davis – Will You Still Be Mine? (The Musings Of Miles)
Jeff Beck – Beck’s Bolero (Live, Clearwater Florida 2006)
Jazz Jamaica – Bridge View (Tampere Jazz, Finland 2004)
Madness – Cardiac Arrest (The Business)
A higher than usual proportion of live tracks.
I’ve not used my 2 iPods for a while..
Will randomise and post when the batteries have charged.
Most recently-acquired iPod:
Robert Wyatt – The Red Flag (Nothing Can Stop Us)
The Unthanks – Man Is The Baby (The Songs Of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons)
Duke Ellington – Gypsy Love Song (At The Bal Masque)
Eddie Cochran – Nervous Breakdown (Uncut Coverdisc 2010.10)
King Curtis – Let It Be (Instant Soul: The Legendary King Curtis)
The older iPod:
Leonard Cohen – Suzanne (Songs Of Leonard Cohen)
Duke Ellington – Madness In Great Ones (Such Sweet Thunder)
The Steinways – You’ve Been Leading Me On (NME Cassette 020: Feet Start Dancing)
The Pastels – Get ‘Round Town (Douglas’s Word Glasgow Mingle Mix: Travel)
Frank Zappa – Easy Meat (Live 1978.10 Stoneybrook University NY)
Randomised from 43,292 tracks – [I say this purely for perspective, I know there are plenty here with bigger ones than me] and completely genuine, no skipping!
I’d Rather Be High ~ Venetian mix – David Bowie – The Next Day [bonus disc]
Utopia Parkway – Fountains of Wayne – Utopia Parkway
Kicking Television – Wilco – A Ghost is Born
Kanske Ar Jag Kar i Dig – Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
HitzBreaker – Led Zeppelin vs Chase & Status vs Sugarhill Gang – Mashstix
http://www.mashstix.com/002524
iTunes by the way, not iPod as I don’t have a functioning one anymore
Dreams of Leaving – The Clientele
Running on Fumes – King Creosote
Another Winter – No-Man
Ancestral – Steven Wilson
Mr Met – Lambchop
Feel I need to lighten up !
Spooky – after reading your entry @Feedback_File (which was the final one in the thread at that time *) I hit play on my Groove Music and it played…Mr Met – Lambchop!!!
Mr Met – Lambchop
I Who Never – Marc Almond and the Willing Sinners
Åttonde – November
Black Dog – Jesse Winchester
Hey Love – Tricky
* OK, still is after listening to all five…
more than spooky – I didn’t even recognise what is was
Jesus Was A Social Drinker – Chuck Prophet
Positively 4th Street – The Byrds
The Rain Song – Led Zeppelin
Coolin’ Out – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Ticket To Ride – The Beatles
I have to accept it’s a random selection, but given the huge number of female artists I have on my player, it seems perverse of the machine not to select one.
I just have a 8GB device regularly refreshed, so a selection from about 30 albums only…
Tom Petty – Walkin’ From The Fire
Jonathan Wilson – Future Vision
Joe Pug – Dodging The Wind
The War On Drugs – Disappearing
Gary Numan (Tubeway Army) – The Crazies
I was recently congratulating myself that I was listening to a lot more music by female artists, but like Carl above, I was disappointed not to have any on my list.
See also mine in the OP – exclusively white and male. I do listen to a broader range of artists, honest, but the rules compelled me to list whatever the iPod happened to choose.
Mild here in Ottawa (-11) and snowing like crazy.
Chest Fever (live) – The Band
The Ex and I – Magnetic Fields
Drive all Night (live) – Bruce Springsteen and the E St Band
Let the Good Things Come – John Martyn
Paisley Park (remix) – Prince
Liar Liar – The Castaways
Hole in My Shoe – Traffic
Hard Work – Smoove & Turrell
Two Fingers – Jake Bugg
Crazy Ex Boyfriend – The Reverend Horton Heat
Definitely random ‘cos I didn’t even know Traffic was on my iPod
Haven’t climbed on the back of that giant albatross for many a year.
That Smoove & Turrell one is a Proper Choon.
Wee bit surprised to see so many people still using iPods. Treat yourself and your ears and go get yourself a FiiO. The difference is startling.
iPod Classics are delicate beasts and I live in fear that I will lose everything should the hard drive break. So mine doesn’t move. It sits alongside my hifi, attached to an old Vaio because since the display is all pixellated that’s the only way I can read what it’s playing, or program a shuffle.
Mine never goes anywhere. It sits in an old Apple dock on a bookcase in my office, connected to a pair of those Bose desktop speakers – which fit *exactly* between two shelves. Very pleasing.
Also pleasing is that I now have a use for the Apple remote that’s been kicking around in my desk drawer since I bought my first flat screen iMac. The iPod’s permanently on shuffle, so I never have to touch it. When it does I have another brand new still sealed Classic ready to go. Not taking any chances, me.
I lost my iPod classic on the train to London a couple of years ago. It had served me admirably for almost ten years. I now use Mrs Japanese’s one as my main source of music whilst I sit here in my office.
The only thing that stops me from getting an FiiO or similar is that it wouldn’t allow me to use the shuffle feature how I’d want it to.
As long as you know what you are doing (which means a wee struggle for me) shuffle on the FiiO is eezy-peezy
A shuffle on the top level folder in Spotify gives this mixed bag
“Lucky Strike” – E’spaniel
“Sleeping Dogs” – Czarface & MF Doom
“Flytipping” – Suede
“Safety Mama” – Bessie Smith
“A Crash At Every Speed” – Disco Inferno
1. Neon Knights – Black Sabbath
Let’s rock! Go Ronnie, go Ronnie, go Ronnie, go Ronnie, go, go, go!
2. Take A Breath – David Gilmour
Yeah, whatever. Only track I don’t like on an otherwise fairly good album.
3. Books – Teardrop Explodes
Don’t know this. I only ever play Wilder. Bit noisy, what? I prefer Wilder.
4. Der SomefunnyGermanword – Barbara Bonney
Opera. I got me some opera, ladies and gentlemen. That shows how classy I am. Fact.
5. Matchstick Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs – Brian & Michael
Brian & Michael? Not much effort gone into choosing that name, fellas. Nice song though. I read fairly recently that Lowry turned down more honours than any other person. I might have read that here. It might not be true.
Next up were Hipsway then The Rock Follies. Both better than any of the above. I’m going to play the rest of the latter now. Get all nostalgic ‘n’ ting.
Kilimanjaro is awesome!
Is it? I shall give it a proper in the car listen tomorrow. I know and like Treason (not as much as Reward) and When I Dream (though not as much as Seven Views Of Jerusalem). And as I recall, there’s nowt on it as appealing to my ears as Great Dominions or Tiny Children.
Oh yes. Production is of it’s time, but full of “bangers”
Ha ha I’m Drowing
Treason
When I Dream
Reward (was added later)
Bouncing Babies
Thief of Baghdad
Sleeping Gas etc.
Talking of psychic… I was intending to start a new randomiser thread to celebrate the return of my iPod classic from frozen hell! Anyway, mine threw up this tasty bunch this morning.
1-Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug
2-Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance – Roll On Babe
3-Fairport Convention – Sir Patrick Spens
4-Fleet Foxes – The Cascades
5-Godley & Creme – Art School Canteen
My coolest ever!
Joni – Cherokee Louise
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross – In Motion (The Social Network Soundtrack)
If I Ever Loved You – Justin Currie
What Can I do – Antony and the Johnsons (may be cool but I’m not a huge fan)
Outside In (Live at Leeds Alternative Take) – John Martyn
I love the randomiser!
The Church – Business Woman
MGMT – Pieces of what
Daft Punk – The Game of Love
Diana Ross and the Supremes – Stop! In the name of Love.
The Fall – So-called dangerous
Not hugely representative apart from Bondi’s finest. And the Fall.
On my phone (android) and from a choice of 4579 tunes.
Nirvana – blew
R. E. M. – New Orleans instrumental
Ezra Furman – Hark! To the music
Africa Bambaataa – Afrika Shox
Bowie – Diamond Dogs.
Not a bad selection of tunes.
Super Furry Animals – Tradewinds (Rings Around The World single)
Secret Machines – Breathe (September 000)
Elliott Smith – All Cleaned Out (New Moon)
Pearl Jam – State Of Love And Trust (Paul’s Pearl Jam Party – a compilation made by a friend)
Cable – The Colder Climate (When Animals Attack)
Rocket Man-Elton John
Frisco Depot-Mickey Newbury
The Love I Lost-Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes
Lorraine-Linton Kwesi Johnson
Bye Bye Blackbird-Joe Cocker
Captain Beefheart – Blue Jeans & Moonbeams
Real Estate – Aprils Song
Roger Daltrey – McVicar
Oceanic – Insanity
Adam & The Ants – Ant Rap
Mable John – My Name is Mable
Portishead – Mourning Air
Bobby Womack – Woman’s Got To Have It
Betty Wright – Secretary
Shorty Long – Here Comes the Judge
My wife got me a new iPad for Christmas that has a load of space on it, so I shoved 926 albums on and get more pleasure than I really should looking down through them when choosing what to play, as you get to see all the album sleeves as you scroll. Little things, etc. As I don’t have any of the wife/kids’ music on there and have handpicked which albums I put on, I should have a decent 5 songs for a change, with no Ed Sheeran and all the other rubbish they listen to [crosses fingers…]
1 – Husker Du – Turn On The News [from Zen Arcade]
2 – The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar [from Sticky Fingers]
3 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Don’t Shy Away [from Familia]
4 – The Internet – Come Together [from Hive Mind]
5 – Primal Scream – Kowalski [from Vanishing Point]
So there you have it. That’s what you get for making big statements and scoffing at the rest of the family’s taste, the iPad exposes my love of Sophie. But I don’t care, cos she’s brill. I was surprised at the poor rap showing, considering half the stuff on there is hip hop and grime, so I looked at the next 5 and they would have made me look far cooler, but hey, the randomiser is the randomiser!
I bought my present car -a Fiat 500- cos the album sleeves show up on the little screen.
Yes, they did on my wife’s old car. What’s more, my iPods worked in that car too. Now we have to use our iPhones and this is where we stall, because we don’t like any of the music on each other’s phone. We’ve therefore used an old iPhone as the car iPod, with a mixture of our music on it. Problem is, for some reason the car won’t charge that one and leaving it in the car in the cold weather makes it play up, so I have to remember to charge it up and, er, to fetch it, whenever we are going on any distance. Otherwise it’s that ‘devil and the deep blue sea’ scenario, between the radio (“hi Steve, love the show” etc, etc) or, pauses for dramatic breath, the kids plug their phone in. This means a choice of Queen (the boy) or generic modern chart music that all sounds the same (the girl).
I want our clapped out old car back.
A friend of mine has the same car as me, but the artwork on her iPod is far from complete. Most songs that come up just show the music symbol thingy. People like that shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
My iTunes library shows that I have too much time on my hands. The only fields I haven’t filled in are composer and BPM. I have 120,000 tracks on it too, so it takes some time. The other day it ‘lost’ 95 tracks, which took a bit of time, but it could have been far worse. Occasionally it loses a stack of artwork. The last time that happened it took me so long to sort out that I swore I would not bother the next time. But I will. I have spent a very sizeable part of the past 5 years tidying up tracks on iTunes and one of my jobs today is tidying up some excellent Dylan bootlegs I’ve just added. I’m just dreading the day that Apple do away with iTunes altogether.
Always really liked Kowalski though. Superbly weird tune but it’s spooky sounds work really well. Pretty good album is Vanishing Point. For me it’s as good as the much more feted Screamadelica.
Risin’ To The Top – Keni Burke
I Love Rock ‘N Roll – Arrows
Straight Up & Down – Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea
With All My Love – Melanie Di Biasio
Forty or Fifty – Spin Doctors
So many acts I’ve never heard of! I’ll try to give some of them a sample on YouTube (though I appreciate that their inclusion on this thread upisnt necessarily a recommendation).
Tuesday Two Step: Spade Cooley from Swinging’ the Devil’s Dream, fab western swing from the 40s.
Reynard the Fox; Sweeney’s Men from The Ballad of Sweeney’s Men, excellent irish trad as it moved from arran jumpers to Planxty, featuring Andy Irvine, before he joined the same.
Learned a Lot: Amos Lee from Mission Bell, where the blues goes singer-songwriter.
Little Girl Blues: Tab Benoit from Fever For The Bayou, lovely swamp blues.
Sweet Francesca: Sweet Thursday from album of same name, Jon (from Mark-Almond) Almond, Nicky Hopkins and Alun Davies psychedelia from the 60s. (NOT Marc Almond!!)
Well, that’s quite groovy, if I say so myself!
As ever, late to the party, but here goes:
1. The Walker Brothers – “My Ship Is Coming In”
2. Dennis Brown – “Revolution”
3. B-52’s – “Song For A Future Generation”
4. The The – Uncertain Smile
5. Echo & The Bunnymen – All You Need Is Love
Absolutely nothing like my current listening pleasures, but thank you @Gatz – haven’t done that for ages, and really enjoyed it.
Note to self: listen to more The The
Now it’s Time to say Goodbye – Kitchens of Distinction
(I Don’t Want to go to) Chelsea – Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Picture This – Blondie
I’ve Forgotten What it was in You – Maria McKee
Turning of the Tide – Richard Thompson
I really should add some new to my mp3 player. It’s been years…
Oddly enough I’ve listened to two of those songs today. The Elvis was further on in my shuffling adventure, the Maria McKee a deliberate choice (a version from a selection of acoustic demos).
1. God Bless The Child – The Isley Brothers & Santana
2. The Tailor Of Fitzrovia – Jonny Greenwood (Phantom Thread)
3. Lazarus – Original Cast of Jesus Christ Superstar TV Special
4. Negue Negue – Fatoumata Diawara
5. Man And Machine – The Pattern Forms
Crosby & Nash – The Lee Shore (live) from Crosby’s “Voyage” box
SAHB – Dogs of War
Sparklehorse – Heart of Darkness
Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime
Wire – The 15th
That McCartney track was a bit of a surprise….did some checking and found a Christmas playlist left on the iPod since December….
Ooh, scary. Think you can disallow certain genres to show up in shuffle e.g. “Christmas” or “holiday”.
You can block individual songs from shuffle, or, in the case of wonderful Chrstmastime, delete it altogether just to be on the safe side.
All good advice – but I think I’d better bin the whole playlist, just to completely sure….
Seems a shame to lose Sparklehorse but it has to be done.
I actually meant to bin the Christmas playlist – but you’ve got me thinking now….maybe I’d better bin the whole iPod, just to be completely safe….
Its’ All Over Now Baby Blue – Van Morrison
Little Darlin’ – Buddy and Julie Miller
(Yellow Submarine – The Beatles) – ignored and ff….
The Thing That Everyone Does – Tift Merritt
Mausant and Escape – Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
Coming Back to a Man – Dawes
Yellow Submarine is the real test of a Beatles Fan’s mettle. How can a children’s song nestle comfortably in an album inventing Acid Rock, Baroque Pop and Raga Rock? In actual fact, it is extremely difficult to write an ear-worm of a singalong ditty and McCartney is a master at it. He composed the song in wide-eyed wonder, and with a little help from Donovan, who suggested ‘sky of blue, sea of green’. Lennon’s children’s songs tended to be sardonic. The Beatles follow the golden rule that when you are being ridiculous, give it everything you’ve got. Collectively, they lavished as much attention on Yellow Submarine as they did on Tomorrow Never Knows. Swirling buckets of water are closely miked to mimic the ocean, loudhailers are distorted for the captain’s announcements, sung with gusto by Lennon, an oompah band is on a loop and there are thrillingly realistic engine noises. By the closing cast-of-thousands chorus when the boys sail off into the deep blue, they have a created an entirely new world. Yellow Submarine is the most successful song from Revolver, reaching number one everywhere. It begat a film that perpetuated the myth of The Beatles being four young men who live together and travel the universe having exciting adventures and lots of fun. It is a legacy that entrances new generations even today.
I don’t really understand people who can’t abide a bit of silliness in music.
What are they frightened of?
I’m not going to give Yellow Submarine any further analysis as Tiggs has done a decent job on that aspect.
Suffice to say I loved it in 1966 and it still has a place in my heart today.
Oh oh – look – I started a debate! And I only just realized.
So Submarine has a real place in my heart – my grandmother 50 damn years singing “ we all live in a Pink Caravan” to the melody. Lord knows why.
So why do I fast forward – because – well – as sort of stated above you HAVE to be a die hard fan. I am not that guy. I have all the albums – thanks to “a friend” and a USB drive- when the remasters came out.
Here’s the test – if any other band had recorded YS – then let’s be honest – it would have been lost in the world of nonsense and novelty songs. And yes Tigger – I see your comments above.
I have a theory – there are three Beatles albums required. A Blue, a Red and a “pick your favorite other color” – 15 to 20 more essential songs – to your personal choice. The rest – a single listen will do. That’s how “civilians” listen to the Beatles – and I tend to agree.
I suspect I am angling for banishment for this site – be gentle with me.
Don’t get me started on the Red & Blue albums. Let’s just say one lasts 62 minutes and the other 99. I don’t think Allen Klein liked revolver but he sure loved Rubber Soul.
It’s not just the song itself with Yellow Submarine. It’s the way they played it and the way it was recorded. It’s by no means among my favourite choons ever but there’s nothing to be ashamed of there.
Ha ha re the pink caravan. I remember realising that the Beano were pop-pickers when they featured the Bash Street Kids singing We All Live in a Purple Tambourine
Black Maria – Todd Rundgren
Eton Rifles – The Jam
The Wind In The Wires – Waterboys
Dont You Ever Learn? – Todd Rundgren
Kittys Back – Springsteen
Heatwave – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
Janie Jones – The Clash
Who Has Seen The Wind – The Simon Sisters
Come Get To This – Marvin Gaye
Just A Little Misunderstanding – The Contours