Some people really hate listening to their music in Shuffle mode. They don't want the random appearance of songs from different genres, artists, or moods showing up. I pretty much always listen to my iPod in Shuffle mode, though. It's the odd juxtaposition of Alan Parsons next to George Strait followed by a Mozart concerto followed by a Gillian Welch folk song that just makes me smile. And, frankly, that's usually the way my music flows.
Today though, just before I left for lunch, I was particularly struck by an incredibly mellow set of music that came across my iPod...with no input from me. Other than the fact that all of these songs have 5-star ratings. I keep a smart playlist that has 5-star songs that have not played on my iPod within the previous 2 months. It's the playlist that I usually have going at work...playing in Shuffle mode, needless to say.
So, here was the progression of songs that suddenly caught my attention...
- "Mad World" by Michael Andrews -- the acoustic piano cover of the Tears for Fears song from the Donnie Darko soundtrack. I like the song but I really love this slower, version. Dunno where I first heard it but it's just lovely. (youtube link)
- "She" by Jennie Reynolds -- I love pretty much everything Jenny sings. This song, though, is awfully special. The guitar picking underneath her mellow vocals is really nice. (amazon mp3 download link)
- "Italian Shoes" by Patty Larkin -- so mellow. The drum beat could lull you to sleep as you try to figure out what Patty's trying to say. (amazon mp3 download link)
- "Face of a Faith" by Nellie McKay -- for the most part, Nellie doesn't tend to be very mellow. But she is in this song. (amazon mp3 download link)
- "Down from Dover" by Dolly Parton -- such a sad melodramatic song. I just found out that she was 18 when she wrote it. Which might explain the melodrama. Or maybe not. Maybe it's just Dolly being Dolly. I do remember the first time I heard this song...I was stunned at the end. (youtube video)
- "Hummingbird" by Miss Murgatroid and Petra Haden -- the most bizarre song of this collection. Voice, violin, and accordion. Completely bizarre. But I love it so much. (amazon mp3 download link)
- "First Sign of Spring" by Susan Gibson -- such a nice arrangement of the instrumentation to go along with Susan's vocals. (amazon mp3 download link)
It was those last two songs that really made me stop and go back and pay attention to the last few songs that had played. And, I was enchanted by the sequence.
Entertainingly, the mellow mood was killed by the very next song: the theme from Baretta (yes...the TV show). That was followed by an upbeat classical "ditty" by Mozart and then by "La Felicidad" by Flaco Jimenez. Not one of those songs fit into the pre-lunch mood. 'Loved 'em all though. Heh.
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