Another item I got for Christmas was an iPod Shuffle. This fabulous little (and I mean little, about as big as a postage stamp) mp3 player has great fidelity and is absurdly portable. ‘m loving it so far.
According to Apple it holds about 240 songs, but this is an optimistic number based on short songs or reduced sampling rates. My estimate is closer to 150-170 songs.
So which songs?
My 60GB iPod Video has 3094 songs on it right now, which I estimate is about 99% of all the CDs we own. There are also quite a few songs obtained from friends CDs and whatnot. How do I pick 150 only for the shuffle?
I want a very diverse and eclectic playlist (ie. I won’t just fill it with Alphaville), so I’m toying with the idea of having no more than 1 (or maybe 2, space permitting) songs by each band I have music from. In some cases this is absolutely trivial (for instance, Dexy’s Midnight Runners) but for others – like Bowie or Nick Cave – how can I pick just one? (Front runners would be Lady Stardust and Sail Away respectively)
I’m no doubt update when I decide. Maybe I’ll find a way to post the complete playlist.
In other music matters I received The Swing by INXS for Christmas. It’s been many, many years since I’d heard this album and it’s every bit as grand as I remembered. This was INXS in their glory, before they ‘sold out’ (insert grin here). The INXS son on the shuffle will certainly come from this album (can you guess which one?)
