The Playlist: The iPod Shuffle

The iPod. A nifty little toy. It can be expensive as hell but good to have around on long car rides or just to tune out the rest of the world.

It’s inspired the iPod Nano, the iPhone, and – given a few years – probably the iToilet. It’s inspired the name of this column. And, on this occasion, it’s inspired the content of the column.

The shuffle option is one of the best things about the iPod, or any portable music player for that matter. The unpredictability of what song comes next is almost like listening to the radio, except there’s no chance of you changing the dial. After all, you’re the DJ.

For this week’s Playlist, I set the iPod on shuffle and left the rest to chance. A proverbial spin the bottle. It might land on something good, it could land on something not so good. What you see below are the results of that endeavor. Some of the choices you might love, some I might get heckled over. But it’s about as accurate a look at my musical tastes as it gets.

Want to share your own shuffle results? Shoot me an e-mail at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com or leave a response here on my blog.

And away we go…

1) “Tonight, Tonight,” The Smashing Pumpkins (1996)


Album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Not a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan but this one always works.



2) “Kings and Queens,” Aerosmith (1978)



Album: Draw the Line

An often forgotten song from the band’s successful run in the late 70s, “Kings and Queens” is used in their new video game, “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.”



3) “Down South,” Tom Petty (2006)



Album: Highway Companion

Perhaps Petty will sing this tomorrow at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre? I’ll be there, sixth row.



4) “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” Poison (1988)



Album: Open Up and Say…Ahh!

Probably the most romantic song written about a stripper.



5) “Gold Dust Woman,” Fleetwood Mac (1977)



Album: Rumours

Just a year after the Mac Attack released the song, which is reportedly about cocaine, Waylon Jennings did a cover of it. I have to track that down.



6) “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi (1986)



Album: Slippery When Wet

Twenty-two years later and it remains the band’s signature song.



7) “Wonderful Tonight,” Eric Clapton (1977)



Album: Slowhand

This song, as well as “Layla,” was written about Pattie Boyd, George Harrison’s then wife. After Boyd and Harrison ended their 11-year marriage in 1977, Clapton married her but the couple divorced nine years later.



8) “King of Kings,” Motorhead (2006)



Album: Wreckless Intent

If Lemmy’s face isn’t custom made for his own line of Halloween masks, I don’t know what is.



9) “Somewhere Out There,” Our Lady Peace (2002)



Album: Gravity

It remains the Canadian rock band’s biggest international hit.



10) “Cocky,” Kid Rock (2001)



Album: Cocky

You have to admit, at least this is better than his new song that samples “Werewolves of London” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”



11) “Jersey Girl,” Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band



Album: Live / 1975-85

The song was originally written and released by Tom Waits. Which reminds me to eventually listen to some Tom Waits.



12) The “Miami Vice” Theme, Jan Hammer (1984)



I still plan on dressing as Sonny Crockett for Halloween one of these years.



13) “You Look So Fine,” Garbage (1999)



Album: Version 2.0

My favorite song from one of my all-time favorite albums.



14) “Float On,” Modest Mouse (2004)



Album: Good News for People Who Love Bad News

Fitting, the song appeared on the soundtrack for “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.”



15) “Omaha,” Counting Crows (1993)



Album: August and Everything After

One of the few non-singles from Adam Duritz I actually know the words to.



16) “Pocket Full of Sunshine,” Natasha Bedingfield (2008)



Album: Pocket Full of Sunshine

If you can’t at least smile to this happy little pop song then your internal programming is set to jaded.



17) “I Ran (So Far Away),” A Flock of Seagulls (1982)



Album: A Flock of Seagulls

I get “Flock of Seagulls” hair naturally. All I have to do is wake up in the morning and it’s there. I’m not kidding.



18) “Baba O’Reilly,” The Who (1971)



Album: Who’s Next

The song is often covered at USO concerts by the Lt. Dan Band, comprised of “Lt. Dan” himself, Gary Sinise.



19) “Simple Man,” Shinedown (2004)



Album: Leave A Whisper

Forget “Sweet Home Alabama.” This is my favorite Lynard Skynard song.



20) “Hey Joe,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966)



Jimi sure has an interesting take on how to solve infidelity with firearms.

That’s what I got for this week, kids. Check back next Thursday for more and feel free to send your comments, questions, and suggestions to grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com.