iPod Shuffle, again and again

My typical Monday evening usually involves me going stir crazy at home and I end up at Perkins listening to my iPod and talking with Jen, the world's greatest server. This has spawned into my writing about the songs that play on shuffle and how I react to them. I'm probably the only one to even find interest in this practice. I find it a way to relax, force myself to think about emotions. Read on if you want.

Song #1: Puttin' on the Ritz - Taco
A little ridiculous, but very methodical in rhythm. "Super duper!" The bridge of the song makes little sense and breaks into a dance suggestion before the fade. It is not really great music, but hey, the 80's had some interesting tunes.

Song #2: Who Will Save Your Soul - Jewel
It's hard to believe this song came out over 9 years ago. I was in high school and working for Target when this had so much radio play. The song itself is about the things we do wrong but my only association is that it played a lot while I was in high school. I like it, probably because it is a song that is easy to sing along with in the car. I feel like I should care more about it, but I don't.

Song #3: Eight Easy Steps - Alanis Morissette
I purchased the iTunes Originals of Alanis Morissette. Don't ask my why. I was in purchase mode and kept clicking. Do you understand how easy it is to spend $50 on music from your living room? This song is all about how to mess up your life in "Eight Easy Steps."

Song #4: Better - Cowboy Mouth
This is a fun song about a relationship on the fritz. It is all about a man singing that he is waiting for the relationship to get better but realizing the other person just wants out. It progresses to realization that the solution is to end the relationship.

Song #5: Nowhere Fast - Incubus
Another impulse iTunes purchase. I really should set myself an allowance. A few weeks ago I discovered I liked 3 songs by this band. That's what prompted me to purchase 2 of their albums. People who know me can verify that when something interests me I drown myself in it. Penguins, scrapbooking, music, heck even blogging are all examples of my addictive personality. This is why I can never try drugs. If I like the feeling I'll become an addict. Back tot he song - I have not listened to it enough to have a great idea of its meaning. There's a lot of heavy bass in it. That's what I can say.

Song #6: Take My Breath Away - Berlin
I just have to giggle. This song reminds me of DM because of the "Date with Pete" night. God, she's great. She knows which men I would be interested in and which I am NOT interested in. Thanks for keeping me safe Dana.

Song #7: Back 2 Good - Matchbox Twenty
"I was thinking if you were lonely, maybe we could leave here, no one would know, at least not to the point we would think so." Besides the fact I hate it when numbers or single letters of the alphabet are used to title songs, this song is not bad. It is depressing and about how to get out of depression by just hooking up with someone. We're all messed up, one way or anotehr. And we all try to find a way to get back to good. That's my take on the song tonight.

Song #8: Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
This has come up on Shuffle before when I've been writing and thinking. I sang it again on Sunday. It is usually one the crowd likes. Sometimes people dance. This tends to disturb me, but if they're having fun, I suppose I should enjoy their dancing.

Song #9: Faith - George Michael
Funny, I sang this one Sunday night too. I don't think I did a great job with it, but it is fun to sing. "I know all the games you play because I play them too." I don't really relate to the lyrics. The number in the book for this song is 49-05. I've memorized it now. This is a little sick. I could probably list off at least 20 different numbers and songs without looking them up.

Song #10: To Love You More - Celine Dion
I can't stand Celine Dion. I only have this song for humor purposes. Back in the day, I was known in a small, select group for a mocking of this song. It would play on Musak at Perkins and I'd lip-sync and do an "interpretive" dance.

Song #11: Hindsight - Death Cab for Cutie
Another impulse purchase. No, I don't have a problem. I like a few of the songs on this album. Is that what an iTunes Originals is? An album? Well, I'm going to call iTunes Originals albums either way. This album came with a couple of videos too. That was cool. The video for "Title and Registration" depicts a very fake heart transplant. Kind of unique and a neat visualization of the song.

Song #12: Break Stuff - Limp Bizkit
Angry music. Great drive around town with the radio blaring and let it all out music. I've used this song to help release frustration a few times. Not so much in the last 18 months. Hmmm. What large change happened at the end of June 2004? Oh, that's right. I moved. "It's just one of those days ... my suggestion is to keep your distance ... if my day keeps going this way I just might have to break something tonight." Yeah, angry music.

Song #13: Fallin' - Alicia Keys
"Sometimes I love ya, sometimes you make me blue ... I keep fallin' in and out of love with you." We all still worked in St. Paul when this song came out. (We all implying the Sheepsheadians, the original crew.) It was 2002 I think. I remember I bought the CD to only have it stolen a short time later when my car was broken into. I am so happy our work moved locations. It is such a better environment now. It is like day and night differences. No worries about stabbings or shootings just outside the building, no urine in the elevators, and windows! We have windows. I'm the only true Sheepsheadian left at our call center, but it will always be "our" call center.

Song #14: Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot
Why do people like this song? Why do I sing along when people pick it at karaoke? It is absolutely ridiculous. And it doesn't sound right if it is not Dean rappying it. But all the girls still shake our behinds, acting proud of our cushions. Silly, just silly.

Song #15: Now Comes the Night - Rob Thomas
The best reason for Rob Thomas's solo album. I don't know why, but I adore slow piano songs. This song is all about the end of life, the darkness that comes from death. And it is amazingly sweet. He sings that his love will not go alone, that love conquers all. Love survives, it can make death non-frightening. Support gets us through. I do like this sad song. The message is strong. "When the hour is upon us, and our beauty's surely gone, no you will not be forgotten, no you will not be alone."

Song #16: One Way or Another - Blondie
A song about stalking. I've sung it at karaoke, mainly because it doesn't take much talent. No offense to Blondie. It is just she isn't a huge vocal stretch. Most of the song is monotone and if you can read, you can sing it.

Song #17: When You Find the One - Melissa Etheridge
"I turned love inside out until I was perfectly pretending ... when you find the one, there's no questioning the silence, all is said and done, when you find the one ... with 'Hello' you will know when you find the one."

Song #18: Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette
I do like this song. I'm listening to the iTunes Originals version. It is an acoustic version and still I remember being 17 and thinking this song defined love perfectly. It really doesn't, but it is a happy thought.

Song #19: You Can Leave Your Hat On - Tom Jones
Just fun. Silly fun. And another karaoke song.

Song #20: Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground - Willie Nelson & Mark McGrath
This song is one from the TV show, "King of the Hill." I bought this album for a BNL song and was happy to find a couple other good tracks. This is such a sweet sentiment song. "If you had not fallen, I would not have found you, angel flying too close to the ground."

Song #21: Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing - Chris Isaak
What a sexy song. "They did a bad, aad thing, I feel like cryin'."

Song #22: Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
I take back the statement, "'The Safety Dance' is the most ridiculous song of the 80's." There are way too many ridiculous songs of the 80's. This is one. What is it with the One-Hit Wonders.

Song #23: On the Road Again - Willie Nelson
This song was big when I was very young. I remember it playing in my dad's Jeep in Iowa. I always misheard it as a kid and thought the song was about the dangers of kids playing in the street. My parents, and my dad especially, were probably the culprits for the idea. It is a silly thought. Kids getting run over is not funny. Unless you have a sick, morbid sense of humor. What? Oh no, not me. Don't worry.

Song #24: Push - Matchbox Twenty
I do appreciate the songwriting talents of Rob Thomas. I really do. While some hear this song and think of physical abuse, I realize the song is deeper and more meaningful. It is about the way people can test each other, use each other, and push others away. "Don't just stand there, say nice things to me, I've been cheated ... you don't own me, I can't change."

Song #25: Walk Alone at Night - Medium
Another one of Bryan's songs. It is the last song on the album and I enjoy it. The lyrics are dark and the chords are deep. "But I can't break free ... Mark it with a stone, don't cry for me when I am gone, I can't break free, oh, put me in the ground, mark me with a stone, I can't break free, walk alone at night, walk alone at night, walk alone at night, walk alone at night."

Song #26: Blame it on Me - Barenaked Ladies
"Then you smile again but you're looking at me like there's something I'm supposed to say Forgive me, Father, but I've fallen in love And that's all I have for confession today Maybe if you asked me on any other given day I wouldn't have time for you or anything you say But it's all right now, you can blame it on me."

Song #27: It Don't Matter to the Sun - Garth Brooks (as Chris Gaines)
I always liked this song. "It don't matter to the world, if you walk out that door. This old world will keep turnin' round, turnin' round, like it did the day before. See to them it makes no difference, they just keep on keepin' time, it ain't gonna stop the world, but it will be the end of mine."

Song #28: Am I the Only One? - Barenaked Ladies
This song is about longing. Ed Robertson has said it started as a song about his girlfriend (now wife) and turned into a song about his brother who passed away. The lyrics are cleverly placed so that if one is not listening fully, it sounds a bit like the singer is being insulting. I love the phrase, "Am I the only one who loves when you leave [long pause] your hair down in front of your eyes?"

Song #29: On My Own - Les Miserables
My mom ended up getting tickets from a vendor at work to go see the Broadway production of Les Miserables (and I apologize for not using accent marks on here) and brought me. The show was fantastic and this was the song that touched me the most. It is a sad song and I still find it uplifting. The singer tells all about the love she can't have but how much she cares for him is powerful. "I love him, but everyday I'm learning, all my life I've only been pretending, without me, his world will go on turning, the world is full of happiness that I have never known."

Song #30: Lie to Me - Jonny Lang
You know, I'm not an overly large fan of blues. I realize that I enjoy any blues I hear, but I never seek the genre out. This song reminds me of being in the pool hall. It has the right beat to fit a smoky, dark pool room. The song is about how one will believe the lies if the lies make one feel a little better. "If I can't hold onto you, give me something I can hold on to ... Lie to me, go ahead lie to me, you know just what I'm talking about ... lie to me."

Song #31: Ireland - Garth Brooks
I have absolutely no clue why I like this song. It is about men preparing for battle and they all die. Seriously. And it is about the love of Ireland, the homeland. I'm not Irish. I have a minute speck of Irish heritage. But I love this song! "We are forty against hundreds, in someone else's bloody war, we know not why we're fighting or what we're dying for, they will storm us in the morning, when the sunlight turns the sky, death is waiting for its dance now, they have sentenced us to die. Ireland, I am coming home, I can see your rolling fields of green and fences made of stone, won't you take my hand, I am coming home, Ireland." It goes on to tell how the men attack early and all die. Yea. It is a happy song! (Okay, I'm joking.) And although it is Garth Brooks song, it is not what I'd consider country. There is no twang in here.

Song #32: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl - Jonny Lang
Another fun song. "Good morning little schoolgirl, can I go home with you, tell your momma and your daddy, I'm a little schoolboy too." Now, before people freak out, remember that Jonny Lang wrote and performed this song while he'd be schoolboy age. He was very young when he hit it big.

Song #33: You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
This song always puts me in a good mood. I have no clue why. I remember it playing at school dances and we'd all sing at the top of our lungs. It was idiotic. And fun.

Song #34: Unwell - Matchbox Twenty
This is an acoustic version of the song that I'm listening to. This song meant much more to me when I first heard it. Living with Adam, trying to hold onto a friendship with him, was not the best thing I've ever done. I set my expectations for him as a friend too high. I know now the problems were not all caused by him. I'm as much to blame for sticking around and caring when I felt "not crazy, just a little unwell ... but soon enough you're gonna think of me and how I used to be." I am better now that I was then. That's a chapter of my life I can be thankful to be over.

Song #35: Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Another silly 80's song. And another classic One-Hit Wonder group. I can't think of another song that truly inspires do-si-doeing in night clubs. Even I fell to its power when Adam and I would go to the Retro Room at the Gay 90's (a popular gay bar in downtown Minneapolis). You know, I don't like dancing or drinking all that much and I don't want to see Adam again, but I usually found something to enjoy about that club. None of the stories are that great to tell, yet I am glad I was able to observe a sub-culture of the Twin Cities and have a bit of fun in the process.

Song #36: Love Shack - The B-52's
We used to sing this at karaoke. This is one of those songs that everyone loves. Hmmm. DM - up for finding a guy to sing it with us again since Adam is no longer there and apparently Matt will read this but not contact us? (And yes, Matt - I mean you. I know you check this site. Contact me, dammit! I miss you.)

Song #37: Every Breath You Take - Sting & the Police
Another classic song about stalking. Does anyone else find the P. Diddy (or whatever the guy's name is now) version of this song weird? It was rather odd. Talk over a song about stalking with memories of a dead person. Yeah, it didn't even make sense. It is actually rather creepy.

Song #38: 867-5309 (Jenny) - Tommy Tutone
Another odd 80's song. I feel bad for anyone who has this phone number. It should be retired forever. Or be the number for escort services. "For a good time call."

Song #39: She Drives Me Crazy - Tom Jones
Heck, if "Your Little Secret" shows up soon the Shuffle will have played all the songs I sang last Sunday. Steve, Angie's beau, told me to sing it sexy. I'm not sure how to, but I'd imagine it wouldn't sound anything like what I did.

Song #40: Sentimental Guy - Ben Folds
I am realizing more and more, and this song started it, that I really like this musician. I also bought the iTunes Originals album. One of the songs features William Shatner. It is all piano music and I love it.

Song #41: I Would Do Anything for Love - Meatloaf
Sunday night, Bryan picked one of DM's songs. He had her sing, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad." One of the things Bryan looks for in songs is length and how much of a break he can have. Meatloaf fits the bill.

Song #42: Let Me Hold it Open - Cowboy Mouth
"So if you wanna walk out the door, let me hold it open for you." I do find the lyrics of Cowboy Mouth's songs catchy, clever, and uplifting. Most of their songs are all about not letting others get you down. Don't take the crap.

Song #43: Lose Yourself - Eminem
A guy at work, a rather religious fellow actually, tried to get everyone to sing this one day. He emailed Steve and I the lyrics with a warning, "There is some strong language in here." I had to hold back a smile because this is not a typical song for this guy to associate with.

Song #44: Hang - Matchbox Twenty
Depressing song. I've written about it before.

Song #45: I'll Tumble 4 Ya - Boy George & the Culture Club
Hee hee! How crazy were the 80's? The music just makes me think it was an all out contest on who could out crazy the next.

Song #46: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
I love disco. I don't know why. I should have been in my early 20's during this era. I would have been a disco queen, even if I can't dance. I would have tried. Studio 54 would have been my goal.

Song #47: Bring Me to Life - Evanescence
Here's a fact. This song is WAY too high for me to sing at karaoke. It doesn't seem like it, but it is. And I don't know it that well.

Song #48: 11 AM - Incubus
Another song from my impulse purchasing. This song is about a man who didn't make a decision and lost out on happiness. "I never thought I could want someone so much and now you're not here."

Song #49: Swimming Past the 4th of July - Medium
My favorite song. Hands down. It is one of Bryan's songs. The best part of this truly magnificent song is the part where Bryan sings, "I'm thinking of becoming an alcoholic, but I don't think I could deal with the moments of clarity. I'm thinking about self-ordaining myself a priest, but I don't believe in God. I'm thinking of joining up with the military, but all my enemies live in my own country. I'm thinking of putting a bullet in my head, but I might as well become a priest or join the military." I love this song.

Song #50: Mr. Brightside - The Killers
I don't know why I'm picking this to be the last song to write about tonight, but I figured 50 is a good round number. I love this song. Some think of it as a song about a love having an affair, but I see it as a man singing about his imagination running wild. "It's all in my head, but..." It is about distrust.

If you made it this far, I thank you. Matt - leave a comment or email me or something! Dammit!