The Onion AV Club has this fun feature where celebrities set their iPods or store brand digital music playback devices on random and talk about the first few songs that come up. I have way dumber music than the average celebrity, and you, my friends and readers, are more famous to me than any star, so I say we hijack the feature.
I’ll start!
Quincy Jones- Soul Bossa Nova
I got this on the first Austin Powers soundtrack. In the late 90’s, I bought a lot of movie soundtracks. It was an important step toward transitioning away from the broadway musicals and classical music of my yoot.
London Symphony Orchestra– Rachmaninov, Prelude in B-Minor
A secondhand London Symphony Rachmaninov double disk was the kind of thing that got me really excited when I was 16. I’m not going to talk to much about Rachmaninov here because this is supposed to be short and those feelings are PRIVATE.
Billy Idol– White Wedding
See? It’s another soundtrack track, this time from The Wedding Singer. Before iTunes, this was practically the only way to buy singles. We did a video project to this one in our last year of theatre school. It was funny.
Madonna– Open Your Heart
True Blue was the first casette I ever bought. I was nine years old, and I got it at the grocery store. My mom made me listen to it with her all the way through the first time I played it, and she made Marge Simpson-like growling noises the whole time, but ultimately let me keep it. In my books, anything dumb Madonna does now is totally excused because of this album. This is not my favourite track, though.
Out Hud– Old Nude
My friend Lisa’s ex-boyfriend Ken gave me a burned copy of this because he knew I’d think it was wicked, and then I went and bought it because I did think it was wicked. We saw Out Hud perform at Harbourfront Centre a couple of summers ago, on the big outdoor stage, and we were the only people dancing, in the aisle, while everyone else sat. The lead guy danced the entire show, and even freaked out the venue staff by running up a backstage ladder, and dancing on the roof, over the audience. Awesome.
OK, now it’s your turn. Set your whole collection on random and post about the first few things that come up, and then let me know about it. (You can use the comments in this post for that.) No fair editing or skipping or limiting the list in any way. I’m not interested in how good your taste is. (Oh, and if you don’t have a blog, you can post the whole thing in the comments here if you want.)
Comments
Pingback from irenemontgomery.com » Stepping up to the Challenge
Time: September 27, 2006, 1:01 pm
[…] Jill has issued a challenge to her friends, so here’s my response… The first 5 songs in my iTunes (sorry, no iPod yet - gasp!) as selected by random: […]
Comment from sarah
Time: September 27, 2006, 3:12 pm
1) The Wind (Cat Stevens)
Another soundtrack song! except I didn’t buy the soundtrack. I just liked this song and downloaded it. (royal tanenbaums). I also never thought I would have one cat stevens song on my ipod, but I do. In fact, I have two.
2) Go Go Gadget Gospel (Gnarls Barkley)
This song (into, rather) is fun. As are about 2 *MAYBE* 3 other songs on the album. But it’s nowhere near as good as The Man would have you believe. Save your money and buy Demon Days instead (gorillaz) if you haven’t already. And while you’re at it, buy Game Theory (the Roots) cause it’s great.
3) Cam Ye o Frae France (Steelye Span) British electro-folk from the 70’s. My parents owned the canon in vinyl when I was little. I think that’s 97% why I like it.
4) Shake It Off (Mariah Carey) So? So what??
5) Don’t Cry (Guns n Roses) I forgot this was on here! awesome!!!
Comment from Jill
Time: September 27, 2006, 4:44 pm
Oh goodie! There are connections between our lists so far.
Irene has the Beethoven to match my Rachmaninoff and Sarah and Irene both have a track that reminds them of their parents.
Comment from andrew
Time: September 28, 2006, 5:59 pm
hey, no fair. no fancy-pants players for me; here’s the first three cd’s out of the drawer i grab [i am at work and i cannot download or rip songs because the government thinks its naughty]:
1] Mean Red Spiders, “Places You Call Home”. Toronto indie shoegazer goodness from the 90’s.
2] Ohbijou, “Swift Feet for Troubling Times”. Toronto indie pop that is totally rocking my world. Cello’s meet wistful songs about love and raccoons.
3] Geinoh Yamashirogumi, “Akira s/t”. 2019 Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E [i have no idea why they acronymed explode]
Comment from Jill
Time: September 29, 2006, 12:00 am
Darn that government. It’s true, it is no fair. Because the odds of you bringing embarassing cds with you to work are statistically smaller than that of me forgetting I have, say, an Enigma album in my iTunes somewhere, or Irene accidentally treating us to a list of ISU ice dance music and Christmas carols.
I’m trying to get Les to play by having him stand in front of his record shelves while I call out random numbers. “Down one cube, 7 records to the right, etc…” I’m hoping we’ll fall on something he bought 15 years ago and hates and forgot about.
Thanks for playing.
Comment from andrew
Time: October 2, 2006, 2:06 pm
oh, you’d be surprised jill. although, come to think of it, i’m not embarassed about any music i own. but i have brought “Frosh: The Mullet Years” with me to work, the last Liz Phair cd case is sitting on my desk [ex has the cd, and given the tenor of our last conversation i will never see it again], you know, the album which sucked and she’s sorta scantily clad on the cover? also, i have rocked out to the Buffy musical episode which i have on cd.
Comment from brokenengine
Time: October 3, 2006, 12:11 pm
I did it too: HERE
Comment from Jill
Time: October 3, 2006, 12:20 pm
Hee hee. Broken, even though you were sampling from a much smaller pool, like Andrew, your descriptions are funny enough that the exercise still works.
I notice you have a lot of music you used to hate, or that you think you’re going to start hating soon. I used to be that way about friends. I would strongly dislike someone, and then 6 months later, we’d be best buds forever. I guess when you feel strongly about something, it can be confusing at first.
Given that, and your comments on certain other blogs, I have to wonder… can a Lukas Rossi single be far off for your Rokr? :-))))
Comment from brokenengine
Time: October 3, 2006, 12:47 pm
HAHAHAHA Oh god no! And I don’t *HATE* Lukas Rossi. He was an asshole the couple of times I met him. And thats, what, half a decade ago? Still, nothing I saw on the show showed me he had changed at all…
If I did a random sample of CD”s in my case at home, it would be MUCH weirder. I have a lot of mid-late 90’s Canadian Indie in there, which I NEVER listen to and really should go sell to free up space. And I also have my “Worst CD EVER” which I keep just because of it’s strangeness: “Wayne Gretzky’s Greatest Goals”. Seriously. The play by play of the 50 most important goals of #99. I bought it for $.99.
RE: Buffy Musical Episode: Only musical I like. Ok, wait, I like “Anchors Aweigh” as well. I don’t know whether it’s because of, or despite, the unintentional homoerotic subtext. Still, Frank and Gene, singin’ & dancin’. And of course, “The Sound Of Music” is a classic, although one can get diabetes if one watches it in consecutive years. I’ve stayed away for a couple now.
Comment from lauralyn
Time: October 14, 2006, 11:02 am
1/4372)No place for the Cross, by DHI (death and horror incorporated), Transmissions from the chemical land.
ambient, industrial music. I’ve owned this since high school. Surprisingly still kinda good.
2/4372)Projector, by Philip Glass, from Kundun soundtrack. I never saw the movie. But I like philip glass. Although I read in the Globe and Mail that he’s one of the “Wyatting” soundtracks in bars.
3/4372)Girl in a Sportscar, by Alan Hawkshaw, Mo’Hawk - Alan Hawkshaw essentials. Never heard of it, must be Martin’s.
4/4372) She’s the one, St. Etienne, Foxbase Alpha. Ah electronica… no surprise there. Currently surprised that there has been nothing from Raffi or Sean Paul. Those are the two reasons I don’t usually shuffle my ipod.
5/4372)The presidents, the animaniacs, Variety pack. Feeling almost justified in the not shuffling. Except I owned this before I had a child. But I know who rutherford hays was…
Oh yeah, and I too have the buffy musical on here somewhere along with everything ever done by depeche mode.
cheers!
L
Pingback from Irene’s blog » Stepping up to the Challenge
Time: January 8, 2007, 8:43 pm
[…] Jill has issued a challenge to her friends, so here’s my response… The first 5 songs in my iTunes (sorry, no iPod yet - gasp!) as selected by random: […]