Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Playlists and Fountains of Wayne

As I wade through the list of things to do today at work, I am comforted only by a new playlist I've made for Clifford. I wanted to remind myself how easy life used to be. What better way to do so than create a playlist of songs I remember from middle school. Here's the list:

Superdrag - "Sucked Out"
Cornershop - "Brimful of Asha"
Bush - "Swallowed"
Silverchair - "Tomorrow"
Toadies - "Possum Kingdom"
Filter - "Hey Man, Nice Shot"
System of a Down - "Spiders"
Candlebox - "Far Behind"
Orgy - "Blue Monday"
Monster Magnet - "Space Lord"
Radiohead - "High and Dry"
Butthole Surfers - "Pepper"
Stabbing Westward - "Save Yourself"
Local H - "Bound for the Floor"
Alice in Chains - "Rooster"
Soundgarden - "Burden In My Hand"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
Nine Inch Nails - "The Perfect Drug"
Pearl Jam - "Evenflow"
Rage Against the Machine - "Bulls on Parade"
The Deftones - "Change (in the House of Flies)"

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the list. Of course, there could be additions. If there are any songs that remind you of this era gone by, let me know. One that I've left off was the first song I ever heard by Fountains of Wayne, "Radiation Vibe." I love that Fountains of Wayne won the best new artist award at the MTV music awards in 2003, 7 years after they released their first album with "Radiation Vibe." Oh, MTV. You've single-handedly helped and ruined popular music. Well done.

Monday, May 18, 2009

The Big Red iPod and Deep Thoughts

I'd like to welcome a new addition to the Hellendrung family: Clifford.

Clifford is my new iPod nano. I purchased him after my 2nd Generation iPod, named Tylop, passed away on Friday at work. The last song to play on Tylop was Glen Hansard's "Say It To Me Now" from the Once Soundtrack. Interestingly enough, as if my iPod were some strange form of Bumblebee from Transformers, only able to speak through song, the final words echoed, "so if you have something to say... say it to me now." I didn't even realize that my iPod was so emotionally attached.

But, death offers the promise of new life. And I now have a lovely little guy named Clifford. Named after the big red dog of the same name. Something inside of me hoped that the first song that played would be something monumental, telling of the start of something new and gorgeous. Sadly, the first song played was "Stronger" by Kanye West. I couldn't find a deeper meaning because I was dancing.