Posted by Ablang on 09/05/05 04:52

Invasion of the iPod people
Playlists offer a playful clue to one's personality
By Chris Macias -- Bee Pop Music Critic

What's on your iPod?"

It's a phrase that's quickly replacing "How's the weather?" and
"What's for lunch?" as small-talk fodder.

In case you're still using an 8-track tape player, the iPod is Apple
Computer's insanely popular digital music player. It's like stuffing
your entire CD collection in your pocket.

So if you want the scoop on someone's mood, just ask about their iPod
playlist. A bunch of Air Supply and REO Speedwagon tunes could mean
your friend is hopelessly stuck in the past (or just has bad taste).
An all-punk rock playlist might signify that it's time for
anger-management counseling.

So what's on your iPod? Send an email to cmacias@sacbee.com and we'll
run our favorite playlists on an upcoming blog post
(www.sacbee.com/beatnonstop).

I'll get this iParty started.

I've been recording interviews on my iPod with an iTalk microphone, so
my recent playlist includes interviews with Carlos Santana and Jacoby
Shaddix from Papa Roach.

This digital stuff is cool, but I'm still something of a vinyl purist.
I never bought much hip-hop on CD, so I've been encoding some of my
rap record collection onto my iBook with Finyl Vinyl software. Some of
those tracks that are now bangin' on my iPod are "It's Funky Enough"
by the D.O.C., Gucci Crew II's "Sally (That Girl)" and "Shake It" by
MC Shy-D.

I also created a sleepy-time playlist for a recent plane ride that
included Brian Eno's "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" and classical
tracks by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Arvo Pärt.

Here's what others had to say.

Carrie Underwood, the "American Idol":

"Pretty much the only time I have to listen to music is when I'm
sleeping (on the tour bus). I put on my iPod, put my headphones in.
.... It's better to listen to music than to listen to five different
conversations at once. So I put (my iPod) on shuffle and I have all my
slow songs on a folder. For calming down and sleep time, I love Randy
Travis. Anything by him, I'm all about it. He's one of my favorites
anyway, but he's a good one to lie in your bunk and listen to."

Jackie Greene, Sacramento's singer-songwriter extraordinaire:

"It just so happens that I'm riding in the car with Jeremy (Plog), who
plays bass with us, and he's got his iPod here. So I'm going to read
off some stuff that we're listening to: We've got some Jeff Buckley,
Tim Bluhm, Los Lobos, Merle Haggard, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Derek
Trucks, Martin Sexton, Ian Moore, Gram Parsons, the Beatles, the
Doves. The list goes on and on. This kid Jeremy has way too much music
in his iPod.

"I have one of those (iPod minis), so it doesn't hold as much as
Jeremy's, but I have The Band, Calexico, that old (stuff) from Charley
Patton that I've always liked. Let's see, on my recent playlist
there's Iggy Pop, the new Johnny Cash box set, a lot of Los Lobos, Ray
Charles, the Specials, Television, the new White Stripes. Dude, the
iPod is the coolest thing."

Todd Wilkinson, guitarist for Team Sleep and recent iPod convert:

"What I've been listening to the most is American Analog Set, Bad
Brains as always, Boogie Down Productions, Ice-T's first record, some
Mark Curry. I've been rockin' some Sizzla, too. "I bought my iPod in
Australia (during Team Sleep's summer tour). I finally gave in. I'd
had so many CD players and carried around so many CDs that it was
like, agh, I've gottta carry this (stuff) with me. I just got (an iPod
mini) and it's so little.

"I've also got some new Team Sleep on there. It's really cool that I
can make (a beat) on a computer and put it straight on the iPod and
listen a minute later."

Jacoby Shaddix, lead screamer for Papa Roach:

"You know, I don't have an iPod. I lost it like a year ago. I've got
all my music on my computer, pretty much my Apple computer, so I've
got all the options of the iPod right there. I just hook that up to
the stereo in the dressing room and do the playlists and all that
(stuff). We've got the 'rock on' mix, like 30 of the best rock songs
that I love the most. We'll put that on and throw down right before we
hit the stage. I like doing the mixes and stuff like that. It makes me
wonder if people are listening to records anymore, or are they just
listening to single songs like that?"

In stores Tuesday:

Rolling Stones, "A Bigger Bang": Do the Glimmer Twins and company
still have luster in the studio? Find out as the Rolling Stones
release their first album of new material since 1997's "Bridges to
Babylon."

George Clinton, "How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent?": The
forerunner of funk celebrates 50 years in the music scene with a
two-disc CD. Prince and members of Parliament/ Funkadelic help Clinton
get his groove on.

Sarah McLachlan, "Bloom: Remix 2": The queen bee of Lilith Fair gets
the remix treatment for the second time in her career. Thievery
Corporation, will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas and Run-D.M.C's Darryl
McDaniels are featured on the album.

Eazy-E, "Eternal E: Gangsta Memorial Edition": The 10th anniversary of
Eazy-E's death is commemorated with a CD of greatest hits and a DVD.
R.I.P. Eazy-E.

BeatNonStop
To read more about what's popping in pop music, check out BeatNonStop,
a blog by The Bee's Chris Macias: www.sacbee.com/beatnonstop.

http://www.sacticket.com/music/story/13507952p-14348433c.html


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"In a world where more than 10 million americans live with cancer -- we believe unity is strength, knowledge is power, and attitude is everything!"
-- Livestrong, by Lance Armstrong

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