The Rubber Nun is a big fan of this Random Ten meme-thingie and I’m a big fan of the Rubber Nun, so in honor of the elastic sister I thought I’d give it a spin myself.
Of course I think you’re supposed to do it on Fridays … but isn’t it still Friday in Singapore, or already next Friday there, or something?
I mean it’s always Friday somewhere, if you really think about it.
Right, then. Here goes.
- I’m the Man — Joe Jackson
- Sensation — Dave Wakeling
- Memories Fade — Tears for Fears
- It’s Only Natural — Crowded House
- Kiss and Make Up — Saint Etienne
- Everybody Here Wants You — Jeff Buckley
- Love Is a Wind That Screams — Richard Barone
- Hands in the Rain — Booth & The Bad Angel
- Superlungs My Supergirl — Donovan
- Harbour — Moby
It doesn’t exactly show off my hard rockin’ side, but I’ll take it.
Of course, I have to admit that my random isn’t truly random: I rate every song using iTunes’ star system, and then check the “play higher rated songs more often” box in the Party Shuffle mode to make sure iTunes serves up the good stuff.
And I know you. You want to see something that will bring the flush of shame to my cheeks. So by way of compensation, here are 10 random songs direct from my 70s Pop category, a playlist rife with both brilliance and, well, the kind of cheese that comes in a spray can:
- Marlena — Bay City Rollers
- Lady — Supertramp
- Something to Fall Back On — Todd Rundgren
- Hummingbird — Seals & Crofts
- Nostradamus Part One — Al Stewart
- If I Can’t Have You — Yvonne Elliman
- Making Love Out of Nothing At All — Air Supply
- Maggie May — Rod Stewart
- Delia’s Gone — Al Stewart
- Re-Jigue — The Alan Parsons Project
Aww, yeah.
I’ll refrain from further comment, except to say:
Item #1? That’s the best Bay City Rollers song EV-er.
I’ve never had an iPod, but I did have an iRiver a few years back. It inexplicably died about 8 mos. after I bought it. I decided never to replace it or buy another MP3 player. (I haven’t wasted $175 so fast since I put new tires on my Citation. Ska-reeeew that.)
Truth be told, the only reason I’m such a big fan of the random ten is because it allows me to post something when I actually have fuck all of interest to say. But glad I could be an inspiration nonetheless!
“Oh, you dream of a silver stallion…”
Bay City Rollers, yeah baby! I’d forgotten about “Marlena”.
Other songs our iTunes have in common: “I’m The Man” and “It’s Only Natural”. I really like the party shuffle feature, even though it always yields me too much Elvis Costello (if there is such a thing.)
Yep, that’s the one. “Marlena” was on the B-side of the 45 of “Saturday Night” my sister had when we were little kids, and we liked the B-side even better than the A-side. So it’s a strong childhood memory for me. I finally tracked it down on a BCR compilation a few years ago.
I find that sometimes you have to lie to iTunes a little — once it figures out you really like something, it will drown you with it. Somehow it’s geared to put certain things in really heavy rotation, based on how much music you have be a certain artist, how highly it’s ranked, and how often it’s been played in the past.
So occasionally I have to downrank some 5-star music to 4 stars or even 3 in order to keep iTunes from playing it so often I get sick of it.