4.19.2005
ipod intelligence
A few months ago, I read an article regarding the possible intelligence of the iPod randomizer tracks, which happened to tend toward music connected to what the user was actually feeling or experiencing. Now, I'm not terribly convinced, since most people can find or hear patterns in a lot of what they experience. Also, I'm not a big fan of the iPod randomizer, since I listen to a lot of classical music, and it's not like you can randomize the movements of a symphony: Movement 3 does not, ever, come before movement 1. That said, I have one playlist of random pop music, and while it's not set to randomize, the groupings are entirely coincidental, generally in the order in which I downloaded the music.
Today, I was listening to a playlist of organ music from France, and just as a minor-keyed fugue had finished and a grand and major-keyed chorale was beginning, the clouds cleared up and I walked into blazing sunshine. It was a wholly coincidental occurence, but it certainly did also make me that much more aware of my surroundings and it enhanced my enjoyment of my walk. And last week, as I was walking past the Radcliffe Camera, which is a grand old round building, flanked by the Bodleian Library, Lincoln College, and All Souls College, my pop music playlist settled upon the theme from the movie Top Gun. This had the opposite effect of making me aware also of the absurdity of both of the situations: the music playing was really cheesy 80's stuff, and the setting was also pretty darn weird. But again, the juxtaposition was entirely enjoyable.
I bring this up because the use of the iPod is a very private experience: it is meant for you, it is your music, and it is intensely personal. In the Washington Post last week, a reporter was covering the theft of iPods, which he compared to the theft of a part of one's own being, and not just of a computing unit. Music is so personal that it touches on our memories and our personalities. Just a few thoughts today, I guess.
I'm spending the afternoon and evening today and tomorrow, and also Thursday evening recording a CD with the Queen's College Choir. This should be interesting - a lot of fun, for sure, but also trying, as spending so much time with each other cannot possibly good for our mental well-being.
Today, I was listening to a playlist of organ music from France, and just as a minor-keyed fugue had finished and a grand and major-keyed chorale was beginning, the clouds cleared up and I walked into blazing sunshine. It was a wholly coincidental occurence, but it certainly did also make me that much more aware of my surroundings and it enhanced my enjoyment of my walk. And last week, as I was walking past the Radcliffe Camera, which is a grand old round building, flanked by the Bodleian Library, Lincoln College, and All Souls College, my pop music playlist settled upon the theme from the movie Top Gun. This had the opposite effect of making me aware also of the absurdity of both of the situations: the music playing was really cheesy 80's stuff, and the setting was also pretty darn weird. But again, the juxtaposition was entirely enjoyable.
I bring this up because the use of the iPod is a very private experience: it is meant for you, it is your music, and it is intensely personal. In the Washington Post last week, a reporter was covering the theft of iPods, which he compared to the theft of a part of one's own being, and not just of a computing unit. Music is so personal that it touches on our memories and our personalities. Just a few thoughts today, I guess.
I'm spending the afternoon and evening today and tomorrow, and also Thursday evening recording a CD with the Queen's College Choir. This should be interesting - a lot of fun, for sure, but also trying, as spending so much time with each other cannot possibly good for our mental well-being.
