I-pod You Pod.

Last night while walking home from the subway, my Ipod threw me a curveball.  I have impeccable and wildly diverse taste in music, and when I throw the old girl on "random" the hits just don't stop.  Now, in the interest of being completely well-rounded musically, I have some greatest hits compilations on there of bands/performers who I'm not passionate about, but who have made such an impact on music that I feel they should at least be represented in my CD collection.   Some examples for me are David Bowie, Queen, Aerosmith...these are important artists, I like the hits, I'm never disappointed when one of their songs pops up, but I don't need much more than that.  

Another such artist for me is Elton John.  I've never been a huge fan, but he's got some undeniable songs.  However, in blindly importing both discs of his greatest hits compilation, I didn't notice a few indiscretions.  Which brought me to The Incident.

Suddenly, on my Ipod, after the one-two punch of "Alec Eiffel" by The Pixies and "Jacqueline" by Franz Ferdinand, there it was:  "The Circle Of Life" by Elton John.  From The Lion King. 

My face curled up in horror, years of rock elitism drawing my hand to the skip button.  But then...something happened.  I saw the African horizon, and young Simba being hoisted up for all to see.  I began to feel the song's tribal rhythms as if for the first time.  My hips began to sway.  My arms were covered in goosebumps, my hair stood on end, and... I started to sing.  It was the kind of singing any Ipod user does, under your breath, head down, but inside, my heart was bursting forth in three-part harmony, as I was rushed back to a simpler time. 

This is the beauty of the Ipod, which is certainly the greatest invention of our generation.  (Suck on that, George Foreman grill)!  Am I ashamed of this incident?  Extremely.  But when you have as many songs as I do, surprises wait around every corner, and if one of them catches you in the right mood, it can be night-altering.  Can you feel the love tonight?  Yes, Ipod.  Yes I can.

tags: music  ipod  

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