The last of the iPods rolls off the line

It would be disingenuous not to comment -- Google "Whisky Prajer infernal device" to get some idea how long this hate/hate affair has been going on. And yes, Apple's "Randomizer" is incredibly lazy. 

But Apple has changed the way I listen to music -- you, also. Here are my top five Apple iPod moments: 

5) Don't forget Podcasts which got their name from Apple. You have your favorites (please share in the comments below) Mine include Nahlah Ayed's Ideas and Diarmaid MacCulloch's Gifford Lectures Silence Within Church History. Prof. Ayed's radio show can be quickly subscribed to (the CBC is very friendly!) and YouTube audio can be recorded -- just Google it. 

4) The Playlist. Long after it has a outlived any usefulness at all I keep the Playlist around.  This is thanks chiefly to setlist.fm, but Apple perfected it. "It was so easy. Remember?"

3) "Donald and Walter" Okay, this is where Apple gets lazy with its Randomizer:  it would rather play off the six "solo" discs than dip into the Steely Dan ouevre. But it's The Dan which actually got me singing along and kept me alive. Apologies to the PSW responsible for me. But we are talking about Steely Dan!

2) Nicolas Deletailles. I was probably playing Deletailles's Bach: 6 Cello Suites but I honestly don't remember. The blue box kept the door open. She poked her head in. She said she was looking for her daughter. I took down her room number, but it was just a ruse. She was on the lookout for hanky-panky. Between Toronto's National Newspaper, the black coffee and the classical music I would have done better if I'd hosed the room down with Eau de Sweaty Socks. She left as she came: daughter-less. And I was free to enjoy my papers and my classical music -- until the next ringette game, or Boston Pizza: whichever came first. 

1) The Apple Randomizer. I currently use CDJuicer to rip discs into mp3 files I can use. I've seen Google Music go, and I have lamented its absence. When it can't be helped I resort to HDtracks.com and I use SoundConverter to rip their files into mp3 files I can use. (Have I already said that? Oh well, check Google: you'll see I'm right.)

I have the iPod "Classic" which I listen to, "randomly," with headphones when the power is down. (Hey, it happened once! But you only need it to happen once for it to become policy, doncha know?) When the iPod finally joins that click-wheel in the sky I will get something just like it -- a Walkman, probably. I like the size finally, and I like the GUI. 

So until then, and probably long after, you will read of the "Infernal Device" that changed the face of music. Because shortly after 9/11  it changed the face of music -- for me.