Hey, it's a new feature

All right, I've grown weary of the iPod top ten, because it very rarely ever changes: "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Mercy Street" are so far ahead of the other 4000 songs in my iPod that it's unlikely they'll ever change. I've searched in vain for an auto playlist that could keep track of the songs I'm listening to most within a certain period of time -- like a weekly top ten -- but no such luck.

So, I cave to something even more lazy: a weekly iPod shuffle. The first ten songs my iPod (which is named Defiant, should you give a crap, and I don't see why you should) spits out when set to Shuffle. The goal is to show off what I think is a rather eclectic musical taste, and also to embarrass myself by revealing songs I like but probably shouldn't.

I'm going to do this every Saturday, as part of a determined plan to force a post at least once a week. You'll remember that I've tried these methods before, and you'll remember that they've all failed. But it's worth another shot.

The Weekly iPod Shuffle: March 24, 2007

1. "Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)," Alabama 3
You probably know this one better as the theme from The Sopranos -- it's one of my favorite songs.

2. "Nutshell," Alice in Chains
This version is from their performance on MTV Unplugged, and was frequently referred to as "the applause song" by my friends in high school for the intro, which features an endless ocean of applause as the four band members walk out on stage one at a time. This version is also superior to the original, as the acoustic lead guitar works much better than the electric distored guitar solo on the studio track.

3. "Driver 8," R.E.M.
From way, way back in R.E.M.'s history, this song is fascinating, not just because it's a good song, but for Michael Stipe's bizarre Southern twang he adopts on the lead vocal. Very strange -- I don't know if it's fake or not (another song from the same time, "Don't Go Back to Rockville," has the same twang).

4. "Doll," Foo Fighters
This is the first track of The Colour and the Shape, my favorite Foo album. It's only a minute or so long, but it serves as a good intro to the record.

5. "Dog Eat Dog," "Weird Al" Yankovic
A flawless style parody of Talking Heads, circa 1982. In fact, you'd be forgiven for thinking, upon first listen, that it was the Heads. Al's vocal yelps and warblings are so perfect it's amazing.

6. "Long Line of Cars," Cake
Every Cake song sounds more or less exactly the same. Which isn't a bad thing.

7. "Hit That," The Offspring
Ooooh. Yeah, this song sucks. It's stupid, it's cheesy, it's annoying, and the lyrics are downright insipid. Yeah. I don't know why it's on my iPod. And that five-star rating's gotta be a typo, right? Right?

8. "For Those of Y'all Who Wear Fannie Packs," Ben Folds Five
An improvised jam recorded during sound check, this is the Five at their most playful. Apparently, they're big fans of Rage Against the Machine, which is surprising. At the end, the three of them collapse with laughter and note that everyone fled from the cacophony: "Oh, they've left. They gave up. 'These guys are fuckin' idiots...'"

9. "Flamenco," The Tragically Hip
Inevitably, the Hip. And, also inevitably, my least favorite Hip track. Oh well. "Fireworks" will show up here eventually.

10. "Half a World Away," R.E.M.
Hey, they're back. This is from the early '90s, so no twang. This song was actually on Scrubs a few episodes back (the one when Private Dancer was discharged; they played it when he and Elliot were talking in the parking lot).

If you'd like, leave a comment with your own random shuffle from whatever music-playing software you prefer -- for some bizarre reason, I love reading these things.