Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Shuffle Serendipity - Ghost in the Machine


Most mp3 players have a shuffle mode that randomly selects songs from your library of music. It’s a fun feature that lets you hear songs you don’t normally seek out, rediscovering old favourites and creating new ones.

Sometimes the iPod selects a run of songs out that seems eerily appropriate for a moment, mood, or situation. I refer to this as serendipity generation, picking suitable tunes out of the 3500+ on the iPod. Then there are just the flat out odd moments that make me go WTF and chuckle a little. One of the funnier ones was hearing The Verve’s “The Drugs Don’t Work” as I filled in my health insurance forms. Here’s the latest one:

Sitting on the bus we crawl through traffic to the subway station. Earphones are in, music is on. I scratch my forehead and realize I’ve accidentally opened up a small cut I received on the weekend. It's bleeding and not stopping right away. I take my handkerchief and put it to my head to stop the dribble. As the bus pulls into the station, my iPod shuffles to the next song. I walk off the bus and hear the chorus of the song and do a little double take. I check my screen to confirm which song is playing:

“I Bleed” by The Pixies from the Doolittle album.

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