Musical food groups

After my iPod wheel was stuck and I could not cycle through any songs, I had to take advantage of my warranty and get it serviced. Now, 30GB of free space, I used to fuss about what to eliminate to make room for the new The National CD. Now...clean slate.

For music geeks who actually wonder if 30GB isn't enough, what to put on the iPod or MP3 becomes a somewhat amusing task. I've broken mine down into a process similar to food groups.

1. The immediate music group
- This is the stuff that's automatically on your iTunes. It's right there. It's the reason that Bright Eyes' Cassadaga and the Cameo song "Word Up" are one of the first things on the newly-cleared iPod and not The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Radiohead's The Bends.

2. The "stuff that you're listening to RIGHT NOW" group
- Yeah, you should probably have 'the classics' like It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska on the iPod, but for those who grew up the task of having to carry every cassette or CD you were listening to during your day, the iPod is still a big ol' Walkman. So, the stuff that I've been listening to relatively heavily gets the next placement (see LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver).

3. The 'big ones' group
- These are the artists that I have several CDs from - since most of my stuff is on external hard drive, it's easiest just to start with one of them and pull their entire collection onto iTunes and then onto the iPod (see Tom Waits, James Brown (boxed set), Bob Dylan and Pulp).

4. The 'stuff to fill in the gaps' group
- With LCD Soundsystem, Bright Eyes, Cameo, Tom Waits, there's a lot lacking in terms of jazz, metal and just straightforward rock. Randomly search around for some Tool, Charlie Parker and T. Rex to even out the mix when you put it on shuffle.

Speaking of shuffle... first shuffle in the very early stages of refilling my iPod:

"Fiery Crash" - Andrew Bird ****
"Stormy Clouds" - The Verve *****
"Target" - Fugazi **** (expect a lot of **** and ***** since I'm uploading a lot of A-list stuff first)
"P.T.A." - Pulp ***
"The Pontiac" - Tom Waits ***
"Watch the Tapes" - LCD Soundsystem ****
"Help the Aged (live)" - Pulp ***
"Nirvana" - Tom Waits ***
"Sea of Love" - Tom Waits ***** (great cover)
"The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" - Tom Waits **** (three in a row!)
"Intro" - Dungen ***
"Bob Lind (The Only Way is Down)" - Pulp **
"Chocolate Jesus" - Tom Waits *****
"Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" - The White Stripes *****
"There's No Home For You" - The White Stripes ***
"(Nice Dream)" - Radiohead *****
"F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E." - Pulp ****
"Maybe Sparrow" - Neko Case *****
"Soul Singer in a Session Band" - Bright Eyes ****
"Diamonds & Gold" - Tom Waits ****
"A Boy's Best Friend" - The White Stripes ****
"I Can't Wait" - The White Stripes ****
"If I Have to Go" - Tom Waits ****
"Superfly (Single Mix)" - Curtis Mayfield ***** (still thought this was going to be 'egg man' from The Beastie Boys)
"Catcliffe Shakedown (demo)" - Pulp ***
"C Visar Vagen" - Dungen ***
"Shambala" - The Beastie Boys ***
"Gates of Eden" - Bob Dylan *****
"99 and 1/2" - Mavis Staples *****
"Books of Moses" - Tom Waits ****
"Beautiful Mind" - The Verve ****