Here are some of the new/old albums we’re listening to on the iPod - in no particular order:

  • [Careless Love] - by Madeleine Peyroux : Farrah turned me on to her. Love the album.
  • [Trouble] - by Ray LaMontagne : I think Farrah said she heard a song of his on the WB (damn advertising). Album is actually very good.
  • [New Danger] - by Mos Def : My first Mos Def cd. I'm getting into about half of it. I'm sure the other half will follow.
  • [How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb] - by U2 : U2 is just U2. I really like that album.
  • [Love, Angel, Music, Baby] - by Gwen Stefani : Couple of catchy singles. Seems really 80's/90's pop.
  • [Breakaway] - by Kelly Clarkson : Yes, I know I ventured into the very pop arena with the Kelly Clarkson album. But you know it's catchy as pop is supposed to be.
  • [Street Signs] - by Ozomatli : Still have some Ozomatli in my head from the company Christmas party they performed.

I was reading two articles, both touting the demise of the album as a format of expression. I think both were in [Entertainment Weekly]. One article targeted the new [iPod Shuffle] as killing the rap skits in an album. You know, the funny little 10-30 second tracks you find between album tracks. With the iPod Shuffle those skits won’t flow as well - which might be just as well in my opinion. The other thing iPods and the digital music age in general has done is allow users to skip songs, randomize the order of what is played. The article describes how this started to take place with the introduction of the cd. I think it started way before that with the creation of the mixed tape. Once consumers were able to put certain songs they wanted to hear on a format that was portable, albums less of what they once were as far as expressing an idea or vision in the order it is arranged and produced.