Playing Uncle E's "iPod Roulette"

If you're into music, and old enough to remember vinyl albums, check out Uncle E's Musical Nightmares and The Song in My Head Today. Uncle E is a fellow northern California resident, while Holly's thoughts come out of New York.

Uncle E has a fun blog exercise now and then. He calls it "iPod Roulette," and it involves selecting the shuffle function on his iPod and writing down the first fifteen songs that pop up.

Since I've been having trouble thinking of much to write about in the last few days, I decided to do my own "iPod Roulette" session. I'll leave out any audiobook selections that might pop up.

It'll be really tempting to omit anything embarrassing that might surface, especially with Uncle E and Holly in the audience, but here goes.

#1. "Steve Earle," by Ice Mac Sea.
I discovered Ice Mac Sea at four in the morning while driving to Sacramento Airport in a rental car. The car had a satellite radio in it, and Ice Mac Sea played on the "Progressive Country" channel. Vocalist and songwriter Michael McCrickard describes his music as "weird country techno-pop." Dylan loved Ice Mac Sea while in kindergarten, but as a second-grader,he now groans when I play it. I still like it though. "Steve Earle" happens to be my favorite tune on the CD, which might indicate that today would be a good time to buy a lottery ticket.

#2. "Too High to Fly," by Dokken.
I only have one Dokken CD, and this ain't among my favorites on the album. Maybe I won't buy that lottery ticket.

#3. "The Long Black Veil," by Mick Jagger and the Chieftains.
I was sitting at Sue's Java Cafe in Redding one morning when this song came over their sound system. My thought was, "wow, that guy sure sounds like Mick Jagger." What caused me to think it was someone other than Jagger was the sincerity ol' Mick showed on this cover. He sounded like he was trying to be a singer instead of, well, Mick Jagger.

#4. "Daydream Believer," by the Monkees.
Oh shut up.

#5. "The Wind," by Billy Bob Thorton.
I really like the CD Enjoy Every Sandwich, a tribute album to the late Warren Zevon. But sheesh, Billy Bob's cover here convinces me that he should stick to acting.

#6. "Life Without Elvis," by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
There are times in my life when nothing sounds good but Bela Fleck. This song ain't my favorite on the album, but what the heck.

#7. "It's Showtime!", by David Lee Roth.
Oh shut up.

#8. "It's Been Such a Long Time," by Boston.
Dang, two embarrassing selections in a row. Did I really say that I was considering buying a lottery ticket today? Buying a lottery ticket is a stupid waste of money. This is the only Boston song on my iPod. Really.

#9. "Prison Movie," by Eric Taylor.
Eric Taylor is a Texas singer-songwriter who was once married to Nanci Griffith. He's not widely known outside of the Lone Star State.

#10. "Silent Night," by The Carpenters.
Oh shut up.

#11. "Let You Down," by Dave Matthews Band.
Not my favorite off of the Crash CD.

#12. "What's My Age Again?" by Blink 182.
Hey, Dylan likes it, so it must be good.

#13. "Tokyo," by Bob Schneider.
Austin-based singer-songwriter Schneider got a boost to his following after dating actress Sandra Bullock. This is my favorite cut on the CD. Hm. Lottery ticket, anyone?

#14. "Clay Pigeons," by John Prine.
I downloaded this album a few months ago, but I've scarcely listened to it. I'll have to remedy that.

#15. "Day Tripper," by the Beatles.
Yee haw, my iPod Roulette session closed with a Beatles song! I'm heading out to get a lottery ticket. What the heck, the car needs gas anyway.

I might do this again, but I believe I'll have a couple of beers first.