iPod Roulette - June 2011

As usual, not the best cross-section of what's in my iPod.  I guess I can't really expect it to be with the wide variety there.  Take a look at what popped up and tell me if anything speaks to you.

*note to self - always check volume before inserting earbuds and turning on iPod!*

1.     This Window - GlassByrd

2.     Elegy for Dunkirk - Jeff Beck (feat. Olivia Safe)

3.     Arto - System of a Down

4.     You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer

5.     I Can't Dance - Genesis

6.     Heat of the Moment - Asia

7.     Band on the Run - Paul McCartney

8.     Good Times Roll - The Cars

9.     The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich

10.   Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees

11.   Theme from Miami Vice - Jan Hammer

12.   Let Me Be the One - The Carpenters

13.   Holding On - Yes

14.   The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Genesis

15.   Rubber Biscuit - Blues Brothers

iPod Roulette - May 2011

This month I went back to using my full-sized iPod (as opposed to the iPod on my phone) for roulette.  I'm not sure this is a very good cross-section of those 3752 songs. 

No commentary from me on these - I'll leave that to you.  Anything here ring a bell or spark a memory for you?

1.    In a Lifetime (Clannad, feat. Bono)

2.    Get Off My Cloud (The Rolling Stones)

3.    Kiss You All Over (Exile)

4.    Bach: French Suite #2 in C Minor, BWV 813 - Allemande (Glenn Gould)

5.    I Got You - I Feel Good (James Brown)

6.    Shoot the Loop (Acoustic Alchemy)

7.    Sally Simpson - Tommy (The Who)

8.    Hope You're Feeling Better (Santana)

9.    Poetry Man (Phoebe Snow)

10.  All the World (Point of Grace)

11.  Shambala (Three Dog Night)

12.  Blinded by the Light (Manfred Mann's Earth Band)

13.  More Than It Seems (Kutless)

14.  Ravel: La Valse (London Symphony Orchestra)

15.  Redeemer (Nicole C. Mullen)

iPod Roulette - April 2011 JAM

April is Jazz Appreciation Month at the Smithsonian.  In keeping with that, I've drawn solely from my Jazz playlist in my iTunes for this month's session of iPod Roulette.  Some of my favorites didn't come up, but it's still a nice variety.


1.     Livin' Inside Your Love (George Benson) - I've loved George Benson since I was in college.  Until recent years he was one of the few Jazz artists that I didn't mind using vocals.

2.     Sigh (Praful) - This group is described by Wiki as an "acid jazz" mixture band.

3.     Daddy Longlicks (Lee Ritenour featuring Joe Robinson) - This is from 6 String Theory, which I featured here.

4.     I Say a Little Prayer (Earl Klugh Trio) - A smooth version of a very recognizable song.

5.     Fives (Lee Ritenour featuring Guthrie Govan and Tal Wilkenfeld) - I usually skip when there is a repeat artist, but the guitarists featured with Ritenour here are so different from Joe Robinson that the selection had a completely different sound.

6.     Back in Business (Down to the Bone) - Their Wiki page has been removed, but the link to it referred to them as another "acid jazz" band.  Funny, I'd never heard that description before and here I've seen it twice in one sitting.

7.     Flamenco Sketches (Miles Davis) - No doubt about it, Davis is one of the greats of Jazz.  This is from Kind of Blue, considered by many to be his best album. 

8.     Sinkin' Soon (Norah Jones) - I must admit that I'm not terrilby fond of Norah Jones.  I only downloaded this song to try and give her a chance since I knew several of my friends love her music.  It didn't work for me.

9.     There Goes the Neighbourhood (Candy Dulfer) - From her first album, Saxuality. I love her version of Lily Was Here!

10.   The Girls Next Door (Pat Metheny Group) - Love, love this song!  The underlying beat is great!

11.   Tears in Rain (Vangelis) - This is from the soundtrack to Blade Runner and contains one of my favorite movie lines. 

12.   Somersaults (Bill Bruford with Ralph Towner and Eddie Gómez ) - Bruford was the first of two drummers for my favorite group of all time, Yes.

13.   Black River (Keiko Matsui) - Very smooth Contemporary Jazz.

14.   Siempre Hay Esperanza (The Sunset Lounge Orchestra) - This is from the Sade Cool Down Experience.  I couldn't find any kind of link to the Sunset Lounge Orchestra, but they evidently do covers of various groups' music.  I heard this one on my Jazz station and loved it. 

15.   The Lesson (Victor Wooten) - This is one of the few people in my Jazz playlist known for playing the bass!

iPod Roulette ~ March 2011

This month I once again chose to use the iPod on my phone.  It contains a fraction of the music found on my other iPod and tends to be heavy on Classic Rock. 

Oh...and please take a minute to take the poll at the top of my sidebar!


1.    Fairy Tales (Anita Baker) - They play Anita Baker on the jazz station I listen to, but I've always thought of her more as an R&B artist.  I think this is her best song.

2.    Hells Bells (AC/DC) - This is from what I consider their best LP, Back in Black, which came out when I was in college. 

3.    Guitar Man (Bread) - My most vivid memories of this band are from Junior High School, an awkward time in life.  Enough said.

4.    Layla (Eric Clapton) - Easily one of the greatest guitarists of all time - and he plays the blues just as well as he does rock & roll.

5.    Tell Her She's Lovely (El Chicano) - Has anyone besides me ever heard of this song or this group?

6.    Midnight Rider (Gregg Allman) - Kind of hard to imagine this guy married to Cher. 

7.    All Creatures of Our God and King - This is the chorale postlude from the City on a Hill - Sing Allelulia LP.  All the City on a Hill albums are wonderful.

8.    Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland) - Other versions are okay, but this is still the ultimate version.

9.    The Long and Winding Road (Beatles) - A classic. 

10.  Get Up (Mary Mary) - Contemporary Gospel, R&B, Soul, Jazz.... these ladies are talented.

11.  Lean On Me (Bill Withers) - This song takes me back to a particular 4th of July in Farmerville, LA.  I best not go into detail. 

12.  It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference (Todd Rundgren) - Takes me back to High School.  This guy always makes me think of my friend Laney. 

13.  Through the Fire (Day of Fire) - This is just one of several good Christian Hard Rock bands I've discovered in recent years.

14.  I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2) - My favorite U2 music is from the Achtung Baby LP, but I love this song and the music video shot in Las Vegas. 

15.  Superstar (Carpenters) - I still find it sad that Karen Carpenter died the way she did.  I loved her voice and it was the perfect range for me to sing along. 

iPod Roulette - February 2011

Normally when I play this game I use my regular iPod which currently has more than 3600 songs on it. In contrast, I only have 260 songs loaded into the iPod on my phone. I had such fun listening to the music on my phone recently that I decided to use it to play iPod Roulette this month. That playlist is fairly heavy on Classic Rock, but I still came up with a little bit of variety.

1. Crawl (Kings of Leon) - My younger daughter introduced me to this group. I have several of their songs in my iTunes collection.

2. Tom Sawyer (Rush) - My nephew, who is only eight years younger than I am, use to make fun of this group. Now he's a bigger fan than I am.

3. American Pie (Don McLean) - My first two years of college were at a small Liberal Arts school. Don McLean performed there during that time and I remember it was rumored that he never did this song in concert. Wrong. He did and it was wonderful!

4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John) - I received this album for Christmas the year it came out. Ages ago!

5. He Still Loves Me (Beyonce and Walter Williams, Sr. of the O'Jays) - There is so much good music in the movie this comes from! (The Fighting Temptations)

6. Skin (Ephraim Lewis) - I made an entire blog entry about this guy. Such a shame we won't get more from him!

7. Hungry (Kathryn Scott) - Also known as Falling on my Knees, I first heard this song when a girl sang it at my church. I loved it and had to track it down for myself.

8. Sitting (Cat Stevens) - Catch Bull at Four is my favorite Cat Stevens album and this might be my favorite song from that album.

9. Europa (Gato Barbieri) - I'm pretty sure Carlos Santana wrote and first recorded this song. Donna Sue (who never blogs anymore) had this on her blog as an example of "as sexy as music can get". She was spot on with that observation.

10. Hand Me Down World (The Guess Who) - If I'm remembering correctly, this song was on one of the first albums I ever bought. (The first was a Tom Jones album - Green, Green Grass of Home)

11. Whispers in the Dark (Skillet) - Contemporary Christian Metal. Some might consider that an oxymoron.

12. Swayin' to the Music (Johnny Rivers) - Also titled Slow Dancing, I had to download this as a single from iTunes. Believe it or not, it isn't on his "greatest hits" album which I already had. I think it's his best song by far.

13. And the Cradle Will Rock (Van Halen) - As much as I enjoy AC/DC and Aerosmith, Van Halen has always been my favorite Hard Rock band. And before you ask.... David Lee Roth over Sammy Hagar.

14. Bring the Rain (Mercy Me) - They performed in my hometown last year and were outstanding!!!

15. Seasons in the Sun (Terry Jacks) - I'm happy to leave you with this one. If you recognize it, it will probably be stuck in your head for the rest of the day!

January (2011) iPod Roulette

I decided to make a change to the "iPod Roulette" rules. From now on if a song comes up that appeared in the last two rounds, I can skip to the next. Believe it or not, with more than 3600 songs to choose from, I had two repeats this time from my session in November! How bizarre is that?!

I've also come to the conclusion that short of picking my own selections there's no way to get a true sampling of all the varieties of music on my iPod. That said, here's what came up this month:

1. Luck of the Draw (Bonnie Raitt) - This is a good song, but not one of my favorites of hers.

2. Video Killed the Radio Star (Buggles) - The video of this song was the first music video to appear on MTV in the US.

3. The End (Beatles) - This is from Abbey Road, my favorite Beatles album.

4. Forgiven and Loved (Jimmy Needham) - Not your run-of-the-mill sounding Contemporary Christian artist .

5. Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band) - This song has been made fun of a lot in the past, but I really love it.

6. Rich Girl (Hall and Oates) - These guys appeared on American Idol either this past year or the year before. They've gotten old! (and I haven't?)

7. We Will Trust You (Ginny Owens and GlassByrd) - This is from one of the City on a Hill CDs.

8. Cry Aloud (Colin Towns) - From the PBS "Brother Cadfael" series.

9. Car Wash (Rose Royce) - I know this song has come up in the past, but evidently not in the last two sessions.

10. Angelia (Richard Marx) - I had forgotten all about this song. Not bad.

11. Stay (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) - This is a great song from the past!!

12. Dear Prudence (Beatles) - From the White Album, not one of their more well-known songs.

13. The Stone Circle (Acoustic Alchemy) - One of my favorite jazz groups.

14. Games People Play (Spinners) - Possibly my favorite R&B band. I attended their concert when they visited our small town more than 25 years ago.

15. Oh, Lord, You're Beautiful (Sarah Sadler) - Another lovely Contemporary Christian song.

iPod Roulette - 2010 Holiday Edition

This is the time of year I keep my car's satellite radio tuned to Christmas music. There are several holiday stations to choose from, but I prefer the one called "Holiday Traditions" which plays music from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Think Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby and the like.

I have a much wider variety of Christmas music in my iTunes library. I didn't post an iPod Roulette entry in December of last year, but looking back at my entry from 2008 find it odd that with more than 300 songs to choose from I ended up with several repeats this year. I still question the "randomness" of the iPod shuffle feature. Oh well. I spent an entire evening listening to Christmas music, but here are the first 15 that came up.

1. We'll Sing You A Christmastime (American Boyschoir) - There's nothing quite like a good boyschoir.

2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (various artists) - This instrumental album titled "Peaceful Christmas" features harp, flute, english horn, cello, and guitar.

3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Pointer Sisters) - A very 80s sound, but it's fun.

4. Silent Night (Phil Keaggy) - An instrumental album, one of my very favorites.

5. It Just Don't Feel Like Christmas (Rihanna) - I'm not sure how I ended up with this!

6. Silent Night (The Temptations) - I got this as a free download from iTunes.

7. Up On the Housetop (Pete Jacobs Orchestra) - Big Band music from the 40s.

8. I Believe in You (Sinead O'Connor) - From the "A Very Special Christmas 2" album.

9. Up On the Housetop (The Jackson 5) - Back when Michael was a child.

10. O Holy Night (Al Green) - I love to hear the Rev. Al sing.

11. The Little Drummer Boy (Peggy Lee) - This is my younger daughter's favorite version of "Little Drummer Boy". I like it, but I like Mandisa's version better.

12. White Christmas (Bing Crosby) - A classic. What more can I say?

13. Once in David's Royal City (The Chieftans) - From their "Bells of Dublin" album.

14. Mary's Little Boy Child (Harry Belafonte) - This is from the same album as the boyschoir from #1.

15. I Saw Three Ships (Bronn Journey) - Another instrumental album.

iPod Roulette - November 2010

We were having thunderstorms yesterday (with a tornado watch) when I settled down for a session of iPod Roulette. Just like last month, a rather mellow assortment of songs. A nice contrast to the weather.


1. Like A Stone (Audio Slave) - This was Audio Slave's most successful single.

2. Anticipation (Carly Simon) - I love this song, but can't listen to it without thinking about ketchup.

3. Sloop John B (Beach Boys) - Even though I can sing along with many Beach Boys songs, they're not one of my favorite groups. This is from the Forrest Gump Soundtrack.

4. Magic Man (Heart) - Fantastic female rockers!

5. Ruby Rap (Eric Serra) - This is from one of my favorite movies.

6. Still (Commodores) - Okay, so I like The Commodores and I like Lionel Richie. It's a guilty pleasure.

7. Black and White (Three Dog Night) - This brings back memories of Junior High.

8. Poor Boy (Jeff Beck) - Another track from the album I wrote about here, again featuring Imelda May.

9. Caribbean Queen (Billy Ocean) - Very 80s.

10. Your Blue Room (Passengers) - This is from an experimental album recorded by U2. They decided to release it under another name since it was so different from their other stuff.

11. Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) - Does anyone remember this entry?

12. Pines of Rome: The Pines of the Janiculum (Respighi) - Our area symphony performed The Fountains of Rome last year. I enjoyed it so much that I came home and downloaded it along with this, the second part of Respighi's "Roman Trilogy".

13. Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police) - Whoa! Does this song bring back memories from college! You see, I had this professor.... no, wait. I won't go there.

14. Does it Really Happen? (Yes) - My favorite group. Enough said.

15. Bach: French Suite #4 BWV. 815 2. Courante (Glenn Gould) - Finished off with a little classical piano.

iPod Roulette for October

This month's spin of the wheel turned up some very mellow stuff and certainly not a good cross-section of what's on my iPod. That's okay. It all fit the mood at the time.


1. Embraceable You (Billie Holiday) - What a great voice this woman has!

2. Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain (The Cascades) - This must be something of a "one hit wonder" since I don't know of anything else they did.

3. Bushwick Blues (Delta Spirit) - A freebie from Starbucks.

4. Sweet Little Sixteen (Chuck Berry) - This makes me think of that scene from Back to the Future when Berry's "cousin" calls him after hearing Marty McFly play Johnny B. Goode

5. Shoo-Shoo Baby (John Kirby) - Big Band music.

6. Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac) - I always think of Marion when I hear Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Nicks!

7. Lilac Wine (Jeff Beck) - This song featuring Imelda May is on the album I wrote about here.

8. Best of My Love (The Emotions) - This is on the soundtrack for the movie Boogie Nights. It's a great soundtrack!!

9. No More Lonely Nights (Paul McCartney) - Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that includes Sir Paul. However, I wish people wouldn't quote "facts" when, in fact, their facts aren't factual! Especially when they're celebrities (which for some unknown reason seems to make their opinions count for more in some people's eyes). I'll just leave it at that for now.

10. Veni Sancte Spiritus (Colin Towns) - Colin Towns did the score for the PBS Cadfael series.

11. The Wondrous Word (The Melody Boys Quartet) - Southern Gospel music.

12. The Girl is Mine (Michael Jackson) - This song features Paul McCartney. Michael Jackson might have been very weird, but he was a great musician and dancer.

13. Duke's End (Genesis) - Another track from their Duke album (which seems to pop up a lot in my roulette).

14. Head Over Heels (Tears for Fears) - Love this group and this song!

15. Fortunate Son (Credence Clearwater Revival) - My brother is probably looking at this wondering why I have any CCR in my iTunes since he knows I don't much care for them (especially Proud Mary). This just happens to be on the Forrest Gump soundtrack and I uploaded the entire thing.

iPod Roulette - September 2010

Here's what came up in the shuffle this month. Any of these bring back memories for you?


1. Newborn Friend (Seal) - His first two albums were my favorites, this one coming from the second.

2. You Send Me (Sam Cooke) - I don't think I ever knew the tragic circumstances of Sam Cooke's death until I read his Wiki-bio.

3. Time For Me To Fly (REO Speedwagon) - From 1978. I prefer their music from the early to mid 70s.

4. MMM MMM MMMM (Crash Test Dummies) - My kids and I loved this song when it was popular.

5. Amazing Journey/Sparks (The Who) - A track from the rock opera Tommy.

6. Saxuality (Candy Dulfer) - Amazing the things I learn by doing these posts! I didn't realize Candy Dulfer was Dutch.

7. If I Can't Have You (Bee Gees) - This was the "Count Da Money Remix" version.

8. China Grove (Doobie Brothers) - The Doobies have a new album out and a single from it is available for free on iTunes this week. They still sound good!

9. Janie's Got a Gun (Aerosmith) - Great Classic Rock.

10. Seven Whole Days (Toni Braxton) - Evidently she is also known for being on Dancing With The Stars.

11. I Wanna Learn a Love Song (Harry Chapin) - Mention Harry Chapin and most folks automatically think of Cat's in the Cradle. That song might have gotten the most airplay, but he was a great storyteller and put out many other wonderful songs including this one. Another tragic death.

12. Dolphin Dreams (Lee Ritenour) - I love it when a song comes up in the rotation that I haven't heard in ages! Did you know that Ritenour appeared in one of the songs on Pink Floyd's The Wall album?

13. Lonesome Loser (Little River Band) - I like this one, but nothing beats Reminiscing.

14. Ballad of Big (Genesis) - This is from their album And Then There Were Three, which was released after the departure of Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. Not the progressive alt/rock of their early days, but before they descended into pop.

15. Ghetto Child (The Spinners) - It horrifies my daughter when I say this, but I like The Spinners better than The Temptations or The Four Tops.

iPod Roulette for August

This month's iPod Roulette was especially fun using my new Bose docking station. It really does enhance the listening experience!

Given there are more than 3500 songs on my iPod, I don't know why I think I'm going to get a true sampling in just 15 picks. For what it's worth, here's what I came up with this month. Do any of these appeal to you?


1. Stoned Love (The Supremes) - My husband loves Motown, especially groups like this one.

2. Angelsea (Cat Stevens) - From my favorite Cat Stevens album, Catch Bull at Four.

3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears) - Another great album, Songs from the Big Chair.

4. My Burdens Have Rolled Away (Melody Boys Quartet) - This group was a lot of fun to see in person. Good old "Southern Gospel".

5. Bach: French Suite #4 in E Flat, BWV 815 1. Allemande (Glenn Gould) - Piano at its best.

6. Here I Am to Worship (Michael W. Smith) - I love his "praise & worship" music, especially this song.

7. Eyesight to the Blind (The Who) - From the rock opera, Tommy.

8. Nature Boy (George Benson) - Finally some jazz!

9. Duchess (Genesis) - This album (Duke) is best listened to from start to finish.

10. Ain't No Sunshine (Kris Allen) - Season 8 American Idol winner.

11. In the Still of the Night (The Five Satins) - I would have sworn this was by someone else! Perhaps this is the cover?

12. Not Meant to Be (Theory of a Deadman) - My younger daughter introduced me to this song.

13. Sweet Sixteen (B.B. King) - King of the blues.

14. Jackie Blue (Ozark Mountain Daredevils) - Was this a one-hit-wonder? Offhand I can't think of anything else they did.

15. We Bow in its Aura (Veil of Maya) - Death Metal. It's what my son listens to these days.

July iPod Roulette

If iPod Roulette is new to any of my readers, you can click on this entry at Hal's to see what it's all about. My good intentions of playing monthly have obviously fallen short. I came up with a fairly diverse group of songs this time, but it still leaves out several genres.

So tell me.... would any of these show up on your playlist?

1. Sing, Sing, Sing (Benny Goodman) - my parents loved swing music and I listened to enough of it as a child to develop somewhat of an affection for it myself.

2. Fugue (Pachelbel) - From "Canon & Suites for Strings" performed by the Paillard Chamber Orchestra.

3. Hacia Belen (The Priests) - More classical music, but with vocals this time.

4. Stompin' at the Savoy (Harry Connick, Jr.) - From the soundtrack to "When Harry Met Sally"

5. Jaws (David Sanborn) - No, not the great white shark. Think jazz.

6, Catherine Howard (Rick Wakeman) - This is possibly my favorite selection from the "Six Wives of Henry VIII" album.

7. Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On (Neal McCoy) - I don't claim this one. It was downloaded at someone else's request. The sad thing is that I can sing along with it.

8. Lies (Glen Hansard) - Another soundtrack....this one from the movie "Once". Better known might be the song "Falling Slowly".

9. Let it Be (Beatles) - Does this one really need any explanation?

10. Paradise (Out of Eden) - Kind of a cross between Contemporary Christian and R&B.

11. Psalm 121 (Susan Ashton) - Praise & Worship, as you might gather from the title.

12. There'll Be Sad Songs (Billy Ocean) - I had forgotten that his "Caribbean Queen" wasn't a one-hit wonder.

13. French Suite #1 in D Minor, BWV 812-5. Menuet 2 (Glenn Gould) - I first became aware of Glenn Gould when I was a teenager studying piano.

14. Home is Not a House (Candy Dulfer) - Jazz saxophone. I really like her version of "Lily Was Here".

15. Wrapped Around Your Finger (The Police) - From their last album "Synchronicity". My favorite album was "Zenyatta Mondatta".

iPod Roulette ~ May 2010

I decided I would finish off the month with a round of iPod Roulette.

1. In the Flesh? (Pink Floyd) - From Disc 1 of The Wall.

2. Car Wash (Rose Royce) - What's the deal?? This one came up last time I posted an iPod Roulette! What are the chances out of more than 3400 songs!?

3. Whispers in the Dark (Skillet) - I might have liked Christian music as a teenager if there had been more of this around back then.

4. I Wish it Would Rain (Nanci Griffith) - I listened to this artist some early in her career, but not much in recent years.

5. The Cinema Show (Genesis) - From Selling England by the Pound which is my favorite of their albums.

6. Back in the USSR (Beatles) - From The White Album. Not one of my favorite albums of theirs or favorite songs.

7. Wild Mountain Honey (Steve Miller Band) - From the Fly Like an Eagle album.

8. Bye Bye Love (The Everly Brothers) - I have older siblings so there are lots of songs from the 50s and 60s I enjoy.

9. God of Wonders (Mac Powell) - This is the version from the original City on a Hill album. One of the co-writers of this song is the son of a good friend of mine.

10. The Great Eatlon (James Newton Howard) - From the soundtrack of Lady in the Water.

11. Tears in Heaven (Eric Clapton) - The events that prompted this song broke my heart.

12. Tom Sawyer (Rush) - A band I didn't really take an interest in until their "progressive rock" stage.

13. Milky White Way (The Melody Boys Quartet) - This group performed at my church a couple of years ago and put on quite a good show. Not my usual type of music, but I still enjoyed it.

14. Little Light of Love (R.X.R.A.) - From the soundtrack to The Fifth Element. Great soundtrack and great movie!!

15. Land of 1000 Dances (Wilson Pickett) - From the Forrest Gump soundtrack. Another wonderful soundtrack! Hmmm...soundtracks. That could be a good "Favorite Five" topic. I'll have to think on it.

iPod Roulette ~ April 2010

Let's play iPod Roulette! (Remember that fun game I discovered in this entry at Hal's?) Here are the rules: using the "shuffle" feature on your iPod, make note of the first 15 songs that come up and share them in a blog entry. No skipping songs that you might be embarrassed for others to know you have in your music library! The only time I hit skip is if it's another song by an artist/group I've already listed. I've often questioned just how "random" the shuffle feature really is. Despite many jazz selections in my iTunes, not a single one came up this time.

1. Car Wash (Rose Royce) - I have no explanation for this.

2. After the Love Has Gone (Earth, Wind and Fire) - I graduated from High School in 1976. This was pretty staple listening for that era.

3. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20-5. La Czardas (Zubin Mehta) - I took piano lessons as a child which helped to foster my love of classical music.

4. Bali Ha'i (Loretta Ables Sayre) - This is my favorite song from the musical South Pacific. Our community theater put on this production two summers ago and did a great job with it.

5. Misery Business (Paramore) - Paramore provided some of the music for the Twilight soundtrack, although not this particular song. I can thank my younger daughter for this one.

6. Yesterday Once More (The Carpenters) - I can't listen to The Carpenters without thinking of Bob. I love Karen Carpenter's voice!

7. Waterfront (Simple Minds) - I am not a fan of Greenpeace, but evidently liked enough of the music on a CD they sponsored to purchase it. Obviously before I had access to iTunes.

8. The Battle/The Forest (Rick Wakeman) - This is side two of his Journey to the Centre of the Earth album. One of my favorites!

9. Lion (Rebecca St. James) - This is from an album of songs inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia featuring various Christian artists. Not to be confused with the soundtracks to the actual movies.

10. Mozart: Piano Sonata #15 in C, KV 545-2. Andante (Mitsuko Uchida) - I could actually play this on the piano at one point in my life. Amazing.

11. Hold On (Wilson Phillips) - A great song to harmonize with! Carnie Wilson used it in commercials promoting her recent reality show on GSN.

12. L-O-V-E (Natalie Cole) - She has a beautifully smooth voice, but nothing to compared to her father's.

13. I Can't Stand the Rain (Tina Turner) - I use to think it was funny that a preacher at my church some years ago loved Tina Turner. He just didn't look the type. I also remember his very first sermon included many references to The Eagles.

14. Falling Slowly (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova) - This beautiful song is from the movie Once. Again, I can thank my younger daughter for introducing me to the movie and its wonderful soundtrack.

15. Fur Elise (Murray Perahia) - Taken from the soundtrack of Immortal Beloved. Played by many piano students, it's one I never learned.

July iPod Roulette

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted an iPod Roulette entry. Here’s what came up in the shuffle this morning. Rather than try to explain away any of it, I’ll just leave the comments to you.

1. Let Your Love Flow (Bellamy Brothers)
2. Anybody Seen My Baby? (Rolling Stones)
3. Come and Get Your Love (Redbone)
4. Smooth Criminal (Alien Ant Farm)
5. Selah (P.O.D.)
6. Your Man (Josh Turner)
7. Paradise (Out of Eden)
8. Oh Happy Day (Bernard Harris)
9. Three Times A Lady (Commodores)
10. We Are the Champions (Queen)
11. 9 Crimes (Damien Rice)
12. I Wanna Take You Higher (Duran Duran)
13. Who’s That Girl? (Eurythmics)
14. True (Spandau Ballet)
15. Nobody Else in the World But You (Don Henley)

2008 Holiday Edition of iPod Roulette

1. The Bells of Dublin/Christmas Eve (The Chieftains) – “Bells of Dublin”
2. Christmas Song (Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds) – “A Very Special Christmas 3”
3. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (various artists) – “Peaceful Christmas” This album is all instrumental featuring harp, flute, English horn, cello and guitar.
4. I Saw Three Ships (Bronn Journey) – “Christmas Rose”
5. Greensleeves (Vince Guaraldi Trio) – “A Very Special Charlie Brown Holiday Collection”
6. O Holy Night (Aaron Neville) – “Aaron Neville’s Soulful Christmas”
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (David Benoit Trio) – Another selection (but different artist) from “A Very Special Charlie Brown Holiday Collection”
8. Good Christian Men Rejoice (Phil Keaggy) – “Majesty & Wonder: An Instrumental Christmas” This has always been one of my favorite Christmas albums. .
9. We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Pete Jacobs Orchestra) – “Big Band Christmas”
10. Tonet, Ihr Pauken Erschallet, Trompeten (Leipzig University Chorus) – “Classical Christmas”
11. O Come All Ye Faithful (Nat King Cole) – “Now That’s What I Call Christmas! 3” He has one of the smoothest voices ever!
12. I Believe in You (Sinead O’Connor) – “A Very Special Christmas 2”
13. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Johnny Mathis) – “Now That’s What I Call Christmas! 3”
14. O Holy Night (Faith Hill) – A recent “Single of the Week” on iTunes.
15. Just Like Me (Vanessa Williams) – Yet another from “A Very Special Charlie Brown Holiday Collection”.

For my special “holiday edition” of iPod Roulette, I decided to bend the rules just a bit. It amazed me that with 275 songs to choose from it “randomly” selected four from the same album (The Chieftains). So…. unless the song was by a different artist, I skipped to the next song when there was a repeat. There were so many good artists that didn’t get played in this round, but hey… there’s still plenty of time for holiday music!

October iPod Roulette

It’s been awhile since I popped in the ear buds and escaped from the world through music. Rather than picking and choosing, I opted for a round of iPod Roulette. My only disappointment was not having any jazz come up. Overall, a pretty good session! Of course the YouTube clips are not necessarily the versions I listened to.

1. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan) – I think Dylan is a great songwriter, but don’t always like listening to him sing. This is one of his better vocal performances, in my opinion.
2. One of These Nights (Eagles) – Okay… so I can’t hear the Eagles anymore without thinking of Quid! This is from their early stuff, which I prefer.
3. Can’t Get Enough (Bad Company) – One of those groups I rarely think about, but do enjoy a few of their songs.
4. My Sweet Lord (George Harrison) – I’ll be honest here. George was always my least favorite Beatle. This IS one of his better songs, though.
5. Bring the Rain (Mercy Me) – This group has some of best Contemporary Christian Music out there and this song never fails to lift me up.
6. Crazy [D-Influence Mix] (Mark Morrison) – I’ll never forget the first time I heard this. I’d bought the CD (back before I had iTunes and could get singles) for another song (Return of the Mack). The whole family was in the car when I popped it in the CD player the first time and the look on my husband’s face was priceless! NOT his kind of music!!
7. Love Bites (Def Leppard) – Decent classic rock.
8. Misunderstanding (Genesis) – This song is from the Duke album. I love the whole album, which tells a story when played in its entirety, but it’s apparent that their sound was starting to go “pop” at this point. My favorite Genesis is from the early 70s (Selling England by the Pound).
9. A Medley: For Sentimental Reasons, Tenderly, Autumn Leaves (Natalie Cole) – Her voice is almost as smooth as her father’s.
10. Respect (Aretha Franklin) – My version is from the Blues Brothers 2000 movie. It’s a little different from the original, but still classic Aretha!
11. Mainstreet (Bob Seger) – One of those songs I can’t help but sing along to.
12. Misty (Johnny Mathis) – From the movie Play Misty for Me (or did the song come out before the movie? I have a couple of versions on my iPod including an instrumental.
13. Dude [Looks Like a Lady] (Aerosmith) – Other than their song Dream On from when I was a teenager, I didn’t appreciate this band until I was in my 30s, I like lots of their stuff now.
14. Sweet Love (The Commodores) – One of those guilty pleasures. I love their smooth voices!
15. Symphony No. 40 in G minor K. 550 II: Andante Con Moto (Mozart) – A pleasant way to end my iPod Roulette session.

iPod Roulette for August

It's been over a month, so I thought I'd post another round of iPod Roulette. I've been feeling rather mellow today and many of the songs that came up suited my mood.

1. Amandla (Miles Davis) - One of the big names in jazz. This is from the album by the same name.


2. She Drives Me Wild (Michael Jackson) - I don't mind admitting it. I've always been an MJ fan. Too bad he turned out to be so weird!! This one's from his "Dangerous" album.


3. The Rose (Bette Midler) - The Divine Miss M.


4. Brahms: Violin Sonata #3 in D minor (Itzhak Perlman) - Op. 108-2. Adagio.


5. Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield) - This was the opening theme from the movie The Exorcist which, believe it or not, I've never seen.


6. Saturday in the Park (Chicago) - One of the first groups whose music I owned a "boxed set" of: At Carnegie Hall, Vols. I - IV.


7. Captured (Ephraim Lewis) - See my entry on Ephraim Lewis from June.


8. Take it Back (Pink Floyd) - One of my favorite groups, this is from the 1994 album, The Division Bell.


9. Superstar (Carpenters) - Some of my friends would make fun of me for liking The Carpenters, but I always loved Karen's voice. It was the perfect range for me to sing along. I have a CD boxed set of their hits from 1965-1982.


10. Release Me (Hugo Montenegro & his orchestra) - Well.... what can I say? He's better known for stuff like "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly" which I also have on my iPod.


11. Promenade (Peter White) - More smooth jazz.


12. Jumpin' Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones) - I've never been a big Stones fan, but this is one I like.


13. Closed Door Jam (Lee Ritenour & Larry Carlton) - Lee Ritenour is one of my favorite jazz artists, especially when he teams up with Larry Carlton.


14. Cool Change (Little River Band) - I prefer "Reminiscing", but this isn't a bad song.


15. Sloop John B (The Beach Boys) - I must have really liked The Beach Boys at some point in my life because I sure have a lot of their music. Not my favorite anymore.

June iPod Roulette

Back in March, Hal had an entry on his blog for a game called iPod Roulette. I loved the concept and posted my own entries at 360 in March and May. With more than 2300 songs on my iPod (most of those are imported, not purchased!), I can always count on hearing a wide variety of music! Here's what came up yesterday:

1. All Out of the World (Colin Towns) - This is from the soundtrack to the PBS series, Cadfael. Thirteen of the twenty books by Ellis Peters were made into episodes starring Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael, a 12th century monk/detective. Wonderful books!!


2. The Mind of Love (k.d. lang) - I haven't listened to much of her work in recent years, but loved her first couple of albums.


3. I'll Love You Anyway (Aaron Neville) - I've always liked his distinctive voice.


4. Aqualung (Jethro Tull) - This and Bungle in the Jungle were my favorites.


5. Day After Day (Badfinger) - I downloaded this from iTunes. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that as a "re-recorded" version that it would sound so different from the original. Not as good.


6. Holy is the Lord (Chris Tomlin) - A popular song from a popular Contemporary Christian artist.


7. Blue Bayou (Linda Ronstadt) - For some reason I'm a little embarrassed about this one (and you're probably thinking..."and you're not embarrassed about some of those others???"). It's one of the few Linda Ronstadt songs I like.


8. You Are My King (Newsboys) - Also known as Amazing Love, this is one of my all-time favorite "Praise & Worship" songs! Love to sing along with it!


9. Thistledown (Bill Bruford) - Bruford is probably best known as one of two drummers for the progressive rock group YES. This is from a solo album in which he branched out into jazz.


10. Shining Star (Earth, Wind & Fire) - Hey, I was a teenager in the 70s! I love EW&F!


11. Come and Get Your Love (Redbone) - I have no good explanation for this.


12. Nadia's Theme (Ted Brabham) - The theme from "The Young and the Restless". Even if you never watched the soap (which I didn't), the themesong was familiar. (is that show still on?)


13. Walk Like an Egyptian (Bangles) - Okay....the 80s did offer a few fun songs!


14. Everyday People (Nicole C. Mullen) - I don't always like covers, especially when the song wasn't that good to start with.... but this is nice.


15. Make it Right (Lisa Stansfield) - This is one of my favorite songs.... one (of very few) that gets a 5-star rating in my iTunes library.