The Black One

SG had stayed up late, standing in line to get the new iPod.  This was San Diego, May, 2003. 

I looked over his shoulder: "Is it some kind of PDA?" 

"No, it's for music," he said, without looking up, apparently mesmerized by the little screen. 

I shrugged.  I wasn't interested in the latest whizbang MP3 players.

Now I have two.

USA Today had a story yesterday headlined, "iPod America".  It's the usual stuff about the fervor of iPod devotees, with quotes about how it has "changed their lives."  I hate that kind of over-the-top enthusiasm.  This is why it pains me no end to acknowledge that it's true.

For years I'd kept a Discman that I took out with me when I went for my evening walks.  By the fall of '03 it needed replacing (that run in the pouring rain along the Chicago lakefront had been its undoing).  I mentioned to Lynn that she might want to get me a new one for my birthday.  She said, "Why don't you get an MP3 player?"  What a good idea, I thought.  I didn't imagine that I would use it any differently than I had the Discman.

It didn't take much research to see that the iPod was the only sensible choice (particularly in the fall of '03 -- the flood of competitors didn't come out until that Christmas), so in November, that's what she gave me.

Oh, hell.  It changed my life.

It didn't take me long to fill the thing up (it was 20GB -- but I have more than a thousand CDs).  Like most people, I was drawn to the shuffle feature.  I found the juxtaposition of a Dylan song against a Wagner aria against a Coltrane saxophone solo sharpened the way I listened to each cut, made me hear unexpected relationships among the different genres, made me hear new things in individual songs that I knew well.  Very quickly I was not only using it when I went out walking, but during my morning writing time I began to listen to the iPod rather than putting on CDs.  For Christmas, Lynn gave me the Altec-Lansing travel speakers -- finally, the solution to music on the road that I'd been seeking for years!  I bought a second dock and started listening while I was in my office. 

From the first, I was in awe of the design.  It is brilliantly seductive, astonishingly intuitive.  It deserves all those accolades.  The only thing I didn't like about it was the color choice -- from a design standpoint I could appreciate the decision to make them all white, and I even approved.  But it wasn't me.  When the minis came out, I was intrigued, but not tempted.  But then came the U2 Special Edition -- black with a red wheel.  That was the one I wanted.

But I couldn't justify it.  It was also a 20GB.  I'd filled up my own.  I needed a bigger capacity iPod (I thought), not a second one.   I wasn't sure how to manage two.  How would I split the music up?  I wasn't even sure you could have two iPods.  How would iTunes know what to do?  (Like most people, I didn't bother to go through the manuals to find the answers to these questions).  So every time I saw an ad for one, I'd wince with desire, but I was resigned to the fact that I'd never have one.  I'd wait another year or so, and then upgrade to the 40GB (or whatever was available then).

Then the Shuffle came out.  That tempted me.  I listen to my iPod every day, at least for a couple of hours, and while I often have it docked, the battery wear was becoming apparent.  It was cutting out on me even on relatively short airplane flights.  The Shuffle would take care of that.  The price was right.  I did a bit more reading on the iPod website about the Shuffle and how to manage it -- I came across the section in the manual about managing multiple iPods -- "Oh, I get it now!"

So in Atlanta last Saturday, we made our way gingerly across the ice to the Lenox Square Mall, and found the Apple store among the few shops that were open.  There was a Special Edition in the window.  I felt that twinge of desire.  But I was past it; I'd made that decision.  I went in and asked if they had the Shuffle in stock -- backordered 500 units.  So that was that.  Lynn and I went to lunch.

And quite to my surprise, by halfway through lunch, I realized that if they had that black iPod in stock, I was going to buy one.  It wasn't a choice.  It wasn't a decision that I made.  It was an awareness that came over me, unbidden. 

"I think, when we're done with lunch," I said to Lynn abruptly, "I want to go back to the Apple store and see if they've got the U2 iPod in stock." 

Her eyes twinkled in the way that they do when I'm amusing her.  "You didn't ask?" 

"No, because I wasn't planning to get one.  But now I'm not sure..."

After we got home from Atlanta, I spent the next couple of nights figuring out smart playlists and thinking through what stuff I wanted on which iPod.  Of course, it's very easy to do.  And having two iPods feels like the most sensible thing in the world. 

I think it's changing my life.

Comments

[Tom Richardson]

The iPod is an addiction I yearn to enjoy. The tipping point for me was the last airplane trip to California, when I realized that I could have had 40 mb of songs to listen to, instead of the 4 CDs I brought to play on my Sony disc player.

Alas, I have a long standing addiction to modern plumbing. The bathroom remodeling, which has taken on a life of it's own (especially when the tile guy quit in the middle of the job) has a firm hold on my wallet. :(

[SG]

Few queueing experiences have enriched my life as 5.3.03 did (and not just because of the cool iPod release t-shirt I got free with my purchase).

I think the thing I appreciate most about our iPod right now is that it saves all of our On The Go playlists, which previous versions of iTunes didn't do. I can make on-the-fly, whimsical playlists, and I don't lose them.

Though our iPod is the smaller 10GB one, I like that we're inclined to change playlists out frequently. Cuts down on these musical ruts (read: deep grooves) in which I seem to end up. Elvis Costello's catalog one month, Barenaked Ladies' the next, Miles Davis' (with and without said Coltrane) dot-dot-dot.

Our iPod has even made me come to appreciate Chrysler's high-end product lines more than before. As if our Jeep Liberty Limited weren't cool enough, I don't need to install any fancy car iPod->stereo adapter like friends have done with other cars; the Limited came with a cassette deck. $15 invested, and we have soundtracks for long road trips.

I have two shuffles shipping on or before 2.25. One is for us (I'll put it through extensive paces and relinquish the 10GB to Julie--I tend to hog it too much) to bridge for a while until I break down and get a 40GB or whatever size comes next (that isn't a Photo--I'm not sold on that concept yet). The other is for a good friend of ours who recently did me a huge favor. He's a big music fan, and I when I installed iTunes for him on his new Dell, he mentioned something about eventually having an iPod.

As he's a considerably dear friend, I'm going to help him along.

[Bruce the Almighty]

I'm really impressed with the shuffle facility on my 40 gig iPod..since I read the blog earlier this week. I had talked to Scott about this when he was in London last year, before I got mine, and I thought that it was a nice gimmick but that I would probably listen to the same albums all the time - and that is what I have been doing up till yesterday.
So I tried it and it's fabulous! I thought it would throw up some dodgy tracks which I would have to fast forward but, amazingly, it has played great stuff all the time (is it psychic perhaps??)
You could argue that I only put great stuff on in the first place.. but I know I have tracks on albums which are a little dodgy to say the least!
This morning I was entertained by Outside Now from Frank Zappa followed by Nanci Griffith and then Jimi Hendrix!
And at this point I must say what a great guitarist the late Frank Zappa was - sitting on the bus listening to an incredibly brilliant solo from Outside Now (on Broadway the Hard Way - a great album) I am sure people must have thought I was mad trying not to gasp out loud at his playing!
iPod shuffle anyone??

[Mark Funk]

Why stop with the iPod for a life change? The next time you need a new laptop, you should seriously consider an Apple PowerBook. Immerse yourself in the smooth, friendly environs of OS X. Discover the incredible iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, and other digital lifestyle apps that Apple has perfected. Yes, you can buy Microsoft Office for Mac to keep compatability with your work documents.

You have only just begun to drink the Apple Kool-Aid. Come join us...

[Jerry Perry]

The most successful Christmas present I have given my partner of 11 years was a bright green mini. We are now both in the process of purchasing shuffles. G wears his mini on an armband, constantly, both at work and elsewhere. Maybe everywhere - I'm mostly in Denver and don't see! I want the shuffle so that I can be surprised constantly, since I have such weird, eclectic taste. Or so I like to think.

[SG]

The official SG iPod shuffle update: in a word, 'love'. In two, 'pure love'. Found my shuffle at home at lunch time, and wasted no time putting some songs on it and taking it back to work with me.

First, it was charged when I got it. I don't remember this being the case with our 10GB iPod. Second, I notice no discernable loss in sound quality going from the big iPod to the shuffle, e.g. via my desktop speakers. Third, I find a lack of display positively liberating--saves my obsessing over what song's coming next. Fourth, say what you want about the lanyard--I like it, though I haven't worn the shuffle that way while on a treadmill. Yet.

To repeat: love. Pure love.

[JJ Music]

I’m bought one unit last week and I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts and reviews of the latest iPod Shuffle. Not only it is super slim and lightweight, I actually admire it for the full functionality and easy to navigate options menu. Of course the best part is, the sound quality is superb.