Today's Shuffle: And lessons of the day on a blackboard night

Two-Day Shuffleganza! It took me two weeks to get back in the groove.

Oh, last week, I had such a beautiful list going, ready to transcribe--and then I clicked one too many clicks on the 'pod, and it vanished.

That was the start, I think, of getting in my way here and there over the last week. Wires crossed, assumptions made, poor transit decisions, words best left unspoken, fears cresting, so on.

I've had enough of that. Thus I post my list, because done is good enough, as my wise friend Robin looked into my eyes and told me when I spilled that I had a whole thesis ahead of me to write, and remember these words by the brilliant and who-gives-a fuck Bill Murray:

"Living life, the game of life, you can make it a lot more interesting if you make it a game for yourself. It's not a rehearsal. It's not practice. It's real. This life is real. This is the real thing, and if you can stay light and stay loose and stay relaxed, then you can play at the very highest level, in baseball or as a human being. …"

And that, friends, makes Shuffle what it is: the algorithm-powered ability to read into what you are hearing.

No--not read into. To believe.

Because, some days, when the train gets stuck in the tunnel and you're mired in the past-drenched much of your conditioned responses, you need some faith in a bigger thing--from a little, handheld thing.



The Police, Voices Inside My Head Zenyatta Mondatta
Beck, High Five (Rock The Catskills) Odelay
Rufus Wainwright, Rebel Prince Poses
Paul Westerberg, These Are The Days Eventually
Beastie Boys, Triple Trouble To The 5 Boroughs
Steely Dan, Your Gold Teeth II Katy Lied
The Smiths, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out The Queen Is Dead
The Rolling Stones, Can't You Hear Me Knocking Sticky Fingers
Beck, Lost Cause Sea Change
Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Big Boys Armed Forces
David Bowie, All the Madmen The Man Who Sold The World
Pixies, La La Love You Doolittle
Beck, New Round The Information
Seal, Dreaming In Metaphor Seal
Jamiroquai, Journey To Arnahemland The Return Of The Space Cowboy
Crowded House, Dr. Livingstone Afterglow
AC/DC, Hells Bells Back In Black
Chicane, Already There Far From The Maddening Crowd
Public Enemy, Welcome To The Terrordome Fear Of A Black Planet
Jamiroquai, Didgital Vibrations Traveling Without Moving
Beastie Boys, Bodhisattva Vow Ill Communication
Electric Light Orchestra, Wild West Hero All Over The World
Kaskade, All You Love Mysterious
Gary Numan, Random Demo Outtake The Pleasure Principle
Billy Joel, All You Wanna Do Is Dance Turnstiles
LCD Soundsystem, Tribulations LCD Soundsystem
Andre 3000, Hey Ya! The Love Below
Finn Brothers, Part of Me, Part of You Everyone Is Here
Public Enemy, Power To The People  Fear Of A Black Planet
The Kinks, Animal Farm The Village Green Preservation Society
Trip Shakespeare, Bachelorette Lulu
Joan As Police Woman, Human Condition The Deep Field
Crowded House, Fame Is Woodface
Madonna, Sorry Confessions On A Dancefloor