iShuffle Conspiracy

Think your iPod is completely neutral in its 'Shuffle' mode? Think again.

I've always felt that my iPod has favourite songs. Somehow, every time I listened to my (4000+) songs on shuffle mode, Prince's "Little Red Corvette" was among the first ten tracks to be played. Now the New York Times has confirmed my dark suspicion - my iPod likes some songs more than others (although Apple continues to deny it).

Here's the article that reveals the scary truth, and more: You will learn to hate the songs your iPod loves (because they keep coming up!). Read this:

Dan Cedarholm, a Web designer in Salem, Mass., insists that his iPod has a predilection for the indie punk band Fugazi. Even though he only has two of the band's albums stored on his "vintage" 5-gigabyte device, the band seems to dominate his iPod to a degree wildly disproportionate to the amount of space it occupies on his player's memory, he said.

"It is truly bizarre," said Mr. Cedarholm, who no longer likes Fugazi. "Before, it was this hidden gem, and when I heard them I would be like, 'Oh yeah. Fugazi. Cool.' "

Now he hits the Fast Forward button.

Mr. Cedarholm has contemplated removing all Fugazi songs from his iPod, but he said he fears that "the baton will get passed" to some other band, like his beloved Pixies, "and God help me if I wind up hating them too."

You mean I'll end up hitting the 'next' button on "Little Red Corvette"?! God help me!

JJtags:

• ipod
• shuffle