For the past few weeks on Twitter, Dave and I have been relaying the results of shuffling our music collections on Friday. (I also did a little bit last Saturday when I was on a long drive, which was probably not safe, but it passed the time.) I’ve mentioned this before.
The point of the exercise – at least to me – is to be reminded of those songs that I love but have fallen by the wayside due to the constant rush of music I find myself under. My life is so inundated with music from every angle that it’s nice to escape the confines of my “Recently Added” playlist once per week.
In fact, I’ve been setting my collection to shuffle most of the time when I don’t have something to listen to. If you haven’t noticed, we’ve made a concerted effort to post twice per day here – and the afternoon post is quite often what has bubbled up in my brain as a result of the shuffling process.
This morning’s song is in that same boat. This was probably one of my top played songs of last year, but this year it’s down to a mere 5 plays for the entire year – once every two months or so. And frankly, it’s too good to be relegated to that.
Coldplay – Strawberry Swing (mp3) from Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Thanks to this blog, I am constantly surrounded by music of all kinds – good, bad, indifferent, instantly forgettable, unforgettable, etc. – and this project has been a nice escape from that constant crush of finding something good in the sea of what’s new. In spite the steady wrangling of what is good/bad, music is a very subjective mistress, and to actually have to think about what is personally defining and personally enjoyable – without feeling boxed in by any intangible restraints of “cool” – is liberating.
The 
I spent a fair amount of time today sorting through a pile of mail due to our mailbox lock being impenetrable the past two weeks. We have been unable to insert the key fully into the lock thereby making it impossible to unlock the box and retrieve the mail. In anger I’ve hit the box and shook it which in turn only strengthened the box’s resolve. I tried lubrication to ease the key in but was rebuked unceremoniously. Finally I asked for a woman’s assistance. The mail carrier opened the box for me and handed me our pile of mail. Success! Due to the lack of access there were several things to sort through, mostly large amounts of garbage I have no use for including the seventh phone book we’ve gotten since 2009 began.