by Brad Hassebrock

Created on: January 18, 2009

Shuffled Musings (a man, his dog and his ipod)

Whenever I take our dog out for a walk, I always take my ipod with me, cos it gets to be a pretty boring routine otherwise. Without having music to listen to, there's not really much to do except yell at Spanky when he tries to eat a half-eaten burger that's been lying on the sidewalk for the week and a half and hope that no bystanders are watching me verbally abuse this poor animal.

There's something quite cathartic about listening to music while performing a mundane task like this. It's the same feeling one gets when wearing headphones while working out, and since I haven't stepped foot inside a gym in nearly five years, walking the dog is about as close as it gets to real exercise for me these days. There's very little thinking required here and not many distractions or at least the distractions are easier to ignore, so it feels like I'm getting the chance to actually listen to the music. It's no longer mere background noise, but rather becomes something I can focus on; more so since this ipod replaced the old Sony mp3 player that I had previously. Maybe it's just me falling under the charms of possessing a hip, new toy, but the sound quality on this thing is amazing. I m noticing things about songs that I hadn't quite noticed before maybe a beat, a rhythm, or background instrument that I hadn't picked up on previous listens. Every song feels fresh and new to me, no matter how many times I've listened to it before.

Listening to music in what seems like a whole new light often brings up a whole host of thoughts, memories, emotions and observations. Each song I listen to seems to have its own distinct musing some funny, some serious, some strange and some are just downright stupid.

Anyway, the following is a list of the songs that I listened to this morning and the thoughts that accompanied those songs.

1. Tell Me Something Good Rufus

Why is Chaka Khan not more popular than she is? For my money, she's the coolest chick on the planet.

For those of you who don't know, Chaka Khan, was the singer for the funk band Rufus, who racked up several hits in the 70's. She had a pretty decent solo career going for her in the mid 80's, as highlighted by her monster hit I Feel for You.' She then sort of disappeared. Her recent highlights include failing to save Homer Simpson from drowning after he drove his car over the pier and winning two Grammy awards 2008.

2. What's Your Problem' The Zutons

I should like The Zutons more than I do.

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