ode to an ipod

we've been throwing the word "shallow" around quite a bit lately, so i thought i would reveal my own shallowness in a way i have not yet:

as i have grown up i have come to realize more and more that i am a product of this consumer culture, and that part of that means i have learned a behaviour that involves the quest for ever more possessions. as i have matured in my faith, i have also come to a place where i want to be free from this 'stuff' addiction. BUT, having said that, i want to post today about my favorite material possession: my ipod.

last year for my 30th birthday some of the youth in my former youth group got together and organized a collection so that they could buy me a 30th birthday present. i had been talking for a long time about how i would love an ipod, but couldn't afford one. i never, EVER, thought that my youth group would buy me one. but buy me one they did. they surprised me with it, and it was an awesome surprise. it is a 30gig ipod, and it currently has 7662 songs on it.

i have used absolutely no space for movies or pictures, just songs. and i'm almost out of space. as many of you know, i absolutely love music, and one of my favorite things about the ipod is the shuffle function. i can shuffle between 7,600 songs! it is an incredible juxtaposition of genres and styles. here is an example of the most recent shuffle:

closer to fine - indigo girls
first kind sight - linford detweiler
come on! feel the illinoise! - sufjan stevens
marble arch - dave brubeck
that's all over -johnny cash
hungry heart - bruce springsteen
straw dog - something corporate
the troublemaker - willie nelson
picture - mutemath
you say - vertical horizon
cute without the e - taking back sunday
pot kettle black - wilco
parents just don't understand - dj jazzy jeff and the fresh prince
outlaw's honeymooon - steve earle and the del mccroury band
in the backseat - the arcade fire
we are the beggars at the foot of God's door - the normals
always - patsy cline
sleeping in - the postal service
here is our king - david crowder band
pink moon - nick drake

and that's just the first 20!

and so you see that i love my ipod. in honor of it, i have written an ode to it. enjoy.

thank you, o small sleek shuffler of songs,
for your constant companionship.
for the way your screen lights up so vividly,
for the way you contain all the songs of my past and my present.
for the way you rock it out.
for the way you put me to sleep.
for always repeating yourself when i want to hear a song again.
for the way you boom-ta-cat-boom-ta-boom-cat.
for the jazz and the hip hop and the classical and the indie and the hawaiian slack-key guitar.
for the occasional show tune (and for keeping it very occasional).
for fitting in my pocket.
for holding so much.
for reminding me that the songs will stay in my soul even if you end up somewhere else.

greg.