Since I got the iPod and figured out synching and playlists, one of the things I wanted to do was to load up all the CDs that I seldom or never listened to, put it on shuffle, and see what I thought. I think one reason why some CDs go in the "play once and put aside" pile is that they're a little monotonous - not every artist has broad range, after all - so mixing things up ought to keep things fresh.

Anyway, I did this last week, and figured I'd write down the first ten songs that popped up for a blog post. I did that, but then got too busy to blog it. I finally had a little time for that, so here we go:

1. "Blackleg Miner" - Steeleye Span I can't remember where this CD came from. I've had it for awhile, but never listened to it. I won't make that mistake again - this is good stuff.

2. "Slow Dog" - Fastball Of all the CDs I ripped for this mix, the "Best of Fastball" is probably the one I'd listened to the most. I got it at a live acoustic performance at the Mucky Duck that I attended with Michael Croft a few years back. It had been a regular in my car CD player until it started skipping. I'm hoping that it was the physical medium that was damaged and not the data. So far, no problems.

3. Little Beggarman - Great Big Sea Another CD of uncertain origin that I should have listened to before now. See what a good idea this was?

4. "Rebel Song" - Crazy Ivan This is my cousin Steven Kuffner's band. He gave me the CD last year when he was in town for our uncle Ken's funeral. Not quite "alternative", whatever that means, perhaps "alternative-esque", but not bad.

5. "Chi Chilichi?" - The King's Singers If you're a fan of a cappella music, you must own a King's Singers CD. This is from their 20th anniversay CD, which I bought about 20 years ago.

6. "I'm Old Enough" - Lou Ann Barton Barton is an Austin blues diva with a great set of pipes. She's also an example of the monotony problem I mentioned before. Singers like her are much better live. The CD, for which this is the title track, loses some energy and feels a little sterile compared to a live show. It definitely gains something from being in a mix.

7. "Let's Pretend We're Married" - Royal Company Scam This is from a collection of Prince covers by Austin artists called "Do Me Baby!". I got it at an Asylum Street Spankers show a few years ago, as a couple of their members are represented on it. I played it once and put it aside because while there were some fun and enjoyable songs on there, there were also a few that were just not to my taste. This was one of those songs.

8. "Automatic Rainy Day" - The Go Gos From their modern CD "God Bless The Go Gos" that I got at a closeout sale a few years back and never played. It's not bad - not as good as their iconic 80s stuff, but that's a high bar to clear. I mean, it's the Go Gos. You know what you're getting, and they give it to you. Either that's good enough or it's not.

9. "This Colorful World" - Eliot Morris Every year our friend Priscilla makes a CD of her favorite songs for that year and gives them as Christmas presents. This was from her 2005 effort, which I think I played once before. She likes acoustic singer/songrwriter stuff - she has a massive thing for Ellis Paul - and this is in that vein. Pretty good, and as with Lou Ann Barton it benefits from being in a mix.

10. "Kodachrome" - The Tufts Beelzebubs This is Tiffany's CD, an all-male a cappella group from Tufts University, which I believe she got in college. As you may imagine, I like a cappella stuff, and these boys are good. Another excellent under-my-nose find.

All in all, a worthwhile exercise for me. I may do another list like this later if I think about it. Feel free to razz me for my lack of musical taste in the comments.