posted by Tom Lane at 8:58 AM
Greatest Halloween Songs (2021 Edition)
posted by Tom Lane at 2:19 PM
Recorded in 1967, but not released as a single until October 1968, "Both Sides Now" was not only Judy Collins' biggest hit (#8), but the song that introduced its writer, Joni Mitchell, to a larger audience. Mitchell was indifferent to Collins' version, once calling it decades ago as "pretty lightweight". But Collins's recording is better than both of Mitchell's versions. Mitchell did an acoustic take in 1969 and a better orchestral one in 2003. But Collins' is made for the Pop charts. And the song is better for it.
I was all of 4 when Collins' version came out, but I remember it today as being one of the first songs I've ever heard. Of course I had no idea what it was about at that age, but it was the music that caught my young ears. Hearing it again I'm taking back to the late 60's, and an innocent age for me but not for the U.S. Joni Mitchell was in her early 20's when she wrote "Both Sides Now". And the maturity in the her lyrics would be a hallmark that she would only sharpen. It would be a long time before those words got through to me as I got older.
posted by Tom Lane at 2:22 AM
I wrote the below post in September 2014, when Apple announced it was discontinuing the Ipod Classic. On October 23, 2001, the first Ipod was released. Twenty years later I still have mine and it works like brand new. I also have 2 other Ipod models that were released later. I was wrong about one thing in my original post, Apple is still making the Ipod Touch. And you can find all kinds of past models online. But nothing beats the thrill of loading up that original Ipod, hitting shuffle (which was the #1 draw for me and others), making playlists, hitting the play button and getting hours of my favorite songs commercial free.
Apple announced 2 weeks ago it was discontinuing the Ipod Classic. I still have mine. A 20GB one that holds just under 4000 songs. What I have on it are the cream of my music collection. In other words, the best Elvis Presley songs, not all Elvis Presley songs.
But while I still played the Ipod, I didn't use it as often. In fact, I rarely took any songs off it. The last time I made a major change on it was 3 years ago. So, I'll probably have to get a Nano or Touch to add all the good songs that I've missed in the last 3 years.
The Ipod came out in October 2001, and I think I bought mine for Christmas. Remember the Ipod Mini? Yeah, I had one of those as well, but sold it years ago. With Iphones able to do what the Ipod could do, Apple didn't see a need to keep it around.
Eventually, they'll close down all things Ipod. But I'll never get rid of mine. It's still a thrill to hit the old Shuffle Songs option and be amazed at what's going to come up. That's what made the Ipod the legend it was. Some people made Playlists, but I never did. It was all about the Shuffle.
There were some sad posts about the death of the IClassic. But mine is still alive. Still handy whenever I need a fix. 4000 songs strong. Just waitin' to be shuffled.
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