It was recently announced that Apple has unveiled a new version of the iPod Touch, its first update in four years. The new version starts at $199 for a 32 GB capacity and $299 for one with a 128GB storage ability.
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| My 2012 iPod Touch, playing my current #1 song, Lil Peep's "I've Been Waiting" |
Upon hearing this news, the first thing that pops up in everyone's mind is.... Why is Apple updating a device that apparently is passé? After all, we now have the iPhone, which can do everything an iPod can do, and much more. In fact, the capacity of the new Touch model is roughly the same as the iPhone 7....a couple prior versions ago. And heck, digital downloads are things of the past, right? Streaming is the way to go, right?
Okay, if you are expecting me to trash the new iPod...or mp3 players in general, you've come to the wrong place. If you are a regular reader to Scenes 'n' Soundwaves, and after reading the blog, you scroll down to the SNS 100, a list of music that I am currently listening to, you'll see after the chart, in fine print. circle and triangle shaped symbols indicating songs that have at least 25 or 50 plays on my....iPod.
Yes, not only do I have an iPod Touch (it's the 2012 model), but I still listen to it extensively. If somehow, it became outdated several years ago is of no consequence to me. Hey, people are still listening to vinyl records, right? Here are the reasons why I still have an iPod and am proud to be an active user of one.
First of all, I don't own an iPhone. Never did, and most likely never will. I've been an Android person and currently have a Samsung Galaxy 7. Yes, it has music capacity too, but it's not the reason why I have a smartphone. I usually plug my iPod in the system of my car, as well as my Bose system. I can create playlists, in the order that I want, of virtually any song that is available on an mp3 or iTunes file. If Spotify or another streamer decides to pull an artist or song that perhaps is a source of controversy, well tough luck!
My smartphone has a lot of data loaded onto it, from various apps to thousands of pictures. Every couple of years, I trade in my old phone for a new one. It's long enough transferring or re-installing apps and photos, can you imagine what to do with 7700 songs? When my desktop computer got hacked last November, and had to buy a new one, the hardest part was trying to get all of those songs back there. Where did it come from? The iPod! The device is my portable record player, instant playlist, pretty much, as important a device to me as anything else. I can be using my phone for texting, making calls, getting on social media, taking pictures, while the music is continuously playing.
Of course, myself or the blog isn't the reason why Apple is keeping the iPod alive, despite only minor changes from the 2012 and 2015 Touch models. There are several reasons why they are keeping the iPod. While the iPhone (and smartphones in general) now can cost five hundred dollars or more to purchase, the $199 basic model is great for kids, who perhaps are too young to have an iPhone and just want to hear music, as well as play games and watch videos. Business owners can use them when they may need an iOS device to accept transactions from PayPal and the like. And although it can't make calls, it can do video chats via Facetime.
Of course there's a downside, basically that many of the features come from older models of other iOS devices. After all, we are the streaming generation now, who uses music from those sources on a smartphone.
So, the next question is, will I buy one? That answer is tied in to how much longer I will be blogging, at least talking about new music. My plan for the last few years was to end my coverage and charting of current music at the end of 2019, which is the end of the decade of the 2010's. Buying and downloading six or seven songs, on average, does add up, not only in cost, but also the capacity of my current iPod touch, which is 64GB. Out of the 7700 songs on it, about half of that are songs that I've downloaded in conjunction with my blog. As my SNS 100 is also a "Currents" playlist on my blog, a requirement for inclusion is that it has to be available as a download; there were a couple of great songs that I couldn't add because it wasn't available. If I do continue my coverage of new music in 2020 and beyond, I may consider a switch to streaming for that new music.
However, I am also in the process of adding music from CD's, vinyl albums and 45's, and cassettes to mp3, for inclusion on my iPod. I have been compiling my top 100's from various years. I currently have completed playlists from 1964 to 1976, 1980 thru 1982, and 1992 to 1996, to go along with the blog era of 2010 to the present. Those songs, will ultimately wind up on my iPod. The problem? With all the songs I have currently there, I only have 18% capacity left. I had been exploring the Apple website for current iPod models, which up until the new release, were virtually non-existent. Since the basic model only contains 32GB (my current one is 64GB), most likely I will purchase the 128GB which will double the storage of my current one.
Say what you will, but the iPod is not dead yet!!
TWO JAZZ/BLUES LEGENDS GONE: Two more musical legends have left us in recent weeks: Leon Redbone and Dr. John. While their musical style is similar, they came from different backgrounds.
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| Dr. John (top) and Leon Redbone, both noted for their jazzy, laid back styles, both passed last week. |
Born in Cyrus, he grew up in London and honed his skills in Toronto Canada in the late 1960's. But it was Bob Dylan who gave Redbone a bit of a break when he caught him live in 1972, and got some coverage in Rolling Stone magazine. He started recording and released his first album in 1975 and appeared on shows such as Saturday Night Live and Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. He often appeared in a retro-vaudeville style while performing. He survived a plane crash in 1979, and although he didn't have any chart "hits", he was a renowned performer. Several songs of his appeared in movies; you may recognize his voice in the holiday classic Elf, where he was the voice of Leon the Snowman, as well as singing the ubiquitous "Baby It's Cold Outside" with the film's star Zooey Deschanel. Leon passed on May 30 from complications associated with dementia..
While their styles are similar, Dr. John was born and raised in New Orleans, the capital of jazz. He was also adept at singing the blues and the boogie-woogie, and could rock out if he wanted to. Born Malcolm John Rebennack, he had some success as "Dr. John, the Night Tripper", and then simply as Dr. John. His cover of the classic "Iko Iko" was a mid-charter in 1972, and had a big hit with "Right Place, Wrong Time", which hit the top 10 in the summer of 1973. He died of a heart attack on June 6.
Both will be missed.
BRIEFLY: Lil Peep becomes the first posthumous performer to hit the top spot on the SNS 100, landing at the top this week with "I've Been Waiting". The artist, who died of a drug overdose last year, has merged may 21st century styles, and this song shows it very well. It features rapper IloveMakonnen and rockers Fall Out Boy. The song pushes the Black Keys back to #2 with "Lo/Hi", while Nick Waterhouse and Fitz & the Tantrums trade the 3 and 4 positions. While all four songs lost their bullets, all are still ahead of the rest of the pack. The biggest move is clearly "Sucker" by Jonas Brothers, moving from 20 to 8, an unlike song given my generate distaste for current pop music. Then again, I'm a substitute teacher at a high school and hear that song often. I just want to mention a correction form last week's blog about artists who have made my top 20 with two different bands. Along with Joe Jonas and Rebecca Coleman, I left out Dan Auerbach, who has made the upper echelon both with The Black Keys and The Arcs. Auerbach does them one better, however, as he has also made the top as a solo artist.
Finally, not one, but TWO songs by Beck enter the top 20: His current single, "Saw Lightning" grabs the Impact award at #16 from his new album, while "Super Cool", a song from The Lego Movie 2 featuring Robyn and The Lonely Island, inches up to the #20 spot. Beach Music band Too Much Sylvia also enters the top 20 with "Got the Rhythm".
DEBUTING: Leading the pack is a cool concoction by an artist known as Telekinesis. "Like Nothing" has a pretty catchy, hooky, good timey feel to it. I heard it as a friend's bonfire last week via an Internet Alternative radio station. A winner. Another cool new song and band, The Driver Era, is close behind with "Low", with seventies-style easy grooving over a 2010's beat. Lovelytheband's, "Maybe I'm Afraid", which peaked at #66 a few months ago, gets another change as I re-add the song, and a favorite, Of Monsters and Men are back with their first in awhile, "Alligator".
Local Natives come in with "When Am I Gonna Lose Ya"; they had a #34 peak in 2013 with "Heavy Feet". Matt Maeson enters with "Cringe". An interesting note is Ed Sheeran's new one, a duet with Justin Bieber, "I Don't Care". Sheeran, who had my #1 song of the year twice, and whose "Perfect" is still hanging around on my list, goes a more contemporary route; the track is from a new album with collaborations with other artists.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
June 2, 2019
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 2 |
NUMBER ONE:
(Single Only)
|
9 |
| 2 | 1 | The Black Keys - Lo/Hi | 10 |
| 3 | 4 | Nick Waterhouse - I Feel An Urge Coming On | 7 |
| 4 | 3 | Fitz and the Tantrums - 123456 | 8 |
| 5 | 5 | AJR - 100 Bad Days | 9 |
| 6 | 7 | Tame Impala - Patience | 6 |
| 7 | 6 | Slothrust - Rotten Pumpkin | 12 |
| 8 | 20 | Jonas Brothers - Sucker | 8 |
| 9 | 9 | Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - Shallow | 22 |
| 10 | 8 | Wild Belle - Mockingbird | 8 |
| 11 | 10 | Florence + The Machine - Moderation | 9 |
| 12 | 11 | The Kooks - Chicken Bone | 14 |
| 13 | 18 | Catfish and the Bottlemen - Longshot | 7 |
| 14 | 14 | Foster the People - Style | 8 |
| 15 | 15 | Tommy James - So Beautiful | 9 |
| 16 | 31 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK
Album: Hyperspace
|
4 |
| 17 | 12 | Dreamers - Die Happy | 10 |
| 18 | 24 | Too Much Sylvia - Got the Rhythm | 5 |
| 19 | 13 | The Struts f. Kesha - Body Talks | 10 |
| 20 | 21 | Beck f Robyn and The Lonely Island - Super Cool | 7 |
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Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more
plays on my iPod.
¨ Songs with 100 or more
plays on my iPod.
The “Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100” is a list
of current and recent song playlist which I am listening to.
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