Usually, my playlists are very carefully planned, and aside from a few organized by genre, are based on emotion and experience. However, there was there was one morning when I got up, and found myself outside on a chilly fall day, with everything was covered in an early winter frost. Past the buildings and the trees, a wall of cloud hung over the river, fazing stark whites through pale reds, coloured by the early sun.

This playlist was inspired by that single morning. The music is a mix of two moods; the first is a relaxed and beat-oriented, while the other is more dreamy and floaty. I recommend it for long trips by bus during the fall-winter transition. The bus really is the best way to pay attention to the landscape and the changing sky.

Portishead — Glory Box
Portishead — It’s A Fire
Portishead — Mysterons
Portishead — Roads
DJ Clue — Exclusive New Shit (feat. Nature)
Nas — Gotta Love It
Dido — Aria
Pinback — Loro
The Fugees — Ready Or Not
Xzibit — Carry The Weight
DNTEL — Why I’m So Unhappy
Cardigans — Explode
Band Of Bees — Punchbag
Modest Mouse — The World At Large
Bel Canto — Capio
Radiohead — Everything In Its Right Place
Radiohead — Motion Picture Soundtrack
Radiohead — No Surprizes
Sigur Rós — Ágætis Byrjun
Omni Trio — Higher Ground
Sylver — In Your Eyes
Dune — Winter Kills

I always wonder if it’s true for me.

I got my iPod right when the second generation just came out, more than two years ago, and only a few days after the start of this blog. Luckily, I had a firewire port on my Soundblaster! Audigy, and could use it without purchasing any extra parts. It was almost as if it was meant to be; I mean, who actually had firewire ports in their systems back then?

Unfortunately, the battery is going on my iPod. It takes forever to fully charge now, and doesn’t take long to discharge. Aside from that and a scrolling glitch that happens quite often, I can’t complain. Instead of spending $100 on a new battery, taking my iPod apart and risking damage or scratches, I’ve decided to spend close to $400 on a 20 GB fourth gen (The 20 GB price reduction comes from a lack of docking cradle, which is something I don’t need anyway, although it may be nice to have in the future). I really had no reason to buy a third gen, because mine was working fine until last month. Actually, I didn’t want to buy a third gen because of the fact that I hit the buttons and use the scroll wheel of my current iPod through the pocket of my pants, and the third gen has touch sensitive buttons that I would inadvertently press while finding the right one. I also don’t have enough music to fill a 10 GB (although I’m getting close to capacity at 8 gigs), even though I’m always adding new songs to my collection, let alone the 15 GB, which was the lowest end of the third gen models. I’ll keep my current one as a backup, or as something I can use when snowboarding, or during other potentially damaging activities.

The fourth gen is perfect though. It has the slimmed-down look that I missed with the second gen, and it has a click wheel that I can use without pressing anything by mistake. It also has multiple on-the-go playlists (which would come in handy in the car with John or anyone else whose musical tastes don’t match my playlists), a shuffle feature from the root menu, and an extended battery life (from eight to twelve hours). There are also other little bonus features like solitare (the breakout game sucked on the first and second generations), a pausing feature when the earphones become unplugged, a note reader which is perfect for bus schedules, and even an automatic turn-on feature when the hold button gets switched off. Now it’s all a matter of time, and I hope the one I ordered with Aaron arrives before my battery dies and I’m left without music on the bus.

(Authentic) Chinese take-out, Candellas, weed, movie, girlfriend.

It was almost ten minutes into Godspeed, You Black Emperor! — Hungover As The Queen In Maida Vale when I stepped off the bus onto the damp ground. It was barely light out, and I carefully made my way between deep and distinctly brown puddles caused by car tires on a softened gravel lot. The sirens in my ears rang over and over, and it felt like the bombs had all been dropped, a post-apocalyptic aftermath on a barren, nameless day. I was among the last of the living dead making his way to work.

I’m going to make it through this day without coffee. I’m going to make it through this day without coffee. I’m going to make it through this day without coffee.

Honestly.