I remember the days of the walkman, with the constant rewinding and fast forwarding, the excruciating process of recording songs from radio stations and other tapes, the pain felt when the one tape that contained your favorite songs suddenly expired by mechanical error or mindless accident.
Thankfully, mp3 and mp4 encoding was created and now we can all enjoy practically every single song, film and tv show on a single, teeny tiny device.
Is IPod the best media player in the market? I think so. There are other media players out that do the job just as well, but the combination of clean design and storage capability make the IPod my player of choice, although thinking about the price makes my wallet weep.
You see, I just returned from a family trip from the coast. And there are always going to be reasons to argue about music played on the car stereo or who gets control of the tv. So I loaded my IPod with what I considered my essentials for this trip. And although I had to cope with the parents’ indignation regarding how portable media players isolate people from their group and how I needed to integrate more by not listening to my devil music and idiot box vomit, I can honestly say that without my IPod I just can’t function properly.
Because, can you imagine what it’s like to work in storage or some other isolated form of work, or going on a train or a long bus ride without some music?
Not to mention the fact that for many screenwriters, editors and artists, listening to music while working helps make the job less tiresome and more fun; and it helps with timing scenes and the very generally important and sometimes fleeting inspiration.
As for video, carrying your favorite films and tv shows with you is not only great source material to spark creativity, it is also excellent to combat chronic boredom.
My playlist for this particular trip was a concoction of the dark, the weird, and the very very silly.
The music playlist included the whole Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, Skunk Anansie, Skimo Joe, Sneaker Pimps, Gary Numan, INXS, Gomez, Monoral, Nine Inch Nails, Unkle, and others.
The video playlist included Fight Club (a must for all occasions), Punch Drunk Love, Rancid (little known modern noir), Before Sunset, Dexter, Harold and Kumar, The Nines, The Breakfast Club, Ergo Proxy, Darker Than Black, and the second half of Cowboy Bebop.
And trust me when I say this: Watching the second half of Cowboy Bebop on a beach = Priceless.
On the next installment of The Neurotic Monologues: More Cowboy Bebop, because there’s much to be discussed / reviewed.