Way back in March of last year, I wrote a Notebook entry entitled My iPod Loves to Play Fugazi. And boy did it. I was convinced that the iPod (an original 5GB model) was playing me rather than the reverse. Fugazi (of which I have two albums in full on the iPod) would appear more often than any other artist--some of whom I have 5 or 6 albums worth of songs.

For instance, I have maybe 6 albums by the band Guided by Voices on there. A typical GBV album has approximately 3,267 songs on it. OK, maybe 20-30. They're usually short, quick masterpieces. Anyhow, you'd think I'd hear GBV more often than Fugazi. But it was not so.

As a continuation of the theory, through the aforementioned Notebook entry, I was briefly quoted in today's New York Times article, Tunes, a Hard Drive and (Just Maybe) a Brain (registration required). Turns out I'm not the only one who believes that shuffle mode may be possessed.

There are two corrections I'd like to point out from the article:

• It's Cederholm, not Cedarholm. (very common)
• I still do like Fugazi. I believe I said I got tired of hearing them so often--but listen to anything in excess and it starts losing its charm.

I will say this, however. Just a few weeks ago, I purchased a new 4th generation click-wheel iPod--and I haven't heard Fugazi once. Shuffling appears far more random, although maybe it just seems that way. And as the NYT article also points out, a "Shuffle Songs" option is now placed right in the main menu of the iPod's interface, making it much easier to click once and go.

Unrelated to shuffling, sound quality seems to have been improved on the new models, and although I haven't drained the battery yet, I'm sure hoping it'll last as long as advertised.