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I've spent a bit of time lately listening to music that I'd all but forgotten about.  You see, iTunes is just fine for most things, but its "shuffle" function isn't too special.  There's absolutely no randomness to it.  Once it's decided that C follows B, and that B follows A, no amount of "shuffle" will change its mind.  As far as it's concerned, A-B-C is it.  I miss how Winamp would actually change the playlist if you told it to shuffle.

Anyway, iTunes will let you order music by title, genre, artist, and by number of times played.  So I've unshuffled, and told it to play the least played stuff in my library.  Some of the least-played stuff is so for a reason.  I mean, some of it, honestly, is crap.  Atomic Kitten's "Whole Again"?  URGH!  Yet it stays in my library.  Why?  I have no idea.  I console myself by telling myself that my musical tastes are ecclectic, and that I should be proud that I don't conform to norms.  I support this argument by digging out "Adagio For Strings" (AKA that song from Platoon), "Flower Duet" (yes, the British Airways ad), "Erin Shore", "O Fortuna", "Lose Yourself", "Trickle Trickle", "Someone To Watch Over Me" and "Africa Bamba", as if the presence of these not-so-poppy pieces excuses some of the dreck that manages to stay in my song collection.

And lo, in delving through the lesser-played songs, I find songs that I bought recently but which iTunes' shithouse shuffle has yet to find.  One of my current favourites is Vanessa Amorosi's "This Is Who I Am".  Love your work, Vanessa.

This Is Who I Am

I spend my life
Trying to do things right
But all I do is fall to my face, with my hands and my hips so many times
But then I learned
After being burnt
To get back up, push straight on, stop the tears, people move on-ooon

Refrain:
Well it's alright to be myself
Now I've learned to stand
Well it’s okay to be just who I am
I've spent years really hatin' me
Longing to be friends
Now I hope that you can understand
This is who I am

Now when life gets tough
I'm quick to hurry up
I run all day, I run through the night, I'll break down walls, I'll hit up high
I don't care if I'm fat,
Or if you think my clothes are bad
Yet I can go to sleep at night, I'm a good person and I'll get by-yyy

Refrain:
Well it's alright to be myself
Now I've learned to stand
Well it’s okay to be just who I am
I've spent years really hatin' me
Longing to be friends
Now I hope that you can understand
This is who I am

I need someone someone someone someone like me
You deserve deserve,deserve to have me
Cause our world keeps spinning
And you don't try to turn it

Refrain:
Well it's alright to be myself
Now I've learned to stand
Well it’s okay to be just who I am
I've spent years really hatin' me
Longing to be friends
Now I hope that you can understand
This is who I am

Yeaaaaaaaaaaah, yeaah yeah
This is who I am
Ooh, take a breather this is who I a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-am