I have nothing to declare except...

I’ve been listening to plenty of freshly downloaded delights over the past week or so. Several 2008 long players have been burning themselves wittily into my consciousness and I hope to report on one or two of them here soon. Some old favourites from my youth have been placed onto the welcoming and bewitching hard-drive of my information pod too. I’ve been goin’ MP3 crackers.

However, I’m keen to report and recommend a feature of iTunes that I’ve recently grown to admire greatly. The element known as ‘Genius’ allows the earnest and enterprising user to select a favoured track from which a playlist of 25 similar tracks is then created. I’ve done this a few times now and the results have pleased me mightily. I’m not sure how ‘Genius’ works to be frank, but I am convinced there has to be more than just a vague randomness involved. I sense that the preferences of countless iTunes consumers are taken into consideration so that fabulous matches are made to render each playlist an absolute treat. The phrase, ‘All killer, no thriller’, can be whispered gratefully. ‘Genius’ has offered up a few forgotten songs and allowed me to reappraise a number of artists that I had been neglecting; Neko Case and Adem, in particular, should feel appreciative as I haven’t been playing their stuff at all but ‘Genius’ has nudged their rather beautiful numbers back in my direction. I’ve created a screen-grab of the first ‘Genius’ playlist I made (based on Bonny 'Prince' Billy's sumptuous Strange Form of Life)and offer it for reference purposes above. Click on the image to make it grow magically before your eyes. Eagle-eyes readers will note that Mansion on the Hill by Sir Bruce of Springsteen was blasting out of my loyal Harman/Kardon speakers as I ‘grabbed the screen’; D would be proud of me.