iTunes Dialogue
Harvard’s got a new way to stalk.
When they’re not obsessively scrolling through thefacebook.com or enjoying that age-old pastime of checking away messages, Harvard students can now spy on each other’s playlists via Apple’s iTunes. FM decided to test iTunes’ accuracy in providing snap character judgments.
Participants:
Kate G. Ward ’05, Leverett Towers G-58 and Matthew C. Boch ’06, Leverett Towers F-20
Matt on Kate:
Initial Reaction: I know most of this stuff.
General synopsis: Certainly this person does not prize organizing her iTunes. A lot of these songs are mislabeled—“Red, Red Wine” is not a Bob Marley song! But besides that, she’s got a lot of random cool stuff. The Chipmunks’ Christmas song and the rap song from “Revenge of the Nerds” that she has are pretty awesome. She’s also got a bunch of random mixes from some guy named Ben which are pretty solid. Basically, she’s got a lot of music that you could throw a killer late-90s dance party with.
Hometown: The Midwest, but someplace suburban. Maybe like the greater Chicago area.
Concentration: Psychology or pre-med, she seems like a semi-serious person, but also knows how to have fun.
Favorite band/artist: Leonard Cohen or Norah Jones. She’s got a lot of that stuff on her computer.
Where would she be on Friday night?: She seems like the kind of person who would be close with her roommates. Probably partying in her room with them before going out. Not really a bar person, though.
Movie of choice: “Revenge of the Nerds!”
Favorite Harvard Square eatery: The Wrap, that’s pretty nondescript. Or even better, Pinocchio’s.
What does she drive?: It’s either a Honda Civic or a Jaguar. Maybe a sedan of some sort. Or maybe a Jaguar sedan.
Athlete?: I have insufficient data for that. I’d say it could be either way.
What’s she listening to at 4 in the afternoon?: Norah Jones.
Any last words?: We share a lot of the same mainstream music tastes, but I feel like there’s also a lot of independent music out there that would appeal to her. Also, she should chill with Ben more. He’s got good taste.
Kate on Kate:
Hometown: Albany, NY
Concentration: Psychology
Favorite band/artist: Leonard Cohen
Last mp3 download: Kid Rock's “Yodelin’ In the Valley”
Last concert attended: I totally don’t go to enough. I saw Guster and Medeski, Martin and Wood over the summer. I forget where, though. Oh, and I also saw The Stars Essex Green at TT’s and the Bear’s semi-recently. That must have been during the school year sometime.
Where can we find you on Friday night?: I’m usually out with my blockmates, rarely at parties.
Movie of choice: “Office Space”
Favorite Harvard Square eatery: Café of India. Definitely.
What’s your ride?: ’92 Dodge Intrepid
Describe your musical taste: Everybody says eclectic. I would just characterize it as ‘not serious.’
Athlete?: No way. I’m definitely not a sports person.
What’s playing at four in the afternoon?: Probably some random goofy stuff, like old Disney songs. It’s good for cleaning my room to.
Kate on Matt:
Initial Reaction: This guy has an absurd amount of music on his computer. It looks like he just ripped all of his albums, which I guess is good for the people he’s sharing with. He’s even got some stuff ripped twice.
General synopsis: It’s important to him to have a lot of music that most people don’t know, making the Beyoncé and Missy Elliot stuff that he has seem like ironic choices for his playlist. It also seems that in a lot of these songs the music is more important than the lyrics or the singing. I haven’t heard of many of these bands, but I like a lot of his indie rock stuff—this group Experimental Dental School is pretty good. He’d probably be a hard person to talk to about music, because he seems to take it real seriously.
Hometown: He’s got to be from some big city. He’s just got so much random music that I don’t think he’d have been exposed to it anywhere else. A place like New York, or something like that.
Concentration: Probably English or Folk and Myth. He might even be a language concentrator of some sort, but I don’t see any particularly ethnic or foreign music on here. Then again, with a hard drive this size, he could just be a computer science guy.
Favorite band/artist: He definitely listens to a ton of obscure bands, but I still think his favorite is something classic, like an inspiration for his musical taste. He’s got a lot of Beatles stuff on here, so I’m gonna go with that.
Last mp3 download: It doesn’t look like he downloads a lot of music, but I would say a new single from some indie rock band, probably from their website.
Where would he be on Friday night?: Either out seeing some live music or in playing video games with his roommates.
Movie of choice: He’s into a lot of independent music, but I don’t think he’s a fan of indie films. It’s something mainstream but cool, like The Matrix or Memento. I bet he watches a lot of cartoons too.
Favorite Harvard Square eatery: None. He eats a lot of sugary cereal that little kids love. Something like Lucky Charms.
What does he drive?: If he had a choice, it would be a hybrid car.
Athlete?: No way. This guy is way too interested in music to be spending time playing sports.
Any last words?: Well, you have to admire his commitment.
Matt on Matt:
Hometown: Providence, RI
Concentration: VES
Favorite band/artist: Talking Heads. I guess you could say the Beatles too.
Last mp3 download: LCD Soundsystem – Yeah (Stupid Version). I really just rip most of my songs. I had about 550 CDs stolen last year, so everything on my iTunes is basically what I can’t afford to buy or don’t have on vinyl.
Last concert attended: El Guapo and Measles, Mumps and Rubella, tonight, at the Advocate.
Where can we find you on Friday night?: Usually going to dance parties. Or else playing a show with my band.
Movie of choice: David Byrne’s “True Stories.”
Favorite Harvard Square eatery: Whatever place is the future location of Anna’s Taqueria.
What’s your ride?: I don’t have a car. But if I had my choice I guess I’d put the engine of a Toyota Prius in an El Camino.
Describe your musical taste: I like good music, regardless of genre. My present fascination is with pop music and abrasive noise rock.
Athlete?: I can sing and play a two-hour set of rock music while dancing. That’s about the extent of my athletic ability.
What’s playing at four in the afternoon?: Indian Flute – Timbaland and Magoo.