in concert,
linford detweiler of
over the rhine, while introducing the title song from their new record "the trumpet child" often brings up the rhetorical question that he wonders
"what's on god's i-pod?" you would think, being god and all, that he's got a spiffy 160g that would hold a lot of music.
i think it's a fun and interting question...
i'd guess there would be some classical;
bach, beethoven, schubert, and the likes, but i have little knowledge of classical so i'll move on.
i'm sure there would be some
miles, coltrane, and
mingus.
the beatles would have to be there. along with the redemptive music of
johnny cash and
the carter family and the pain and lonliness of
hank williams. there is little doubt to me that he would include the consciousness of
woody guthrie & pete seeger and their more modern counterparts;
dylan, marley and
springsteen. the soul of
marvin, aretha & ella and the blues of
robert johnson, bb and
muddy would also seem appropriate. i once heard the voice of
tom waits described as
"the sound of god clearing his throat" and can't imagine his words, passion and humor would be skipped. i would also like to think that every once and a while, he'd like to rock it a little with the likes of
the clash and maybe jam a little with
the grateful dead. and of course, the soundtracks for
"woodstock" and
"the last waltz" would have to be among the first things he downloaded.
i've not even started on "current" music, but i'd have to think if i created something as beautiful as the voices of
karin bergquist (over the rhine), chan marshall (cat power), margo timmins (cowboy junkies), ryan adams, patty griffin i'd sure be listening to them on a regular basis with a smile on my face and the accomplishment of a job well done.
and i'm sure i missed some obvious choices...your thoughts? drop them in the comments. i'd love to hear...
*also, this is meant to be a lighthearted music discussion, not a religious debate. so depending on your religious beliefs, feel free to answer the question as "if there is a god, what would be on his/her i-pod?"
