Transitions.

Transitions between songs are truly important -- there is nothing more jarring than a bad transition, caused by genre, mood, instrument, tempo, or volume. The best transitions typically occur within concept albums; Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Cocteau Twins, Nine Inch Nails, and even the Pixies and Arcade Fire are perfect examples of bands who have mastered the art of the ideal transition.

But in our modern age of iPods and mp3s, and our ability to purchase single songs on almost any album (conceptual or not), transitions are often eliminated completely. We're more than happy to skip between songs in ADD fashion, creating odd alignments and choppy flows. I would like to think that I am still, largely, an album type of person, since I do listen to records from start to finish -- but still, I too am guilty of merrily skipping through Shuffle, especially when I'm walking or driving. I have a history of and passion for making customized mixes (long live kid A mix tapes!!), where I spend a lot of time perfecting song transitions in the hopes of creating an album that feels like a movie-score; or like the work of one brain, when really it's comprised of twenty different bands that have nothing to do with one another. One might suggest I prefer controlled order to random chaos.

The remarkable thing about Shuffle, though, is that sometimes -- not terribly often, but sometimes -- my iPod creates its own perfect transitions...at least to my ears, and with my collection. Much like the iTunes visualizer nicely pairs the movements within songs to the movements of hypnotic swirls, so does my dear pod occasionally pair two or more songs in a way that sounds flawless and purposeful. For the past few days, I have been keeping track of these sporadic pairings. So here are some great transitions (two at a time for now...maybe I'll up the ante next time) I have recently experienced. Sometimes we really can leave technology to its own "devices"...

"U.R.A. Fever" - The Kills
"When I'm Small" - Phantogram
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"Fight Test" - Flaming Lips
"Up Against the Wall" - Peter Bjorn and John

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"Crown on the Ground" - Sleigh Bells
"Heart it Races" - Architecture in Helsinki
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"Innocente" - Delirium
"Hyenas" - Moby
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"Intergalactic Menopause" - Murder by Death
"Strotha Tynhe" - Aphex Twin
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"Honest James" - Thurston Moore
"Heroin" - Velvet Underground
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"Birdy" - Lightning Bolt
"All I Gotta Do" (Live) - Darcy Clay
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"Blue Dress" - Depeche Mode
"Tea Lights" - Lower Dens
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"VCR" - The XX
"Crying (Telepathe Remix)" - TV On The Radio
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"Finally Grunge" - When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
"Lexicon Devil" - The Germs
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"One of These Days" - Pink Floyd
"Some Things Last a Long Time" - Beach House
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"Better Things" - Passion Pit
"Let's Make Love" - CSS
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"Sing" - Blur
"Hope Overture" - Clint Mansell
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"I'm Good, I'm Gone" - Lykke Li
"Casual" - Here We Go Magic
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"Reckoner" - Radiohead
"You're a Wolf" - Sea Wolf
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"The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegroove" - Dead Can Dance
"Pleasure and Pain" - The Chameleons