From Here to Timbuctoo
A story of discovery in West Africa.
by Gavin Imperato '02

Tom's iPod

A few years back I wrote in this space about my reading habits, describing books, journals, and magazines that had recently occupied my attention. This may have been the most popular piece I ever penned for the Haverford Alumni Magazine, at least judging by the number of people who wrote to me about how much they enjoyed it (and, parenthetically, I should add that one of the most gracious aspects of the Haverford community is that those who don’t particularly like my writings usually keep it to themselves). My desire to revisit that form helps me to understand the unending replications of popular movies (Rocky V, Halloween VII etc.) so I was tempted to write the 2006 version of what inhabits my reading shelf. Wary of repetition, though, I decided to go high tech and offer instead what fills the flash memory of my iPod.

First, should there be any in Haverford land who aren’t familiar with contemporary lingo…an iPod is a small hand-held device made by Apple that holds enormously large collections of music for playback, usually through personal earphones. The technology has been around for several years, but I resisted acquiring one until a few months ago. This techno reticence was because I smugly convinced myself that I prefer live music or recordings with traditional loudspeakers, rather than the tiny earbuds that I imagined couldn’t possibly reproduce music faithfully and with emotional power. This turns out to be largely incorrect but, truth be told, I succumbed when Apple came out with the iPod Nano, the smallest, lightest, and coolest music player imaginable. I concluded that purchasing one would raise my hipster status in the eyes of my youngest daughter, Christi, no doubt a sign of middle-aged futility.

The first thing you do when you get an iPod is to fill it with your favorite music. If you have a large collection of CDs, the choice of what to “burn” into your iPod is an exercise in both musical taste and personal psychology. The Nano holds about 1,000 songs which, while sounding capacious, is quickly exceeded, so choices have to be made about what to favor. I turned first to an 8 CD collection of folk music because it connects to the era of the ’60s and the styles remind me of my own high school and college days. This includes legendary artists like Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger, and old standard tunes like “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Easy to dreamily reminisce with this stuff.

I next loaded favorites from the two genres I listen to most: classical and jazz. Among the former are The Brandenburg Concertos because Bach, especially in these pieces, is outrageously exuberant and athletic, and a perfect accompaniment to my morning running rituals. There is also Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony (Pathetique) which is likely my all-time favorite piece of symphonic music. The third movement (allegro molto vivace) in particular never fails to move my soul, and I often turn to it when I need inspiration. I also am quite fond of the piano (and plan to improve my rudimentary skills in that mythical “someday” when I have time to practice) so I have copious pianistic performances currently in
residence on my iPod: Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas, originally of course for harpsichord, but I love the piano renditions; several Beethoven sonatas, including my favorites Moonlight and Hammerklavier; a collection of Mozart sonatas played by Mitsuko Uchida, who possesses tremendous expressive power on the instrument; various works by the massively impressive Vladimir Horowitz; and Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues performed by Keith Jarrett.

Speaking of Keith Jarrett, he also is a jazz pianist and I couldn’t exist without his legendary Köln Concert, filled with communicative music, and at least as many moans as Glenn Gould at his best. My tastes in jazz are quite eclectic and the current iPod lineup includes Art Tatum (surely one of the greatest virtuosos who ever graced our earth); Duke Ellington (duh, who doesn’t love Ellington); Gato Barbieri (an Argentinian tenor saxophonist who favors languid, yet fiery, melodies); Joshua Redman (Harvard educated, as
evidenced by the powerfully intellectual style of his music); and a choice collection of greats like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie. Improvised jazz, with its uniquely American origins, shows human beings at their creative and unpredictable best, and is always capable of roughing up my deepest emotions.

I change the iPod music lineup regularly, but the typical breakdown is 60% classical, 30% jazz, and 10% folk/rock. I’m sure these statistics offer something deeply revealing about my character, but darned if I know what it is. I do, though, agree with Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche’s assertion that, “without music, life would be a mistake.”

I soon learned that music is not the only use for an iPod. There are also podcasts, generally taken to mean programs that can be downloaded and treated like radio or TV talk shows, except portable and able to be heard at any time. There are thousands of these available, and one can even “subscribe” to favorites so as not to miss any new shows. I’ve gradually come to listen at least as much to podcasts as to music during my morning runs, and favor current events, science, and culture as my most frequently visited subjects. The best in my view is Democracy Now with Amy Goodman, a daily hourlong discussion of contemporary national and international politics by experts (often academics) who aren’t as favored by the cable news punditocracy. I also like NOW, a PBS listing that offers better than the conventional perspective on the great topics of our time. For science, my top two choices are Science Talk from Scientific American (and containing the wonderfully entertaining “Totally Bogus” spoof on pseudoscience); and Nature Podcast from the scientific journal of the same name. This latter favors discussions with the authors of current scholarly papers, affording me a way to keep up with literature I may not actually find time to read. I also like the Photoshop TV weekly discussion of digital photography. Although this is probably better as a video podcast, I am enough of a Photoshop aficionado to usually learn useful new tips and tricks just by listening and using my imagination.

Disclaimer: I don’t own stock in Apple. Nonetheless, possessing an iPod opens such a wonderful world of music and ideas that I recommend it to everyone, even those of technological aversion. The little gadget provides a useful alternative to television, and serves to lessen the pain of the necessary daily exercise regimen.

Coming attractions: Over the next year—my last as Haverford’s president—I will be visiting as many alums as possible. I also will be using this space to write about the future of higher education, this College, and the universe in general. Perhaps a podcast in the making?

-Tom Tritton