iDiscovery

Since I've been a crappy Catholic the last few years and haven't made the traditional sacrifice for Lent, I decided to do a hard one this year: no buying CDs during the 40-day season.

It's been awful.

The one benefit is that it's been helping me catch up on the task of ripping albums to my computer. So far, my iTunes library boasts about 11 days' worth of music, both from my own CD collection and friends' contributions (Editor's note to RIAA: He's clearly joking! Ha! You may go about your daily business of suing junior high students!) About a third of my CDs are now in there. Here's what I've learned from listening to a whole mess of songs in "shuffle" mode.

First of all, "shuffle" is rigged, despite what Steve Jobs says.

There was definitely a reason I resisted Depeche Mode for a long time: the band is kind of weird. But I think that's why I love it now.

Hearing a Johnny Cash song right after a Deftones one isn't as jarring as one might think.

An improperly-mixed recording sticks out like a sore thumb.

Self really needs to put out a new album, but it knows that.

I own more hip-hop than I thought I did, but still not enough.

Same goes for jazz, though I'm in better shape there.

I definitely don't own enough New Wave.

A lot of the poppy rock bands I liked a few years ago really aren't as cool as I thought at the time.