Dropped my iPod on my way out the door on Thursday. I’ve dropped it before, we all have, but this time instead of hitting carpet, or hardwood, or cat, it hit concrete. I quickly picked it up once I quit gasping like a girl (I’ll admit it) and the display was still showing, so I thought, possibly outloud, “Sweet. Ol’ girl is still kicking.”

And then I hit the play/pause button.

Instead of the crunchy guitar of Helmet’s new album, I heard a sound I can only describe as a guinea pig being force-feed through a rusty garbage disposal… there was screaming, grunting and grinding sounds. At this point my sweet little 4g 40GB started vibrating in my hand – not a good sign. It then powered down and hasn’t come back on since. Now, being the caring parent I am, I decided to let this iPod move on to the bright light in the sky rather than artificially prolonging its life by any means available. Plus tech support said I’m shit outta luck.

Bye bye clickwheel iPod! It was a short, nine-month life but I hope you had as much fun as I did. BTW, I’m entertaining suggestions of what to do with the carcass. Leave me a comment if you’ve got any excellent ideas. Also, I’m looking for names for the newest member of the family, the 60GB photo, which despite being about the same size but with 50% more storage space, and a color screen, can never truly replace iPod #2. Oh, and I had to dust off iPod #1 for the commute on Friday – it’s scratched to hell, and the battery barely lasts a roundtrip commute, but it’s still hanging in there (normally as my bedroom stereo).

Listening to the new QOTSA album as I sit here at Starbucks… really enjoying it. I’m not missing Nick at all, but thank god Lanegan is back in the fold.

SONG OF THE MOMENT: Queens of the Stone Age – “The Blood Is Love”