The fun blog The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom (SMTMM) is hosting a “make your own meme” Monday today. To participate, simply create your own meme, post it on your blog, and then visit SMTMM and share your meme in her Mr. Linky. So if you ever have blog block and want some new memes to do, you can visit her post and find all sorts of memes for the taking. I thought this would be fun so I created my own meme, which I am calling The iPod Shuffle. Here is how to play.

Rules for The iPod Shuffle Meme

• Using the shuffle feature on your iPod (or other MP3 player), write down the first 5 or 10 songs that play.
• Justify, defend or explain why those songs are on your iPod.
• Tag someone else to complete the meme.
• Include these rules–and the phrase “The iPod Shuffle Meme was created by Jenners at Life with A Little One and More — the greatest blog on the Planet Earth and perhaps the Universe” when you post your meme answers. ***

Failure to follow these rules exactly will result in loss of Internet privileges for a month, small warts, and a plague of frogs in your immediate area.

If you don’t have an iPod or similar device: Randomly pick some CDs from your collection and then have a CD player pick a song via random play.

If you don’t CDs but have cassette tapes: Randomly pick some tapes from your collection and then just randomly pick a song from the tape. (But really, you should at least have CDs by this point.)

If you don’t have an iPod, CDs or cassette tapes but have vinyl records: If this is the case, I’m really amazed you’ve found your way onto the Internet at all so, by all means, feel free to pick some random albums and some tracks from those albums.

If you don’t have an iPod, CDs, cassette tapes or vinyl records, my guess is you might have 8-track tapes: No one wants to know what you have on your 8-track tapes so you should not participate in this meme. In fact, if your only source of music is 8-track tapes, perhaps you should get off the Internet now and watch some movies on your Betamax. You’ll feel better. The world is probably moving too fast for you, and you should take a rest.

Jenners iPod Shuffle Meme
Note: For a few days only, I am putting a little music player in my upper left column in case you are interested in hearing any of the songs mentioned below. I don’t think the songs will play unless you click on them. I know there is nothing scarier than arriving on a blog and being assaulted by unknown music. And if you decide to do this meme and want to make your own playlist, I got this easy-to-use widget at iLike.

Before I start, I should mention that I like all sorts of music — rock, alternative, blues, country, classical, jazz, hip hop, pop, rap, R&B. My iPod is really all over the map. And one of the things I love about the shuffle feature is the I can be rocking out to “Bitch” by the Rolling Stones and then go right into “Ordinary People” by John Legend — two songs that could not be more different in style or tone. So I have no idea what is going to pop up. Should be interesting! (Please, gods of the iPod, please do not let the three Britney Spears songs show up on this shuffle.)

Song 1: “Games People Play” by the Spinners: OK, that is a weird one to come up right off the bat. I actually love this song for reasons I cannot fully explain. I think it is the combination of the different voices (love that really deep voice!). It is a song I remember fondly from childhood. I’m not really a fan of the Spinners; just this one song. So when I was creating my iPod playlist, I searched for this song and now it is coming back to cause me a little bit of embarrassment in this meme. I means really, the Spinners!!!! (Note: The version I was able to find for the playlist is not the EXACT one I have … sounds like it might be a live version. Oh well.)

Song 2: “Aeroplane” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Perhaps I’ve gained back a little credibility with this one. I like the Red Hot Chili Peppers but this is probably my favorite song by them. Just like the basic sound, and I’m always a sucker for English-sounding kids singing a chorus.

Song 3: “Cousin Dupree” by Steely Dan: I’m not surprised that Steely Dan showed up on the shuffle. They are one of my all-time favorite bands, and I have about four albums by them on my iPod. This is from one of their more recent albums “Two Against Nature.” It has a nice, breezy groove to it but when you listen to the words, you realize what a skeevy, creepy song it is.

Song 4: “In These Shoes” by Kirsty MacColl: God, I love Kirsty MacColl! She has such a sexy, raspy rough voice, and her songs are always good. This was from her last album “Tropical Brainstorm,” which has a great Latin flavor to it. This particular song is one of the sexiest songs I’ve ever heard, and it would be my signature song if I became a stripper (which I won’t). I was stunned to hear she was killed in a freak jet ski accident right after this album was released. A real loss to the music world.

Song 5: “Tropicalia” by Beck. This is from the “Mutations” album. I love songs with a tropical flavor to them so this has always been a fave of mine. I bet if you heard it, you would never guess it was Beck as it is kind of a different sound for him. (But actually, what is Beck’s sound? It changes with every album, which is why I like him so much.)

Song 6: “Woods” by George Winston: Not surprised Mr. Winston popped up on the shuffle either as I have about five of his albums on my iPod. I just love his piano music, and I often listen to it for background music or if I need to relax. I saw him perform live once in college and he was amazing! I sometimes play his music for the Little One when he is falling asleep.

Song 7: “I’ve Seen All Good People” by Yes: Now most Yes songs are just waaaaaaaay too long for me and so dated-sounding.But I really really like this song and downloaded it to my iPod after hearing it in the movie “Big Fish.” Funny this should show up on the shuffle; I actually forgot it was on there!

Song 8: “Upside Down” by Jack Johnson: This is from the “Curious George” soundtrack — boring movie, awesome soundtrack! In fact, I’m going to go on record to say this is the best kid’s movie soundtrack ever! I just love Jack Johnson, which is why I got this soundtrack in the first place. Seriously, check this album out — it is so great! Our favorite song on the album is “3Rs” — best song about recycling ever!

Song 9: “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)” by Crystal Waters: A dance song about a homeless woman. Sounds strange and it is…but I really like it. It has this repetitive chorus — “badabeebadabum” that I can never get out of my head after hearing it. I had never heard of Crystal Waters until I met my husband, by the way. So I can blame this one on him!

Song 10: “Looking for Atlantis” by Prefab Sprout: Oh, I am so glad this showed up! This is from one of my favorite albums of all time, “Jordan: The Comeback,” by one of my favorite bands. This album has the coolest sound. I’ve never met anyone who has heard of it before, but everyone I’ve ever played it for has loved it. Seriously. And this song is the first track and one of the best. I defy you not to like it.

So there you have it. A glimpse into the musical mess on my iPod. Hope you enjoyed it … and I hope to see what you have on your iPod! I tag all of you who want to do this. Let’s spread this meme throughout the blog world. (Gosh, I hope there isn’t one JUST LIKE THIS and I haven’t seen it, but I suspect there might be as I’ve only been blogging since November 2008.)

*** Joke…but hey, if you want to include it, I’m not going to stop you.