THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING

iPOD SHUFFLE

WHAT POPS UP WHEN YOU PUT SOMEONE’S MUSIC ON RANDOM

By Nick A. Zaino III
Globe Correspondent / June 26, 2009
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EUGENE MIRMAN, comedian

Considering his gig on “Flight of the Conchords’’ and his tours with Modest Mouse and John Wesley Harding, it’s not surprising that Mirman’s 32G iPod Touch is packed with cool, eclectic music like the Soft Boys, the Elevator Drops, and a soon-to-be-released album from indie singer-songwriter Alina Simone. What surprises Mirman when he shuffles for us is what doesn’t come up. “I have random Russian folk music,’’ he says, “tons of random phone calls and things, various songs of mine that I did for ‘Crooning Child.’ ’’ You may get a sample of that tomorrow night (he sometimes plays videos or audio files onstage) when Mirman performs at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre with fellow “Conchords’’ actor Kristen Schaal. (Show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are $20-$25 at www.ticketmaster.com or 617-931-2000.)

1. “Be a Lemonhead (Beautiful Junkie),’’ the Elevator Drops

2. “Have a Heart Betty (I’m Not Fireproof),’’ the Soft Boys

3. “Stockholm Syndrome,’’ Yo La Tengo

4. “5D (Fifth Dimension),’’ the Byrds

5. “Cruel to Be Kind,’’ Nick Lowe

6. “The Modern Age,’’ the Strokes

7. “I Love LA,’’ Randy Newman

8. “Waiting for the Storm,’’ Alina Simone

9. “The Book of Right On,’’ Joanna Newsom

10. “Warchild,’’ Jethro Tull

Total songs: 6,349

Glad we missed: Nothing in particular embarrasses Mirman. “It’s not like I have, secretly, 2,000 Barbra Streisand albums. If I had that, I would be probably someone who liked it and in no way would feel bad if that came up.’’

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