A Shuffle With Your SoCo

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 3, 2005 6:07PM

It’s become de rigeur (French for “something that hipsters do right before they mock everybody else for doing it”) to hook your iPod up during parties so you can impress/test-the-loyalty-of your friends with playlists like “Guaranteed Ass Shakers” or “Emo Songs That Are Totally Not Emo But Will Make That Girl Who Works At Pontiac Cafe Fall In Love With Me Nonetheless.” If this sounds like you then perhaps you’re ready to foist your talents on the world (or at least Lincoln Park) at The Tonic Room’s inclusively-but-clumsily-titled iPod/MP3 Night.

The folks at Schuba’s have been encouraging various artists to use iPods to delight the crowds at their DJ Upstairs series for a while and we’ve heard of other places allowing you to DJ from a pre-selected playlist, but this is the first time we’ve heard of a bar extending the keys to the DJ booth to any schmoe who walks in the door—whether they’re bearing iPods or not. Chicagoist can’t recall a time in the olden days of “home taping” when bars would have a “Mix Tape Night” or even an “It Came From Your CD Burner Night.” We’re all for the power-to-the-people-right-on vibe but it’s not like iPod’s come bundled with a “Free Great Taste In Music!” add-on. Maybe they’ll be some kind of Showtime at the Apollo voting system in place so if someone comes in with a “Hits of Maroon 5 and Creed” playlist then someone else dressed up like Sandman Sims can sweep ‘em away.

OK, we mock because we care (and because we’re music snobs). Seriously, we think this is a cool idea and it doesn’t hurt that they’ll be featuring $3 call drinks either. So we’ll be first in line with our Jack-and-Coke in one hand and our iPod in the other. The Tonic Room’s iPod Night continues every Tuesday night…until some fool busts out his “Tribute to MacArthur Park” playlist.