I got an iPod in 2005 and named it Carl Weathers. It served me faithfully until it died last fall, in a tragic drowning that I chronicled in this article about Ween deep cuts.

In its five-year lifespan, twenty-five songs received the most “plays” — that is, times listened to in their entirety — of all the thousands of songs that I loaded onto the device.

These are those songs.

25. “Skew It On The Bar-B” — Outkast feat. Raekwon (91 plays)

“Old school players to new school fools.” Three styles blending perfectly. Rae’s verse is fire.

24. “King of Carrot Flowers pt 1″ — Neutral Milk Hotel (92 plays)

The passionate vocals, melodic heft, cool instrumentation and powerful lyrics are an insanely potent combo. This video also includes parts 2 & 3, a little bonus for your enjoyment.

23. “Nature Springs” — The Good, The Bad and The Queen (93 plays)

Paul Simonon from the Clash on bass,  ridiculous Afropop drummer Tony Allen on drums, and The Verve’s Simon Tong on axe, with Danger Mouse behind the boards. It’s an exemplary case of Damon Albarn’s awesomeness. The whistle section at the end is so choice.

22. “Have You Seen Her Face” — The Byrds (94 plays)

It’s one of the tastiest tunes ever recorded by the Byrds, and that’s saying something.

21. “Summer Babe (Winter Version) — Pavement (95 plays)

If you don’t like Pavement, you might want to stop reading this now…

20. “Father to a Sister of Thought” — Pavement (96 plays)

The pedal steel playing on this track by erstwhile engineer Doug Easley is top-notch.

19. “Back Stabbers” — The O’Jays (97 plays)

I heard an amazing episode of Fresh Air in which Terry Gross interviewed Thom Bell, one of the O.G.s of Philadelphia International Records in the 1970s. It put me on a serious Philly soul listening kick, of which this turned out to be the biggest highlight.

18. “Country Caravan” — Blitzen Trapper (98 plays)

Because the iPod requires that you listen to an entire song to complete a “play,” shorter songs tended to shoot up the most-played list quickly. This song clocks in at a tidy 1:55.

I’m a pretty big BT head. Three albums deep and they haven’t let me down yet.

17. “Old To Begin” — Pavement (99 plays)

The refrain is so gentle, yet utterly potent. I always thrash out pretty hard at the 2:04 waypoint, just before Malkmus drops a delightfully Malkmusian guitar riff.

16. “Wave of Mutiliation” — Pixies (100 plays)

Youtube user Mashuga31 says it best: “Reminds me of a devastating meteor shower that destroys an entire city. Good Stuff.”

15. “Powerman” — The Kinks (100 plays)

Down with the record industry, man!!

14. “Christine’s Tune” – The Flying Burrito Brothers (101 plays)

Those Nudie suits fucking rule. Also, I love me a good Chris Hillman tune (he also wrote that Byrds track that appeared earlier).

13. “Pressed In A Book” – The Shins (105 plays)

Greatness from the Albuquerque days. If I had actually owned this record on vinyl, the grooves would have been worn down to nothingness.

12. “This Time Tomorrow” – The Kinks (105 plays)

Probably the best song ever written about “the road.”

11. “Gold Soundz” – Pavement (106 plays)

A total classic. And they’re coming to the chorus now!

10. “This Is Why You Love Me” – The Brian Jonestown Massacre (107 plays)

I’ve always had a soft spot for that crazy bastard Anton.

9. “Simple Things” – Belle & Sebastian (107 plays)

Si me quieres, yo estaré allí, un chico para hacer frente a todos tus problemas; pero parte del trato es para ti si sientes algo…

8. “Long Black Veil” – The Band (107 plays)

For some reason, the Music from Big Pink version cannot be found on Youtube — I blame Robbie Robertson…

No matter, here’s an exceptional concert version to save the day. Long live the memory of Rick Danko.

7. “8:05″ - Moby Grape (108 plays)

One of the most gentle and gorgeous grooves ever written and sung. If you don’t know the tale of Moby Grape, I urge you to check it out.

6. “Discretion Grove” – Stephen Malkmus (109 plays)

One of my favorite jams ever. Once almost came to blows with a friend who listed “the only good songs on the Malkmus solo debut” and didn’t include this one. The video is righteous as well!

5. “Caring Is Creepy” – The Shins (115 plays)

I always loved Dave Hernandez’ bass playing on this record. I feel safe in declaring this one of the dankest bass grooves of the aughts.

4. “Distance Equals Rate Times Time” – Pixies (116 plays)

An 80 second nitro booster.

3. “Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons” – Pixies (119 plays)

I’m a sucker for Trompe le Monde and this song perhaps most of all. Just builds and builds until it takes flight. The last go-round of the chorus is nothing short of epic.

2. “The International Language of Screaming” – Super Furry Animals (133 plays)

Everything I wanted to say about this track was nailed by Danny Harrison when he placed a request on Radio Scotland’s “Wales Night.”

1. “Do Not Feed The Oyster” – Stephen Malkmus (137 plays)

Simply put, this is my jam. If I could capture the feeling inside me at the 3:50 mark and Vanilla Sky myself to feel that vibe forever, I would seriously consider it.

So as we say goodbye to Carl Weathers’ favorite songs, my listening habits are now being tracked by his successor, Carl Winslow. Give me five years and I’ll let you know how it turns out.

“Waaah, MTV doesn’t show music videos anymore.” Well, that’s because channels that only show music videos get terrible ratings, while insipid reality fare aimed at tweens is so popular that people like us can pick cast members from “The Hills” out of a lineup without ever having seen the actual show.

But you know what, folks? This is the 21st century. Who needs a music video network when you can just have a website featuring every video made in the MTV era!

Per GIZMODO:

At long last, the MTV name is being associated with music videos again, because the “music” channel has gone and put its entire archive of music videos online, all embeddable and in high quality. It’s like Hulu for music videos, only with less ads (for now). And it’s awesome.

The site’s still very young, but just poking around shows the amazing amount of content on there. There aren’t just music videos on here, but also songs played on shows like VH1 Storytellers and MTV Unplugged.

[...]

Just from my surface exploration, it includes pretty much everything, from old acts to new, major label acts to indies. Go, go now!

Here are a few recommended starting points, trailheads of jam if you will:

Blur – Coffee and TV. A delightful, hilarious, touching narrative about a milk carton.

The Pharcyde – Drop. One of Spike Jonze’s greatest hits. The whole thing was shot in reverse.

Beyonce – Single Ladies. Everybody be loving these dance moves!!!

Aphex Twin – Windowlicker. A really, really bizarre Chris Cunningham video that could definitely give you nightmares.

White Stripes – Fell in Love With a Girl. Michel Gondry’s LEGO masterpiece.

Yung Joc – It’s Goin’ Down. So many enjoyable elements to this video…the chorus urging us to meet Yung Joc at the mall…the really dumb dance move his posse does…the sports cars we really hope this dude didn’t spend his money on…the rundown house party we’re supposed to aspire to be invited to. Wow.

Fiona Apple – Criminal. Also known as “Sleazy: The Musical.”

Outkast – Hey Ya. One of the best songs of the decade – one of the best videos of the decade. The stereotypes of each musician are amusingly on point.

Johnny Cash – Hurt. Here’s a tissue, you may need it to wipe away the tears…or the drool. Depending on your temperament.

Michael Jackson – Black or White [Long Version]. Every last wondrous moment of a video that was a prime-time event when first released. Macauley Culkin blasts George Wendt into the stratosphere with one killer chord; Michael gets down with dancers from all over the world; “cutting-edge” pastiches of global landmarks; LOTS of little kids; the morphing sequence by which all others will always be judged (sup, Tyra); all culminating in the astonishing segment where a panther turns into Michael who then grabs his crotch disturbingly and smashes the shit out of an innocent parked car. In retrospect, the beginning of the end of his career…

[If you're looking for a less obvious MJ pick, how about Liberian Girl. Truly amazing 80s cameo fiesta. Be sure to stick around to see Guttenberg and Ackroyd roll in on Harleys.]

The only drawback is that some older videos didn’t make it in here. So for those of you hoping to watch high quality streams of 70s classics like REO Speedwagon’s “Keep On Loving You” or Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed and Painless,” looks like you’re gonna have to stick to Youtube for now.

UPDATE: After WordPress somehow thwarted him from commenting, trusty source Nils Coq au Vin, Esq. emailed us a further hit list of must-see vids.

NCaV’s picks:
Malajube – Montréal -40°C
Air – Kelly Watch the Stars
Bjork – Human Behavior
Daft Punk – Around the World
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Crossroads
Elton John – Trains Don’t Stop There Anymore
Missy Elliott – Work It
Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)
MGMT – Time to Pretend

OUTKAST: “Morris Brown” featuring Sleepy Brown and Scar. Big Boi on the mic, Andre on production.

The purple dog proves the old adage yet again…never work with an animal, they always steal the scene.