Don’t hit skip

By Alex Fiore

If you’re anything like me, you walk around campus with your earbuds in, blissfully unaware of your surroundings.

If you see me, chances are I’ve got my headphones on, silently rocking out and maybe playing some air drums to boot.

If this sounds anything like you, let me introduce you to a new game to make your listening experience that much more enjoyable: the iPod No-Hitter.

The rules are simple enough. All you have to do to win is go about your day listening to your iPod without skipping to the next song. Seems easy, right? Well, maybe not as easy as you think.

To begin your attempt at the iPod No-Hitter, start by opening up your whole music library and choosing any song you want. Let the shuffle feature take over from there. If at any point during the day you have the desire to change the song, you’ve lost.

I know what you’re thinking – “but I like all of the music on my iPod!” Well so do I, but not all the time. It’s very, very rare that I want to listen to Johnny Cash, The Postal Service, Jay-Z and Beethoven all in the same sitting, but I still have all those artists on my iPod because I like them. Just remember, if you even consider changing the song for one second, the iPod no-hitter is over. Accept your defeat and move on. It’s not supposed to be easy.

The Rules

Library: You must use your entire music library, with a minimum of 1,000 songs. The more songs in your library, the more difficult it becomes to pitch the iPod No-Hitter.

Gameplay: Turn shuffle on. Pick your first song and then don’t touch the iPod the rest of the day. If you can make it all day without wanting to change the song you’re listening to, you’ve won.

Integrity: Don’t listen to a song you don’t want to just to say you’ve completed the iPod No-Hitter. If you’re not enjoying the experience, you’ve already lost, so why waste your time?

So go ahead and give it a try and see if you can make it all day without changing a song. It’s not quite as easy as you think.