A jukebox in your pocket

The dancing black silhouettes were impossible to escape. So was the ever-expanding cult of the white wires and earbuds. If 2001 was the year the iPod blasted off the launch pad, 2004 likely will go down as the year gadget lust propelled it into orbit.

Did the random-shuffle function willfully choose the lamest songs from your hard drive during that backyard barbecue? Did the rise of the ‘pod people portend the end of shared culture, or herald a new one with individualized playlists to be uploaded or downloaded with the click of a mouse? Were 10,000 songs enough? What’s on your iPod?

The conversation kept circling back to the e-toy of the moment.

As the price went down and capacity went up -- and the size shrank with the advent of the iPod Mini -- the sleek little gizmo slipped into another 2 million pockets in the third quarter of the year alone, says Apple. Early versions had cost $399 and held about 1,000 songs. But this year’s could be had for as little as $228 in Thanksgiving sales, with five times the storage capacity.

Imitators washed over the market, looking to cut into Apple’s share, which nonetheless increased to almost two-thirds of the digital music player domain. Businessmen waxed optimistic as Apple’s iTunes and other online music stores goosed demands for digital music. Just 18 months ago, iTunes offered “only” 200,000 songs. Today, more than 1 million songs can be downloaded for 99 cents each, rendering even the 4 3/4 -inch compact disc not nearly compact enough.

Another boon was the introduction late last year of software giving PC users access to the formerly Mac-only world of iTunes and iPods.

This year’s clincher? Apple got U2, the esteemed Irish band that had never endorsed any product. There was even a U2 signature iPod, in sleek black, red and silver instead of the standard-issue white, with band members’ facsimile autographs on the back.

Still haven’t found what you’re looking for?

Personality also entered the techy mix in less flashy ways. Musicians posted lists of favorite songs. (Rapper Kanye West’s eclectic 22-song entry includes the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” Jay-Z’s “Lucifer” and Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles.”) Websites offered knitted iPod booties, audiophile speakers just waiting for an iPod to be plugged in, accessories to play your iPod’s tunes in your car.

Outside the blogosphere, “podcasters” set up subscription news and music feeds (www.ipodder.org), no radio required.

Maybe it all had something to do with the fantasy of being in control of the soundtrack for your life. Who hasn’t yearned to plug their mental jukebox into the stereo, creating a personal radio station that plays any song the instant you want to hear it?

Do we really need so many tunes at our fingertips? Ask a music junkie and you might get an answer that sounds strikingly similar to the punch line of that joke about what you call 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the sea: “It’s a start.”