A-Dub II iPod (2010-2014) R.I.P.

A-Dub II iPod died Thursday, July 17, 2014. He was the primary music source device for film critic, author and pest technician Andrew D. Wells.  He was an iPod classic 160G, almost big enough to hold all the music Mr. Wells wished to be available to him at all times. A-Dub died suddenly when the charging device he was attached to malfunctioned and overheated the unwitting media player.

A-Dub was a sturdy music media device born at an Apple, Inc. manufacturing facility in 2010, who performed dutifully for a music lover who holds music in the highest regard, second only to movies. Out of respect for the art form, Mr. Wells never demeaned the music on his iPod by over-crowding it with movies. Despite the insistence of the film studios to rule every media platform in a home, A-Dub was solely dedicated to providing music of every style and genre.

A-Dub was responsible for enriching Mr. Wells’ life with such classic albums as Wu-Tang Clan’s “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”, John Mellencamp’s “Scarecrow”, Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska”, Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere”, Dire Strait’s “Brothers In Arms”, and AC/DC’s “Back in Black”. A-Dub also carried more recent classics to Mr. Wells’ ears, like Kings of Leon’s “Only By the Night”, Kurt Vile’s “Wakin On a Pretty Daze”, Sharon Jones and the Dap Tones’ “Give the People What They Want”, Frank Ocean’s “Planet Orange”, Stardeath & White Dwarves’ “The Birth”, and No Joy’s “Wait to Pleasure”.

Probably most treasured in A-Dub’s catalogue, however, were the various soundtrack albums he offered to Mr. Wells at the touch of a finger. It was the one place where both of his master’s favorite worlds combined. Favorite movie soundscapes included, “Goldfinger”, “John Carpenter’s The Thing”, “Apocalypse Now”, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, “Drive”, “American Graffiti”, “John Carpenter’s Halloween”, “Spring Breakers”, “Away We Go”, “Conan the Barbarian”, “Batman”, and the entire original “Star Wars” trilogy.

The most surprising aspect of A-Dub was most likely his vast collection of holiday music. Every Thanksgiving through New Years, A-Dub would emit the holiday sound of artists from every age of American music. The Ray Conniff Singers, Barenaked Ladies, Vince Guaraldi, John Zorn, Sufjan Stevens, and even Bad Religion would contribute to the holiday spirit via A-Dub. His greatest musical contribution to Mr. Wells’ life, however, came in the form of complete artist collections, which included the complete discographies of such bands as Led Zeppelin, Tenacious D, The Lonely Island, The Pixies, U2, Thin Lizzy, Yes, and Pink Floyd.

A-Dub is survived by his predecessor A-Dub Nano, another iPod Nano belonging to Mrs. Wells, an iPod Touch newly acquired by Mr. Wells’ son, an iPod Shuffle that has been lost in the couch for the past four years and various android cousins. An iPad exchange student is also staying with the Wells family from the workplace. A-Dub will be missed. Fortunately, the Spotify mobile app has agreed to take some of A-Dub’s workload until Mr. Wells can afford to adopt another iPod classic.