"I enter the boxing ring, sporting a New Kids on the Block style outfit,
with my partner in crime at my side. With iPods in both hands and a
pink boa around her neck, she looks up at me. I nod my head. Let the
battle begin.
Last semester, I took part in a strange cultural phenomenon called
an iPod battle. The concept is unusual, but the outcome is surprisingly
invigorating. All you need is an MP3 player, a boxing ring, some good
speakers, an applause meter and most importantly, a crowd ready to
cheer and dance to great music.
iPod battles pit teams of two against each other in a boxing ring,
ready to combat with killer songs from their playlists. Tracks are
played for 60 to 90 seconds at a time. After each round, a Master of
Ceremonies measures applause and cheers from the crowd. Eight teams in
all compete, and after three rounds, the two remaining teams face-off
in a final music-geek-death-match.
The concept was brought to Montreal by fluke two years ago.
Jonathan Maurice was in France when he went to a Parisian iPod battle
out of curiosity. It was Teki Latex, member of the French hip-hop group
TTC who envisioned this new type of music competition.
Your iPod Kung-Fu Is Weak
Isn't there a weird kind of loneliness associated with iPods? Headphone wearing souls can seem so isolated in public. Now kids are figuring out how to make everyone's favorite MP3 player more sociable: iPod battles.
Photo by Doudou