iPod song list gray on iTunes

Grey text when you look at the content and lock symbol at the bottom of the screen simply shows that your iPod is set to syncronise (automatically update) with iTunes. If you want to access your iPod directly, drag songs to it, play it through your iTunes, connect it to a second computer etc. you just need to change the update method to "Manually manage songs and videos" in the iPod Summary tab and click Apply. The text will change from grey to dark and the padlock will disappear: Managing content manually on iPod

One thing to be aware of with manually updating is that the iPod also has to be manually ejected before the "Do Not Disconnect" message will go away. Safely disconnect iPod