They get so scratched into our souls.
Ain't that the truth.
I like a lot of songs. Some of them I have liked immediately, the first time I heard them. Me and Mia by Ted Leo is one of these. So is pretty much every Death Cab song. Other songs take me awhile. Maybe I think they're okay at first or maybe I don't like them at all, but eventually they grow on me. And these songs are the ones that I eventually become obsessed with. I enjoy them more and more every time I hear them until it becomes a craving. There is something about that music and those lyrics, or maybe it is just one tiny little chord change or an extra little "Woo!" after a line, that makes you need to hear it over and over.
A list* of some of my certain songs:
Twisted - Joni Mitchell
Pretty much any song off of Court and Spark could go here, but this one held special appeal for my nine-year-old mind. I listened over and over and knew every word by heart.
Oh they used to laugh at me
When I refused to ride
On all those double decker buses
All because there was no driver on the top
I Hear the Bells - Mike Doughty
The guitar is so simple, and the lyrics so great. I'm seeking girls/In sales and marketing/Let's go make out/Up in the balcony. What does that even mean? Also, bonus points for being featured it one of my favorite Veronica Mars scenes of all time.
Soft Rock Star - Metric
I like Metric, I do, but I would like them a lot better if they had more songs like this. And I didn't ever know what EH was singing until a couple months ago.
Breathe Me - Sia
You know that feeling when it is cold and you are tired or sad and you would give almost anything just to curl up in bed and go to sleep ot get a warm hug from someone you trust? This song is that feeling.
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service
I had this CD and ignored it for a long time, until I was on the bus to Calgary with nothing good to read and a long road ahead of me. I pu tit in my discman and didn't take it out for three months.
Girl in the War - Josh Ritter
It's. Just. So. Sad. And pretty. I can't listen to it now without thinking of walking across Holy Rosary park on my way downtown and 7:30 in the morning. It sounds like wet grass.
Omaha - Counting Crows
All the verses of this song are really similar and it's really easy to get mixed up while singing along. One night I couldn't sleep and I must've listened to this 15 times, over and over 'til I got it perfect.
And most recently:
Set The Fire To The Third Bar - Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol is good and all, but it is Martha Wainwright on background vocals that makes this song. I would kill for a voice like that.
Nick Hornby has a collection of essays about his favorite songs and in it he talks about this feeling and how it eventually goes away. He thinks this happens when you 'solve' the song. It stops holding any mystery and the novelty fades. You, the listener, have sucked it dry. I see what he's saying. Most of these songs don't have the same effect on me they once did. But the reverse is also true. I had to solve the song at least partway before I could really enjoy it.
*by no means complete, and not in any kind of order
3.31.2007
3.29.2007
#3 - I'm Just Walkin' My Dog
Singin' my song
Strollin' along
It was nice outside today! So nice in fact, that when my sister asked if I would take Rusty to the dog park for a "Quick ten minute run!" after dropping Caleb off at school I agreed, and hardly complained about it at all. This was a big mistake. Big. Huge.
Because, aside from dog shit, the two most common things to find in a dog park are as follows: 1) Dogs, and 2)Cheery, talkative, dog-owning strangers who feel a connection to you, just because you both happen to own the most common housepet in North America. And there are few things I dislike more than strange dogs and people I don't know trying to talk to me.
These people kept asking me questions. What's his name? What kind of dog is he? How old? What do you feed him? Is he good with the baby? How long have you had him? And I try to be polite, and answer as best I can (even though I have no idea what he gets fed, or how old he is, or what kind of dog he is), but the whole time I am screaming inside my head "I AM NOT ONE OF YOU! I DO NOT BELONG TO THIS WEIRD, FRIENDLY CANINE CULT! WILL YOU PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE SO I CAN LISTEN TO MY NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW PODCAST IN PEACE!"
But I never said it out loud. So they just kept on talking. Most of the time, while all this is happening, thier dog is smelling my ass.
Ick. Ick. Ick. I am never going back.
In other news: My mood picked up considerably later in the day when Caleb almost started a brawl with two kids twice his size in Adventure Zone. I literally had to hold him back while he screamed things like: "I can't control myself!" and "They're gonna get a knuckle sandwich, HARDCORE!"
I realize that this could've ended really badly, but since it didn't it is hilarious. I bet he could've taken them too, despite the size difference. The kid is scrappy.
Strollin' along
It was nice outside today! So nice in fact, that when my sister asked if I would take Rusty to the dog park for a "Quick ten minute run!" after dropping Caleb off at school I agreed, and hardly complained about it at all. This was a big mistake. Big. Huge.
Because, aside from dog shit, the two most common things to find in a dog park are as follows: 1) Dogs, and 2)Cheery, talkative, dog-owning strangers who feel a connection to you, just because you both happen to own the most common housepet in North America. And there are few things I dislike more than strange dogs and people I don't know trying to talk to me.
These people kept asking me questions. What's his name? What kind of dog is he? How old? What do you feed him? Is he good with the baby? How long have you had him? And I try to be polite, and answer as best I can (even though I have no idea what he gets fed, or how old he is, or what kind of dog he is), but the whole time I am screaming inside my head "I AM NOT ONE OF YOU! I DO NOT BELONG TO THIS WEIRD, FRIENDLY CANINE CULT! WILL YOU PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE SO I CAN LISTEN TO MY NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW PODCAST IN PEACE!"
But I never said it out loud. So they just kept on talking. Most of the time, while all this is happening, thier dog is smelling my ass.
Ick. Ick. Ick. I am never going back.
In other news: My mood picked up considerably later in the day when Caleb almost started a brawl with two kids twice his size in Adventure Zone. I literally had to hold him back while he screamed things like: "I can't control myself!" and "They're gonna get a knuckle sandwich, HARDCORE!"
I realize that this could've ended really badly, but since it didn't it is hilarious. I bet he could've taken them too, despite the size difference. The kid is scrappy.
3.27.2007
#2 - Oh Jesus Christ Almighty
Do I feel alright? No not slightly.
Actually, mostly I feel okay. Except that it snowed. And it's still snowing. And I'm not sure if it's ever going to stop. Yesterday I was walking around in a t-shirt, I even made a playlist on iTunes called 'Spring!', and now this.
I had to make a new playlist called 'The Godfather/March Blizzard'. Because that is what this is! Also, I'm reading The Godfather. What does it tell you that the music I choose for this weather is the same as what I listen to while reading about someone finding the head of a horse in their sheets?
It is supposed to warm up tomorrow. I hope it does.
A small selection of song off 'The Godfather/March Blizzard':
From 'Spring!':
Actually, mostly I feel okay. Except that it snowed. And it's still snowing. And I'm not sure if it's ever going to stop. Yesterday I was walking around in a t-shirt, I even made a playlist on iTunes called 'Spring!', and now this.
I had to make a new playlist called 'The Godfather/March Blizzard'. Because that is what this is! Also, I'm reading The Godfather. What does it tell you that the music I choose for this weather is the same as what I listen to while reading about someone finding the head of a horse in their sheets?
It is supposed to warm up tomorrow. I hope it does.
A small selection of song off 'The Godfather/March Blizzard':
- Radiohead - Talk Show Host
- The Hold Steady - Certain Songs
- The Jam - That's Entertainment
- Mike Doughty - I Hear The Bells
- Maximo Park - Going Missing
- Bloc Party - Blue Light
- Damien Rice - Grey Room
From 'Spring!':
- Nellie McKay - The Dog Song
- The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
- The Shins - Australia
- OK Go - Don't Ask Me
- The Delays - Stay Where You Are
- Camille - Ta Douleur
- Damien Rice - Dogs
To top it off John Green has an eye infection so Brotherhood 2.0 hasn't been new since Thursday. Caleb has made me watch Nerd Fighters three times today.
3.24.2007
Number One
So lately it seems like everyone I know has a blog. And I was feeling a little left out. So here is my first attempt. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I am actually typing and finding I have nothing to say. Perhaps this will get easier over time? I really do not want to be one of those people who gets a blog for the sake of getting one, posts four times about absolute drivel that even their closest friends wouldn't care about, and then abandons it. Jeez, I just got snarky. Sorry.
Anyway, I have never had much success with traditional journals. I have little books that I keep notes and quotes and lists in, but very few actual entries with dates and full sentences and so on. Maybe if I am writing something that someone might actually read (emphasis on the might), I will go to the trouble of capitalization, periods etc. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Anyway, I have never had much success with traditional journals. I have little books that I keep notes and quotes and lists in, but very few actual entries with dates and full sentences and so on. Maybe if I am writing something that someone might actually read (emphasis on the might), I will go to the trouble of capitalization, periods etc. I guess we will have to wait and see.
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