ampersand

Setbacks.

Dealing with a massive disappointment this week, I’ve been alternately despondent, filled with rage, quietly optimistic, and full-on exhausted. I fear what yet another winter here will mean for me, my head, and my sanity. Once more, I feel trapped in a life that, nearly 30 years in, still doesn’t feel like mine. I use too many commas. I want to cry and hit something or just disappear in a more complete way than I already have.

The song I can’t get out of my head

Brought to you, randomly, by Fox Searchlight. As a video for Little Miss Sunshine. Weird.

Still, enjoy: “Coming Home”, by my new favorite band, The 88.

New Bruce!

While I don’t love this song as much as I loved everything on “Magic”, “Life Itself” appears to be a harbinger of another solid Bruce record. And I can be happy with solid records from the man who gave us “The River”. And “Nebraska”. And “Born in the U.S.A.”

listening and hearing.

spending some quality time with my iPod tonight (before it gets pushed aside when my iPhone arrives), I’ve been subjected to an eerie number of songs that have proven to be relevant to what’s going on in my life. But the thing I’ve really noticed is how far away my John Mayer phase seems now. And I guess that’s a good thing, since the Heavier Things album was basically the soundtrack to the darkest period of my life so far (and judge that however you’d like to). My reaction to no longer knowing every word to Bigger Than My Body like I wrote it was at first surprise at my waning memory, but then a bit of happiness that I haven’t had to fall back on that in a really long time.

And that made me happy, something I need to notice far more than I currently do.

iPod Roulette

Why not take a break from writing about boys and TV shows and show the world just how embarrassing my music collection is? Sounds like a fantastic idea to me! So, here goes. You know how to do it. Put ye olde iPod on shuffle and list the first ten songs. No lying. So, here goes:

1. As I Wind Down The Pines : The Tragically Hip
   From the Music@Work record, one I believe I didn’t listen to more than a handful of times. Also, I feel like I’ve heard that phrase numerous times before, but google only returns references to the song.
2. Son of Your Father: Elton John
   From the Tumbleweed Connection, a treasure trove of an album from which many a motion picture soundtrack has pilfered. Not my favorite from the record though.
3. Over at the Frankenstein Place: Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast
   Gives a whole new meaning to any port in a storm, I guess. To oddly sexy results.
4. Diplo Rhythm: Diplo
   I’m pretty sure that this was the song that Sandra Oh danced to while brushing her teeth in front of Burke back in the Grey’s Anatomy heyday.
5. Nobody Does it Better: Brittany Murphy
   Oh yeah. Here comes the humiliation.  From the Little Black Book soundtrack. Bad movie. But for some reason, I’m a sucker for cheesy rom coms that feature Carly Simon songs (see also How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days). And, I’ll admit it. I sing Carly’s songs sometimes when I’m alone in my apartment too. So there. Shut up.
6. Bull in a China Shop: Barenaked Ladies
   From “Barenaked Ladies are Me”. I’ll be honest, I haven’t really felt most of their music since Maroon. Stunt was the last album where I was at least 90% along for the ride. Though, you know what? Most of the time I feel like a bull in a china shop.
7. ‘s Wonderful: Ella Fitzgerald
   I don’t really dig on this song all that much. It reminds me, however, of the episode of Gilmore Girls where Emily got arrested.
8. Do Wah Diddy Diddy: Manfred Mann
   This is one of the earliest songs I remember hearing. Something about the melody of it makes me think of summer time and what it feels like to fall in love.
9. Everything’s Ruined: Fountains of Wayne
   Pretty sure I’ve not listened to this whole song. The intro reminds me of “Leggy Blonde” by Flight of the Conchords. Can’t really get into FoW. Meh.
10. Freak on a Leash: Korn
    I bought this CD for $3. This song was quite popular when I was in my first year of uni. I remember the video being cool. No. The video for it was a cartoon. What was the one with the bullet? No, it WAS the one with the bullet. And the cartoon. My mind isn’t fully going. Phew. The only other thing I really remember about Korn was that the lead singer played the bagpipes.

And that’s all I got for now. I think I need some dinner. Maybe that’ll ease the headache.

This week in music.

OK, I’m like the last person in the world to jump on the Wilco train, but here I am. One (super-early) morning at work, I threw on the Sky Blue Sky album, which I loved. Especially “Either Way”.  It makes me feel comfortable, like the songs that crackled through the AM radio on long car trips when I was a kid. But it also feels new and fresh.

The lyrics are also incredibly applicable to my life. And that always earns any song huge bonus points.

I’ve also recently rounded out my Thrush Hermit collection (have I ever mentioned that I heart Joel Plaskett? Because I so do, because of one eerie afternoon in cottage country with a couple of friends who are a couple. We were escaping cabin fever in an SUV, headed at a high speed down a country road. Randomly, talking about cell phones. And, it just so happened we were listening to Truthfully, Truth Fully. And “Extraordinary” came on.

In case you’ve never heard  the song, let me recap a verse:

I was doing 140 in my SUV,
Cruising with my girl,
It was twenty past three,
I was talking about changing my cell phone plan,
When my girl says “Baby you’re a boy you’re not a man,”

And from that serendipitous May 2-4 Sunday on, I’ve been enamored of Joel Plaskett and his Emergency.

And and? How did I not know until yesterday that there’s a band called The Superfantastics? Because that is pretty much the best band name ever, and they have great songs. I have to go buy their CDs. Like right now.