Favorite Songs

Inevitably on Facebook or with friends over a few drinks, someone asks the question - "what are your three favorite songs?"  I hate this question.  I never have understood how anyone can answer this question.  For me - it depends.  Maybe it is because I love so many kinds of music.  Or, maybe it is because I was an economics major and I learned that the answer is always it depends.  Music affects me.  It can lift my spirits, make my spidey-senses tingle or be a warm blanket (like a snuggie, only less stupid) on a cold night.  So, it depends.  Mostly on my mood, but it depends on a lot of things.  But, here we go - my list of my favorite songs.  The caveat is, of course, that it depends.  This could all change tomorrow.  Even with all the categories, I still went back and forth several times.  How could I leave out The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" or Aimee Mann's "Red Vines?"  Never mind - I'll update the list later - here it is.  My three favorite songs (for now):

For when I want to wallow in my melancholy

- Tom Waits "I Think I Just Fell in Love with You"

- Beth Orton's cover of "Ooh Child"

- Elvis Costello "Almost Blue"

For when I am feeling defiant

- Cake "Nugget"

- Ted Leo "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone"

- Liz Phair "Never Said"

For when I am feeling anxious and insecure

- Ani DiFranco "32 Flavors"

- Melissa Ferrick "Everything I Need"

- Dixie Chicks "Long Way Around" (you didn't see that coming, did you)

For when I am feeling sassy

- Bob Schneider "Boom Boom Baby"

- Missy Elliot "Bring the Pain"

- Me'Shell Ndegeocello "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)"

For when I am feeling cheery and bouncy

- Duran Duran "Taste The Summer"

- Scissor Sisters "Take Your Mama"

- Jamiroquai "Canned Heat"

For when I need a cathartic cry

- Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt"

- Dusty Springfield "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself"

- Jeff Buckley cover of "Hallelujah"

For a lazy Sunday

- Nina Simone "Put a Little Sugar in My Bowl"

- Wilco "Kamera"

- Deathcab for Cutie "Your Heart Is An Empty Room"

For when I am feeling energized

- LCD Soundsystem "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House"

- Jet "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"

- David Bowie "Suffragette City"

If anyone is reading this... what are your thoughts?

Pilot Episode - Technology

Welcome to my blog.  This is the pilot episode where we introduce our characters, establish the major plot arc, blah blah blah... yeah.  I'm not doing that.  No plot here - just my random musings.  If you find these bits interesting and entertaining, please tell me and tell others.  If you hate it, please don't tell anyone!

Technology

A few years ago, my friend (we'll call her "Angie") was dating a guy.  I won't go into the details of her love life, but suffice to say, he was a jerk and our nickname for him was not PG 13.  [Quick aside - this is not a blog about relationships.  I promise.  This is just background to establish my hopefully very interesting point about technology, so stop groaning and keep reading.]  After some time, "Angie" realized the jerkiness that was her boyfriend (we'll call him "Nick") and broke up with him.  Several weeks went by, her anger escalated and she reached the point that most people do at the end of a bad relationship.  She decided it was time to delete him from her cell phone (see... it is about technology).   She hit "Delete Nick" on her phone.  To which, the phone responded "are you sure you want to delete Nick?"  It's true.  Her Motorola RAZR caused a re-evaluation of her entire relationship.  No.  She wasn't ready to delete Noah.  In fact, it took her several weeks before she could delete the man we called Nick-the-narcissistic-sociopathic-f@#k-wit from her phone.  [This leads me to another aside. F@#k-wit is my favorite expletive.   Really rolls off the tongue and is the most pointed of all the variations of the f-bomb, don't you think?]

The reality is that our modern mobile culture has made it such that when you "delete" someone, they are not only deleted from your phone, but they are, in fact, deleted from your life.  Truth is, I don't even know my sister's phone number and I talk or text her almost every day!  If I lost my blackberry, many people would be deleted from my life.  People that I really don't want deleted from my life.  OK - there are a few names in there that if deleted, things would carry on just fine.  But, do I really want my phone to be the impetus?  This seems like a decision that every girl must make for herself.  When is the right time to "delete Nick?"  Beats me.  Maybe that explains the "Frank" in my phone that, for the life of me, I don't know who he is.  Maybe it is time.....