It seems so very unlikely that I’ll ever get married again, but if I do I hope she’ll understand why wedding songs are requiems, why the confession of love cannot help connoting loss, betrayal, rejection. Love is the denial of these tragedies and only the existence of pain can give happiness meaning. I hope she’ll forgive me this image of
Read moreThere are so many sad songs and so many things to be sad about, so I suppose there are a lot of correct answers to this one. For my part, few things are sadder than the moment when the music dies. And I have to tell you, I really miss Warren Zevon.
Read moreThis is almost unfair. When I’m happy I listen to all kinds of music. When I’m not happy, there are thousands of songs that can pick me up. Seriously – the relationship between music and happy is impossible to articulate where I’m concerned. I’ll drive myself crazy if I try to come up with the definitive answer. So in the
Read moreA song I listen to when I’m angry? Oh, hell – this one is easy. Not only do I listen to Rammstein when I’m mad, “Du Hast” makes me feel good about being mad.
Read moreHmmm. What is my favorite album, anyway? A Night at the Opera? Reckoning? Zenyatta Mondatta? Million Star Hotel? Romeo at Julliard? Damn. This is tough. But I guess I’ll go with my knee-jerk response when I first saw the question and say The Unforgettable Fire. So, hope you’re enjoying your Saturday night (of course, if you are, then you’re probably
Read moreI could go a lot of different directions here, but I decided to be straight-up about my self-interest. I’d like to hear Fiction 8‘s “Hegemony” on the radio, partly because I just love the song, partly because I’m good friends with front man Mike Smith, and oh yeah, partly because I co-wrote it. (More on that process here and here.)
Read moreOkay, I’m afraid I have to punt on this one. Fact is, I never listen to music radio anymore. Never. There’s just no point. Once upon a time, if you wanted to get your ears on the latest, coolest tuneage, you turned on the radio. Now, if you want to get your ears on the latest, coolest tuneage, radio is
Read moreThis is the toughest task yet in the challenge. There are plenty of songs I used to love that I don’t listen to much anymore. There are songs that I tolerated once but my patience has now run out on. But all the way from love to hate – that’s hard because with me love is earned for good reason
Read moreI’m afraid to think about this one, honestly. I know for a fact that I’m complex and contradictory as hell, and it would be asking a lot to come up with a thousand songs that manage to describe me. Further, I know from experience that others see me in ways I often can’t begin to recognize, which only adds to
Read moreAs noted elsewhere, I’m something of a music freak. Thousands of CDs. And I write about it, occasionally with a degree of seriousness. Being a cultural studies scholar (yes, I’ve presented papers on popular music at actual academic conferences), I have to admit that I’ve never fully understood people who don’t care about music as a dynamic artistic force the
Read moreI probably ought to invoke my 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. But nobody made me take on the challenge, did they? So today, instead of one song that’s a guilty pleasure, let’s just go for three strikes and you’re out. If I had to pick just one, I’d start with this, which has to be about the dumbest and most
Read moreI talk a lot about generational dynamics and have been known to criticize the collective shortcomings of the Boomers and Millennials. I’ve also allowed that my generation (X) has some failings of its own, and one of them is that our cynicism can get the best of us. In fact, sometimes it almost seems to define us. As much as
Read moreI know that there’s no such thing as a band that everybody likes, and I’m fine with the idea that some people can’t stand my favorite band, U2. I don’t always understand the objections, but so what. I am puzzled when people flat-out misunderstand fairly obvious poses, like Bono’s Macphisto or The Fly characters, which were explicit Pop Star parodies
Read moreI take it that I’m unusual in at least one respect – most people I know seem to like it quiet when they go to bed, but I have always preferred to drift off to music. There are a number of CDs that I like, including things like Andreas Vollenweider’s Down to the Moon and Irish Heartbeat by Van Morrison
Read moreAre you kidding me? I got so much rhythm coursing up and down my sexy body I can dance to the sound of a light breeze rustling through tall grass. So let’s let all y’all play. Here’s one of the greatest dance songs in history. If you can’t move to “Party Train” somebody better call 911, because you might be
Read more
lullaby pit 