Earworm in sneakers

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One of the things I miss by being on WordPress instead of Livejournal is the little “current music/location/mood” fields.  Music in particular.  Because my state of mind is so intertwined with whatever I’m listening to.  And I often get stuck in a particular song or album, like an elephant in a tar pit.  And I like being able to flick back through entries to help me remember what songs I was absorbing at what time.

The absence of music in the field is just as telling.  Because I /like/ to have a song viciously stuck in my head.  I feel a bit hollow when it’s only my thoughts rattling around up there.  I like a good low-grade obsession to cushion the edges.

I’ve been lucky enough recently, for instance, to stumble on a bunch of songs at once that are ‘edible’.  Which makes me so happy I can’t even say.  It’s the opposite of the despair caused by a music dearth — there is abundance, and it is good.

Especially good because a lot of the songs I’m obsessing over are, it turns out, /really/ good songs to run to.  I can be wiped out and dripping with sweat, but if a runnable song pops to the top of the iPod stack, I can push through the pain easy.

And so, not to be a hoardypants, these are the songs that are currently in my head:

* The Boy With the Thorn in His Side — The Smiths

*  Mr.  Brightside — The Killers

*  Should I Stay — Gabrielle

*  Oh My God — Peaches & Pink

I’m noticing that songs with an “explicit” warning are just about the perfect pace for the speed I “run” at.  Other songs currently on my running playlist include:

* Irreplaceable — Beyonce

* Jesus Walks — Kanye West

* Never Gonna Get It — Akon, Sean Biggs & Topic

* Alison — Elvis Costello

* It Ain’t Me Babe — Jesse Cook feat. Melissa McClelland

I know, Elvis Costello.  Courtesy of a behind-the-scenes off Lost In Translation of Bill Murray lip syncing and dancing in a bathrobe to, you guessed it, Alison.

Posted in: music

And then sometimes…

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I was pretty put off of cabs after a run of unpleasant experiences. (Cabs are a good thing to be ‘off’ of it turns out, as it helps with being thrifty — “Just 8 miles? Nah, I’ll walk.”) But today I was ti-red and was carrying both my bass and a whack of heavy groceries. The heck with it I thought, I’m getting a cab.

Carrying a bass leads to a lot of interesting conversations. Which is both good and bad. Because if you’re feeling antisocial (ah, as I do, much of the time), you’re not too keen to be carrying around a honking big conversation starter. But on the plus side, the conversations it starts tend to be uplifting ones. People who are inspired to take up an instrument [cuz I’m doing it, and I’m ever so old 😉 ], people who fondly remember playing, people who just went to a great show… etc.

But today, in the cab, I got my best conversation so far. As soon as I got in, the driver asked if I was a musician (I was especially unkempt today, in a way that may have been perceived as “rock-like”). The driver who had a very strong Buena Vista Social Club vibe. Who plays guitar and bass. Who was recording in the studio just the other day. So we chatted all the way home. About 4 vs 5 vs 6 string (apparently I am missing the boat with my little 4-string, as it’s all about the 5 these days). About the role of bass in a band. About ‘catching’. About humming a bassline to get the “genuine” one. And so on. And occassionally, when he was imparting something really important, he would turn all the way around (at red lights) and make sure I was onside. “You have to hum it to really feel the good bassline, not just play the obvious notes, you know what I mean?”

Even though I am a total music noob, at some point I made a comment about the difference between a guitar player who plays bass, and a true bassist. I was rewarded with a deep, knowing nod and a solemn “yeah man, yeah”.

Yeah.

Posted in: life stuff, music, ponderings