I got tagged for my first meme and I am so happy about it that I had to sit right down and start answering it! And also say my thanks to the gorgeous Jecca for tagging me. She was tagged by Coquette, a blogger I only recently discovered and whom I envy dearly because she gets to live in Paris and eat all the unpasteurized cheese she wants. (Please note that I do not know her, so I have no idea whether or not she wants to eat oodles of unpasteurized cheese, but if I were in Paris, that is what I would do. From the picture on her site, she appears quite skinny, and so perhaps does not gorge on the cheese the way I do.)
Anway! The theme is Music in My Kitchen, and I have to first point out that technically, there is no music IN my kitchen. Because there is no stereo in my kitchen. But when I play music from the computer, which sits in a corner of the living room, which is adjacent to the kitchen, I can HEAR music in my kitchen, so consider this to be about Music In Or Around My Kitchen. I love being in my kitchen, and I actually enjoy it when it's totally quiet; however, listening to music while doing anything in my kitchen is excellent. Especially if it's reading a magazine while my husband cooks for me.
So on with the meme!
What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
This is kind of sad. I have about 5,000 songs in my library, which at first seems like a big number but really, is not. I swear, it would be much, much higher if I stopped thinking about uploading the bascrillion CDs sitting over against the wall and actually did it. I have all but ceased physically searching for songs or CDs, so the sad truth is that if I haven't uploaded it, I may forget that I ever owned it.
Do you know either the book or the movie High Fidelity? In which the main character sorts and re-sorts his record collection, as a sort of comforting habit? Well, if you know what I'm talking about and can imagine stacks of records and nostalgic monologues about the places where each were bought, for whom and for what and when�then you are imagining my polar opposite, because I am embracing the notion of a paperless society with open arms, and while I love music, I do not love CDs or records or tapes or the wrappings in which all those things comes. I love iTunes because it is so very tidy and that is why it has become my sole means of looking for music. Which means that a shitload of stuff is sitting forgotten over there against the dining room wall, waiting for me to upload it and rediscover about 76,449 great songs. (There is a black CD binder from college that is tucked away under a bookshelf which may produce the biggest surprises. Off hand, I know that my college years included both my Beastie Boys phase and my Indigo Girls phase, so pretty much, anything goes.)
What is the last CD you bought?
I think the last physical CD I bought was the Loretta Lynn album, "Van Lear Rose," produced by my [creepy] crush, Jack White. I also bought a collection at Here Music called something like "Sweetheart Songs", which is a compilation of different singers singing their favorite lovesongs. Aimee Mann sings on it, and I will buy anything that features her voice.
If we're talking virtual CDs, I've downloaded a few things recently. The most recent is the Beck album, "Midnite Vultures." And Ricky Fante, a new favorite whom I discovered watching late night TV, literally on a commercial in between Saturday Night Live and Live From The Apollo. The commercial was advertising his new CD, I said to my husband, "I think I would like that music," Kent downloaded the songs for me, and I loved it. He's R&B, super sexy, super soulful. Loved the songs, bought the album.
Oh, and the last CD I totally didn't buy but had my dad copy for me was Ray Charles, "Genious Loves Company."
What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?
"Never Said," by Liz Phair. Emilie and I were having ourselves a nice little music-themed email conversation earlier, and she got me thinking about Liz Phair, which isn't hard to do because I super-duper love her older music, before she showed up on VH1 looking like Meg Ryan. When I am cooking in the kitchen I like to listen to one artist, usually, versus the party shuffle. I can listen straight through the Liz Phair section on my iTunes, finish, and start again. "Never Said," was the last song of hers I played, and I put her on all the damn time when I'm at home alone.
Write down five songs you often listen to, or that mean a lot to you.
My favorite question of the survey!
1. Bad, by U2
This is my sex song. I love it so, so much, and it actually isn't a song I listen to all that frequently, because if I did my heart would burst and shatter into a million tiny pieces and I would have to spend all my days looking under the couch and behind the bookshelves for that last little bleeding bit of red. Yes, it's that good, and yes, technically, I cheated by putting it on the list since I don't listen to it often, but I don't care. I once spent a weekend in bed listening to this song over and over again, and the person with whom I was in bed remains a lovely, lovely memory. I think it's a hot song. It's raw, it totally builds up, Bono screams -- SCREAMS, there's bass pounding, it's the end of the album, it's awesome. I was watching TV not long ago, and I heard this song come on, and I completely froze: I think it was Alias, actually, and Sydney and Vaughn were totally doing it to My Sex Song, and as soon as I heard the music start I felt my heart pound and I kind of caught my breath and this wave of sadness and happiness and nostalgia completely knocked me on my ass. Anytime a song can do that, it's a good fucking song. For me, it's like an old love letter from someone gone but not forgotten, and you only pull those letters out on certain days, but when you do, man, is it good.
2. You Go On Ahead, by Liz Phair
This isn't my favorite Liz Phair song, or the one that I play the most frequently, but something about it just gets to me. I love spare, direct writing, and I think this song gets to the guts and blood of a relationship with a minimum of words. The best compliment I have ever received about my writing is that I tell it like it is when I write about marriage, and whenever I think of that compliment, this song comes to mind. Liz tells it like it is.
It's a death in our love that has brought us here
It's a birth that has changed our lives
It's a place that I hope we'll be leaving soon
And I fear for the year in his eyes.
And my favorite line EVER:
You walk out of the room with your hands so deep
in your pockets I don't recognize you.
I adore this song. It breaks my heart, in the very best way.
3. Love to See You Shine, by Imani Coppola
...Whereas this song makes me smile and dance and shake it like the red-hot gogo girl I always kinda wanted to be. I have no idea what ever happened to Imani Coppola or where she came from, for that matter, but I bought her CD ages ago and I love it. I love this song most of all, because it is just so FUN. FUN FUN FUN.
4. Lost Cause, by Beck
Okay, I like sad songs. This one is a favorite of mine, and it reminds me of home. Meaning, Home, as in, the place where my man waits for me and holds me tight. I think the first time I really heard it was after an arguement with Kent. I left to go get coffee or a magazine or something, I really don't remember what or when or why, but I got back home and this song was on. It's kind of an apology in my mind, a concession that, despite appearances, he or me or we are doing the best we can but that we are only human, god dammit, and sometimes we fuck up. I love Beck, and this song sooths me. I love it.
5. All I Want, Joni Mitchell
"I wanna wreck my stockings in some juke box dive."
Exactly. What more can I say?
It's hard for me to just put down 5 songs. And it's hard to NOT include "Romeo & Juliet," "Gimme Shelter," "Higher Ground," "Into the Mystic," "American Girl," "Don't Come Around Here No More," "Destination Moon," "Galileo," "In Your Eyes," "Harder Now That It's Over," "The Lonely One," "American Music," "Frank Sinatra," "Lake Charles," "Jolene," "Tear," "Strange Condition," and "California Stars," and about a million other songs. But we'll go with these 5 for now. And OH MY GOD, I forgot "Angel From Montgomery," by Bonnie Raitt. I AM A FOOL! THAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG EVER. EVER!!!
So 5b) is ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY WHICH KILLS ME DEAD EVERY TIME I HEAR IT, AND NO, THE ALL CAPS ARE NOT EXCESSIVE!
Who are you going to pass this stick to (three persons) and why?
Definitely Emilie, because she and I could and have talked about music for long, long periods of time, and I know she has much to say. Maxwell has great taste in music and always has interesting things to say. And maybe to Winnie, who is so super cool that she might think it's really lame, but has great taste in food and music, so is worth a shot.
