Making order out of chaos

Category — music

She’s got electric boobs

No, I haven’t discovered some sort of disco bra; I’ve discovered the movie 27 Dresses.

There is a great scene where Jane and Kevin are dancing on the bar in some dive singing along to Benny and the Jets by Elton John.

I nearly peed my pants when Jane sings the line “…she’s got electric boobs…”. I was thrilled to discover that someone else had misheard that line in exactly the way I had misheard that line.

Never mind the worn out “…excuse me, while I kiss this guy…” stuff – electric boobs are WAY funnier.

I’ve misheard lots of song lyrics – but this one is my favourite. What song lyrics have you misheard?

Bonus points to those of you who have sung the wrong lyrics in public!

October 1, 2008   5 Comments

What does my music collection say about me?

It’s been a week and no posts from me, but I have good excuses. While I look around for those, you should read this meme I stole from Allison.

If someone new were in your car, what song on your player would you be quickest to skip out of embarrassment?
-I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder. I love this song, but I don’t think I’m supposed to.
 
What song or song(s) is/are most “atypical” on your player?
-Pretty much anything by Metallica – but there are times when Metallica is called for.

What song(s) on your player turns you on?
-Creatively? Some Devil by Dave Matthews or Into Dust by Mazzy Star and anything off the Hernán Cattáneo Sequential Volume 2 cd set. Physically? Well, I think What if We Could and Sound of Pulling Heaven Down by Blue October are a good start.

If you wanted to get a member of the opposite sex in the mood, what song would you program to come on when they are in the car?
-Lovers in a Dangerous Time by the Barenaked Ladies or Better Together by Jack Johnson.

What is the longest song on your player?
-Bolero by Ravel.

What do you think is the silliest song on your player?
-Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton.

What did you most recently add to your player?
-
The Dollyrots, Because I’m Awesome cd.

What did you most recently delete?
-Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric. I like it a lot, but it was really jarring given the other songs in the playlist.

What is your favorite song on your player that is from a movie?
-Someone to Love by Fiona Apple from the Pleasantville soundtrack and Cherry Cherry by Neil Diamond from Anchorman.
 
Is there a song on your player that is only there for someone else’s benefit?
-Symphonic by Emm Gryner. Joe loves her – I tolerate her.
 
What song or artist do you find yourself skipping most frequently and therefore should probably delete?
-No Rain by Blind Melon. This song depresses and annoys me.

Without cheating, start your player and list the first 10 songs that come up in random play.
1. Impossible Germany – Wilco
2. Five Long Years – Colin James
3. Some Devil – Dave Matthews
4. Edie (Ciao Baby) – The Cult
5. Let Yourself Go – Alex Pangman
6. Mission to Moscow – Benny Goodman
7. Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor – Bwv 1043 1.Vivace – J.S. Bach
8. Rico – Matthew Good Band
9. Carry On My Wayward Son – Kansas
10. All You Want – Dashboard Prophets

Talk about ecclectic!

Better posts are coming I swear it (still searching for my excuses list).

August 28, 2008   3 Comments

Strange Connections

I originally wanted to title this post “From Iron Maiden to World Peace in Three Easy Steps”, but however apt that title is for the ramblings of my brain today, it seemed too wordy.

Here’s how it happened:

I was on my way back from Warriors and Wonders and just ahead of me I saw a young man with an Iron Maiden iron-on patch on his backpack. The first thing I did was think of the following exchange from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Evil Duke: Put them in the Iron Maiden.
B&T: Iron Maiden! Excellent!
Evil Duke: Execute them.
B&T: Bogus.

I liked Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It was very silly, but very entertaining and even slightly educational. Then, I started thinking about how Bill and Ted’s band Wyld Stallyns eventually brought world peace, repaired the environment and caused people to just be excellent to one another.

I’m not under the impression that this could actually happen – but I think that music does bring peace to individuals. Once you look past the music you associate with particular people and situations (like ex boyfriends or girlfriends, nasty breakups and general angst) you should be left with music that is for yourself alone. Music that just makes you happy, that lets you live purely in the moment.

I don’t really know anything about music except what I like to listen to, so I have no idea why some music makes me cringe or irritates me while other music makes me feel calm or fills me with absolute joy. I suppose if I were to actually finish reading This is Your Brain on Music, I’d have a better idea – but since I didn’t I’m just going to ramble on here.

For instance, the song Dirt by Phish is a song I find very calming. The lyrics are a little melancholy, and it’s not that I don’t hear the lyrics, but I don’t exactly pay attention to them and dissect them either. The song just is what it is and so am I when I listen to it.

On the other hand if I listen to Mr. Coffee by Lagwagon, or the Sex Pistols version of My Way, I feel full of energy and snarky comments. I don’t associate any of these songs with any particular person – I just like them and they do neat things to the way I think while it’s playing.

When I think about the music I associate with people – it gets more complicated. It’s not about just me – it’s about me in relation to another person. For instance, I can’t hear the song Good by Better Than Ezra without thinking of my ex and how awful our breakup was. And it’s not that I go back and relive the pain or anything so melodramatic – but simply that I see it like a movie in my head - that poor, heartsick girl who felt so utterly dismissed and discarded as a person. I feel bad for her.

On the other hand, I listen to May I Go by Econoline Crush and I suddenly find myself in 2004, Perth, Ontario walking late at night late in September feeling like I could never be happier or be more complete as a person.  I can smell leaves and cold air, I am happy and content and everything is just really good. I like going back to that one.

I love that music can do this – even when the memory or picture it evokes isn’t pleasant, it’s still pretty cool that I can see it.

I suppose this is really nothing more than the soundtrack of my life. I can look at my music collection and for nearly everything, I know why I bought it, approximately when I got it and who it makes me think of (in those cases where I associate it with people).

So, I suppose what I’m trying to say is go watch Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (because it’s funny) and High Fidelity (because John Cusak’s character Rob says all this stuff better than I do) and think about your own soundtrack.

March 26, 2008   No Comments