They Love Each Other

Merry run around
sailing up and down
just looking for a shove
in some direction--
got it from the top
it's nothing you can stop
Lord, you know they
made a fine connection
They love each other
Lord, you can see it's true

He could pass his time

'round some other line

But you know he 

chose this place beside her.

Don't get in the way

there's nothing you can say,

Nothing that you need

to add or do

They love each other

Lord, you can see it's true...

[The Grateful Dead]

30 Songs

01 - your favorite song - Asking me to pick a favorite song is like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. It just isn't fair. As of right now, my most-played song on both my phone and my iPod is "Some Nights" by fun. It may stay that way for a month and it may change tomorrow. It all depends on the mood.

 02 - your least favorite song - This could be any number of songs.  I'll listen to anything once and I can tolerate about 95% of the music out there, but the rule of thumb for me, musically, is this -- if I can't understand your lyrics, I'm not listening to your music. If your song consists of gibberish proclaiming to be rap, no thanks. If your music is nothing but high-pitched screaming or gutteral grunts, it's not happening. I suppose that since I am such a word-centric person, this makes sense, as I am also unable to listen to songs in other languages, no matter how beautiful the music itself might be. I connect on a lyrical level, not a chord level.

 03 - a song that makes you happy - "Sugar Magnolia" by the Grateful Dead (because it's the first song I ever remember hearing by the Grateful Dead).

 04 - a song that makes you sad - "Breathe Me" by Sia (THANKS, "Six Feet Under") and "Miss You Love" by Maria Mena.

 05 - a song that reminds you of someone - "I Don't Want this Night to End" by Luke Bryan is the first song that popped in my head, because it's "our" song, but there are a hundred more answers to this.

 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere - I was listening to "Raspberry Beret" by Prince when I saw the ocean and walked on a beach for the first time. I was fourteen.

 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event - "Can't Fight the Moonlight" from the "Coyote Ugly" soundtrack was playing when my friends and I were in a seriously scary wreck when I was seventeen. I'd like to take this opportunity to note that I wasn't in charge of the musical selection on that particular evening.

 08 - a song that you know all the words to - My brain just twitched. It's 75% song lyrics. Are you kidding me? I'm going with "anything I've heard more than once." The one I may me a little proud of is "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel.

 09 - a song that you can dance to - Most songs, as long as they aren't unbearably slow.

 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep - "The Only Living Boy in New York" by Simon & Garfunkel.

 11 - a song from your favorite band - "If Work Permits" by The Format. "China Cat Sunflower" by  Grateful Dead.

 12 - a song from a band you hate - "Photograph" by Nickelback. Ugh.

 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure - Dude. "Toxic" by Britney Spears, "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake, "Invisible" by Clay Aiken, and now I'm going to stop because you get the point. In my defense, they're catchy as hell.

 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love - Rap. Hey, I have some. I listen to it. Just not often.

 15 - a song that describes you - "Imperfect Is The New Perfect" by Caitlin Crosby.

 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate - Panic! at the Disco's "Lying is The Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" ... which is odd. I love Panic!, truly I do, but some of the stuff on "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" just no longer appeals to me ("hate" is a strong word).  I've grown to love their "Vices & Virtues" sound much much more.

 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio - Since I keep my XM station tuned to the 90s station, I jam out regularly to "Follow You Down" by the Gin Blossoms and "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind, among other awesometastical hits from my adolescent years.

 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio - Anything from The Format.

 19 - a song from your favorite album - My favorite album is The Format's "Dog Problems" -- "Inches & Falling (I Love Love)" is one of their best songs, in my opinion. ♥

 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry - "Seventy Times 7" by Brand New ... some of the most angry, melodramatic lyrics ever ("I've seen more spine in jellyfish; I've seen more guts in 11 year old kids / so take another drink and drive yourself home / I hope there's ice on all the roads / & you can think of me when you forget your seatbelt / and again when your head goes through the windshield"). Also, very fun to sing-yell along to.

 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy -"Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes" by Kristin Andreassen (hat-tip to Bethany for that one -- I've been hooked on it since she introduced me!)

 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad - "Colorblind" by Counting Crows and "Keep Breathing" by Ingrid Michaelson.

 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding - I'm married, so I don't really think this applies, but the a sweet song to play at a wedding is Ben Harper's "Forever" :-)

 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral - I don't think it's really proper for a funeral, but I've always kind of loved "Brokedown Palace" by Grateful Dead as a farewell song -- "Fare you well, fare you well, I love you more than words can tell ... Going home, going home, by the waterside I will rest my bones; Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul."

 25 - a song that makes you laugh - "Just Like my Dog" by Billy Currington -- mostly because of the way my husband sings along to it. It cracks me up when his super-duper country comes out.

 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument - I never learned to play an instrument. Sad panda.

 27 - a song that you wish you could play - "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John.

 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty - "Southern Belle" by Elliott Smith

 29 - a song from your childhood - Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the first song I remember loving with all of my heart.  Mom and I used to dance to MJ music-video marathons in the living room. Best childhood EVER.

 30 - your favorite song at this time last year - Around this time last year I got really heavily into The Civil Wars, so basically the entire "Barton Hollow" album, with emphasis on the beginning track, "20 Years" ... and also a lot of Mumford & Sons, particularly "Awake My Soul."

Remember the time…

…you first heard the voice of the adorable little boy who would later be crowned the undisputed “King of Pop”?

…you saw the “Thriller” video premiered world-wide, forever revolutionizing the definition of ‘music video’? Remember the controversy that surrounded it?

…you tried to do the Moonwalk on your kitchen floor? Remember the rush you felt the first time you got it right? Remember the time you tried to do the ‘Smooth Criminal’ lean and nearly ended up flat on your face?

…you heard the single that you knew would forever be your favorite? What was it?

…his hair caught on fire while he was shooting that Pepsi commercial and the media flocked all over it?

…you watched his live broadcast from Neverland Ranch and he begged the public to stop treating him like a criminal? Remember crying for him during those dark years of his career and vehemently defending him against ignorant snarks from your peers who were looking for a cheap laugh?

…that he fought to overcome the evil of greed and lies that had sullied his reputation, and he just kept singing anyway -- Album after album of the brilliance we had come to expect from him.

…you heard that we had lost our beloved Michael? Do you remember where you were when you heard? Who you were with? Were you there to watch the headline on CNN fade in transition from “Michael Jackson hospitalized due to cardiac arrest” to something much more terrible?

Who did you tell? Which song did you play first as a tribute? Did you cry? Did you share stories with your friends or post on message boards? Did you glue yourself to your television, hoping desperately that it wasn’t true, feeling your heart sink when you realized it was, and worrying about his three beautiful children, his family, his friends that he left behind? Were you close enough to a landmark of his life to be able to go and leave a letter, a candle, a picture, a flower? Did you hear the hearts breaking around the globe, or did you just find your favorite album and turn it up as loud as you could?

Love him, hate him. Listen to him or don’t.
Criticize him for whatever you think he did or didn’t do right, but right now is not the time for your negativity, if that is what you choose to bring to this discussion.

No matter your opinion, no matter my opinion, Michael Joseph Jackson changed the way we listened to music. He changed the way we danced. He changed the way we watched music videos and he broke the race barrier on several levels. Those truths are undeniable.

The world has lost its most revolutionary and ground-breaking entertainer of all time.

The King is dead...

... and I am having a very, very tough time dealing with that.


Rest in Peace, Michael Joseph Jackson.