Accepting Dara's "Five Song" Challenge

So today Dara posted her Five Songs- that is, She listened to 5 randomly selected songs on her MP3 player and blogged about them. She challenged others to do the same. Today at lunch, I accepted her challenge. I intended to listen to five songs on my iPod, but it ended up being seven... I explain then as the post goes along.

First, a little background. I bought my iPod, used, about a year and a half ago on Ebay. It came with a bunch of music already on it. I'm pretty sure the iPod must have been shared by an adult and a kid, but I think most of the music was the kid's. I've deleted some of the really hideous stuff, but alot of it remains. So when I put my iPod on shuffle, alot of it's going to randomly appear. In addition, I have alot of stuff that I've burned from friends that I don't even know is on my iPod. So, without further delay, here's the list.

Squirrel Nut Zippers - "Danny Diamond"

I'm not sure how this one got on my iPod, but I like it. I think this was the first time I've ever heard it. I do like the Squirrel Nut Zippers in general... "Hell" was a very fun and creative song. I like them because they're basically a swing band, yet they're much quirkier and often rather dark. This song has a female singer with a rather sultry voice. It would work well in a film noir.

Nelly - "Hot in Herre"

Oh my... of all the songs to randomly show up on shuffle. Seriously, I could make a whole blog post, a long one, about this song alone. And, in case you're wondering, yes, I did put this one on my iPod myself. I LOVE this song and I'm not afraid to admit it.

I remember the first time I heard it... a friend was visiting from out of town and she brought some other friends with her. We were walking to a bar and they were singing the famous line... "It's getting hot in herre, so take of all your clothes... (I am, get-ting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off).... I had never heard the song, but somehow knew I wanted to. Then, later that night at the bar, the song played. My god. I knew instantly that it was going to be a HUGE hit. Not only did it have some of the ballsiest lyrics you'll ever hear, it was extremely catchy and extremely well produced.

Next....

Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Three Little Birds"

Another great song. Bob Marley always makes me so happy. When I was in high school, the first spring day that it was comfortable enough to do so, I'd almost always drive around with my windows rolled down, listening to Bob.

"Three Little Birds" is one of his better songs, too. Sheer optimism. How much more straightforward can you get than "Don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing's gonna be alright?" Repeated throughout the song. This song is like "Don't Worry, Be Happy" but a thousand times better.

Jon Brion - "Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind - Theme"

I forgot this one was on my iPod. I think I burned this one from a friend. A nice score from a great movie. There was so much to love about that movie that I wouldn't have even thought to mention the score if I was listing them. But it's a pretty great score nonetheless.

So things were going pretty good... I'd liked all 4 songs so far. "Only one more to go," I thought. But then....

Usher - "Seperated"

NO!!!!!!!!! Hey, Usher's made some ok music, but this crap is not it. This is a terribly written love song that came on my iPod when I got it, and I'd never heard it before. First, Usher has a whiny quality to his voice that is frequently found in R&B, and I hate whiny R&B. This song belongs on the wussiest songs of all time list. Actual lyrics from the song include "If love was the light, we'd be lost in the dark" and "If love was a sport, we're not on the same team." Dear lord.

I couldn't end my five songs on such a bad note. So I decided to add a sixth song....

Destiny's Child - "Bootylicious" remix

I have mixed feelings about Destiny's Child, but "My body's too bootylicious" is a line that set our culture back several years. This was a remix I'd never heard before, and it had a sample from, I think, a Stevie Nicks song, which made it a little more interesting, but I had to add another song.

Elvis Costello - "Imagination (Is a Powerful Deceiver)"

Phew! A song good enough to end on. This song is from the album "My Aim is True," one of my favorite CDs of all time. There are better songs on the album, but this is a good song nonetheless. Elvis at this stage in his career reminds me of Billy Joel, but I think he might have been even better than Billy Joel. Note to Twyla Tharp: Please don't ever make an Elvis Costello musical/ballet.

So that's that. Back to work!