day twenty-four.

day twenty-four: a song you want played at your funeral: "hurt" performed by johnny cash

why:  it's a man and a guitar, singing about the difficulties of life--haunting and beautiful.

day twenty-three.

day twenty-three: a song that you want to play at your wedding:  "ain't misbehavin' " performed by louis armstrong.

why: because it's sweet and sentimental without being super sappy.  because it's satchmo, and every wedding needs some.  because i've loved this song since the moment i heard it.

day twenty-two.

day twenty-two: a song you listen to when you're sad: "liberation day" by ferras.

why:  it puts me in a good mood; it reminds me of all the mini-celebrations of life, like the last day of school, finishing a big project, etc.  those memories flood in and the sad ones flood out.

day twenty-one.

day twenty-one: a song you listen to when you're happy: "let's dance to joy division" by the wombats

why: because the wombats are awesome!  i have a thing for indie-british punk.  i can't help it.

day twenty.

day twenty: a song you listen to when you're angry: "when worlds collide" by pm5k

why: it makes me drive fast(er).  there's so much momentum being built in this song by the percussion, that it's the perfect outlet for anger.

day nineteen.

day nineteen: a song from your favorite album: "cigarettes and coffee" by otis redding

why: i took this one a bit literally and pulled out my small collection of vinyl.  otis tops the list, and this song takes the cake.  it slow and smooth, mellow with a raspy edge--and it sounds even better with the pops, crackles, and hisses of vinyl.

day eighteen.

day eighteen: a song you wish you heard on the radio: "immigraniada (we comin' rougher)" by gogol bordello

why: because this band is...odd.  and wonderful.  it's punk.  it's by a band with members from ethiopia, ecuador, ukraine, russia, and the US.  it's quirky.  in other words, why not?!

day seventeen.

day seventeen: a song that you hear often on the radio: "live at jimmy's" by angie martinez

why: i mostly listen to my ipod or satellite radio in the car, and every  time i'm flipping around on satellite, i'm bound to hear this song.  i must hit the loop every time.  that's the only explanation, because other than that one sirius station, i've never heard this song.

day sixteen.

day sixteen: a song that you used to love but now hate: "empire state of mind" by jay-z and alicia keys

why: while radio typically ruins songs by playing them so often, for this one i have to blame television.  any time there's a show on about or taking place in new york it gets played (or at least the hook does).  because of this, i moved from "like" to "eww" pretty quickly on this one.

day fifteen.

day fifteen: a song that describes you: "mahna mahna" by cake

why:  there are no lyrics here (beyond do-do-do-do-do and mahna mahna), so you may wonder how a song can describe me.  it's simple.  listen to the music.  it's light-hearted and fun, then not as much.  it has a sense of humor, but also a serious side.  it's complicated, and so am i.  as walt whitman wrote, "i am large, i contain volumes".

day fourteen.

day fourteen: a song that no one would expect you to love: "choke me spank me (pull my hair)" by xhibit

why: this was a tough one.  anyone who knows me well knows that i literally listen to everything.  i don't think that there's a song i could list that would shock anyone, but this one is pretty bad, so i went with it.  dirty and wrong.  the whole thing is just plain dirty and wrong.

day thirteen.

day thirteen: a song that is a guilty pleasure: "grow a pear" by ke$ha.

why:  why not?!  let's be honest:  the music is crap, the lyrics are crap, but it's catchy and it's fun.  i would never admit in public (other than this time, of course) that i like ke$ha, but i do.  maybe if it wasn't so freaking catchy...

day twelve.

day twelve: a song from a band you hate: "how do you like me now" by toby keith.

why: see the reasons stated for pink on day two.  this guy comes across to me as a total douchebag.  he's always so angry.  and he's completely unoriginal--every freaking song (at least all of those i've heard) references america or the red, white and blue.  okay.  we get it toby keith; you're patriotic.  quit shoving it down our throats and pick another topic.

day eleven.

day eleven: a song from your favorite band: "level" by eli young band

why: because i have loved this band since they formed and performed all around denton.  even though all the little teenage girls love them today, i loved them when they didn't have a record contract, a regular touring schedule, and radio play.  this song has always been in my eyb top three, usually occupying number one.

day ten.

day ten: a song that makes you fall asleep: "feels like rain" by buddy guy (covered by john hiatt)

why: it's lovely and melodic.  there's a softness to it that makes me so comfortable i could sleep (though if any song actually put me to sleep i probably wouldn't listen to it).

day nine.

day nine: a song you can dance to: "magalenha" by sergio mendes

why: my sister, bestie and i refer to this as "the boobie shaking song".  enough said.

day eight.

day eight: a song you know all the words to:  "bitches ain't shit" by dr. dre (perfomed by ben folds)

why:  it's a rap song, turned folkish by the amazing ben folds.  it's terribly dirty.  what's not to love here?

day seven.

day seven: a song that reminds you of a certain event: "time of your life (good riddance)" by green day

why: this song was played constantly at all of my high school graduation festivities, and so it will always remind me of that bittersweet time.

day six.

day six: a song that reminds you of somewhere:  "absolutely (story of a girl)" by nine days

why: the summer between junior and senior years of high school, my bestie and a few other friends embarked on a road trip to south padre island, texas.  this song was a hit at the time, and, along with "kryptonite" by 3 doors down, it takes me back to driving down the freeway, singing at the top of our lungs, being lobsters, fake tattoos, and never getting refills from the restaurants.  in other words, good times.

day five

day five: a song that reminds you of someone: "counting the days" by goldfinger

why: because it makes me smile and think about my bestie.  every time i hear it, no matter where i am or what i'm doing, a flood of memories hits me like a ton of bricks.  i can't help but smile.

day four

day four: a song that makes you sad:  "i'm movin on" by rascal flatts

why:  it's a song about moving on.  giving up what you have, what you've fought for, what you love.  it's a song about abandoning your old self and beginning again.  it's lovely, but sad.

day three.

day three: a song that makes you happy: "i want you to want me" by cheap trick

why:  it's bouncy, fun, and simple.  it reminds me of being a teenager and jamming out in the car while driving around aimlessly just because we could.

day two.

day two: your least favorite song:  "fuckin' perfect" by pink

why: because i hate it.  because i detest all pink's music.  eww. i cannot get away from this freaking song. the melody annoys me, and the lyrics are laughable.  and the gratuitous expletive?  i'm all for dropping the f-bomb, but really?  in a pop song?  oh, look out!  pink is so bad ass.  not.

brand new.

in an effort to get over this terrible creative block, i'm cannibalizing facebook's 30 day song challenge here on my bloggy blog.


typically poetry gets me out of a creative funk, but i'm so stuck that not even the inspired words of spenser, donne, yeats, and heaney can help me.  so, i turn to music in the hopes that i will find inspiration.


day one:  your favorite song:  "transformation" written and performed by david gray

why? it's beautiful, haunting, and leaves so much up to the imagination.  i routinely use this song in my classroom to show my students how many different valid interpretations of a text there can be.  i find comfort, loveliness, and profound emotion in this song, simple as it is.