The Thursday Three

Maybe it's been American Idol, maybe it's the fact that my iPod has been running constantly lately, maybe it's even the Paul McCartney/Heather Mills financial judgment, but whatever the reason I've had the Beatles on my mind lately.


I adore the Beatles and always have, so this is not a bad place to be. Some of my very favorite songs ever are Beatles songs, and god knows there are enough amazing ones to choose from. Seriously, what percentage of their songs is considered "classics"? Very, very high. Which makes me a complete misfit to list


Beatle's Classics I Don't Really Like


1. I Want to Hold Your Hand. Love the sentiment. Love the message. Just don't like the song. Don't know why. And it's not that I don't like their bouncy, upbeat songs, because I do. Just not this one.



2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. There are so many other songs in this collection that are, to me anyway, so much better (She's Leaving Home, A Day in the Life). I realize this is an iconic song for an entire generation. But I'm still not crazy about it.



3. Yesterday. Please direct all hate mail to my email address rather than showing up on my front doorstep. I'm well aware that this is one of the most beloved Beatles songs around, but it leaves me cold. They did so many really poignant things that didn't seem to be trying quite so hard. It's pretty enough, I guess. It just doesn't move me.


Which Beatle's songs don't move you?

The Thursday Three

It seems like lately I've either been talking about food or hospitals, so let's change it up a little. How about


Favorite Movie Soundtracks


to get the party started? I'm sure we've all been there. You go to see a movie, and no matter what your opinion of the movie, the music is what you can't get out of your head. It's like a cinematic earworm that stays with you. This one was kind of hard to narrow down to three, but I've tried my best, even though I'm sure there a quite a few I've forgotten.


Let's go!



#1. One From The Heart. If I absolutely had to pick just one, this would be it. Crystal Gayle and Tom Waits, two people I really enjoy separately, have combined for a soundtrack that is out of this world. The movie was a stinkbomb, although they were going for some interesting visual aesthetics that were kind of ahead of their time. But the music is sublime. Moody, bluesy, poignant, and, importantly for a movie soundtrack, completely in keeping with the character of the film. If you ever come across the film, which isn't easy to do as it's probably a twenty year old stinkbomb, just shut your eyes and listen to it.

I still do. On CD. Often.





#2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yeah, well, what can I say? Love, love, love this soundtrack.(The original, NOT the remake. Ugh). For years it was my housecleaning music because it is impossible for me to sit still when I hear this. Not that it's dance music, mind you. Even the Time Warp is like an acid drenched version of La Macarena. There's not a lot of there there, if you follow me.

I almost hate to admit that I've been to more than my share of RHPS screenings and theater performances. I was Magenta, if anyone cares to know. (And a pretty good one, if I do say so myself). Even so, I like the music a lot more than I like the film. The movie is a little (?) cheesy. The soundtrack just fills me with antici...pation.





#3. Saturday Night Fever. If the true test of a movie soundtrack is that every single time you hear a song from it you think of the movie, this is the ultimate in movie soundtracks. I will grant you that there's a lot negative to say about this one. It ushered in the disco era, for starters. And white suits. And spawned an absolutely horrific sequel. (Because nothing this financially successful ever dies).

It has been a very long time since I saw this film, but I can still remember what is going on in the movie during each song. I'm going to go on record here as saying I've always liked the Bee Gees and I thought they were brilliant with this. Disco was never my thing, but if you had to do it it might as well have been with the Brothers Gibb and company. And they still play these songs a lot, have you noticed? (Of course you hear KC and the Sunshine Band on the radio too, so I'm not entirely sure what my point is).


There are almost too many soundtracks to choose from, and there are many others I love that I've left off due to my own stupid three item limitation. I know how long I can drone on if given a chance, so I nipped it in the bud early. I did it for you. Really.


Tag. You're it.

The Thursday Three

Grab some kleenex and pull up a seat. Today the topic is...

Songs That Make You Cry

Maybe not every time you hear them, but enough that you say "uh-oh" whenever you hear the opening notes. Will this be the day you sail through dry-eyed? These three, for me, never give me that luxury. I cry every time. Sigh. And truly, is there much that is more subjective than music?

I didn't think so.

#1. Company, Rickie Lee Jones. I'm well aware that most people don't even know who she is, but if you can dig this song up online, it's a heartbreaker. And if you've never listened to her, she's absolutely amazing. Or was. I don't think she's done a lot lately. This is a breakup song of gut wrenching quality and it always makes me choke up. I also think (caution: weirdness ahead) of this as something with a vaguely funeralesque tone to it. Like "The Dance" by Garth Brooks, which I hear is a big song to play at funerals, this one could, with a small stretch, work too. For someone you really, really love. Gulp.

#2. 100 Years, Five For Fighting. I'm a sucker for age span songs anyway, but the timing of this one really sucked. Some acquaintances of ours lost their son ( who was the same age as Gumby) in a freak accident on holiday when this song was so popular. Every time you turned on the radio there it was. It kind of became associated with the depths of grief in our friendship circle and has left me unable to ever hear this song without wailing. We were in a restaurant the last time I heard it, on the overhead system, and I had to go to the ladies. I really need to work on this.

#3. Talk of the Town, The Pretenders. One of my favorite bands ever. Let's just get that out on the table. I know this isn't one of their more high profile songs, but it's the one that gets to me the most. (Although "Kid" can tweak the tear glands at times). As with the other songs on my list timing plays a role here, too. I was in a very crappy time in my life, lots of personal turmoil and, in hindsight, I was a baby. I was desperately in love with a man who was driving me out of my mind, seemingly for the sheer fun of it. This song perfectly catches that mood. I don't remember that the song was current, I think I just played it over and over again obsessively to torture myself. It still makes me cry, but more in a relieved "Oh thank god that's over" kind of way. And I still, in spite of myself, love the song.

Drumroll, please...TAG! You're it!