But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here
–Radiohead/Creep
Music is evocative. Like Proust’s madeleine, a few notes of a song take you back in time and space. Anyone who has read the blog more than a few times can’t help but see by the copious use of song lyric quotes in my posts that music and lyrics are important to me. That’s only reinforced by how much of my life has always been spent singing.
Rod Stewart reminds me of my Ma.
REO Speedwagon? Neighbor Bryan..
Bob Marley, or at least “No Woman No Cry” belongs to a sweet little guy named Maher.
Marc Bolan and Elton? Brenda
Siouxie and the Banshees and X? Bill H.
Anything by the Bay City Rollers, Billy Squier or the Knack? Sharon.
Michael Jackson? Shawqi, Adel, Raoof, Ali, and Waheeb. And a host of Mohammeds and Abdullahs. (Note that Host of Mohammeds would be a great band name)
Steely Dan? Mark
Elvis Costello, James Taylor, much of the Beatles catalogue? Right. Reminders. All of them. They might as well be marked up with a Sharpie.
Isn’t it great that we don’t have to give away the songs when we stop seeing the people they belong to? It’s bad enough when a song gets so firmly tied to a person that it’s painful to hear it (I’m looking at you, “You’ve Got A Friend”) it would really suck if you physically lost custody of the song too.
Anyone who’s at all musically oriented probably has the same issue. How many songs or artists could I do this with before you were all asleep? One..two…three..four…Four. The answer is four. I have exceeded that, so please wake up now.
Today while I was washing the dishes, listening to Elvis Crespo (who doesn’t remind me of anyone in particular, except…oh…wait…he does kind of remind me of a Turkish guy I met at this Venezuelan dance party in Boston) and noticing what each song reminded me of. Then I found myself wondering what songs remind other people of me. Then I wondered which songs remind me of myself.
Silly, yes? Well, it’s Sunday. I’ve been watching “Pride and Prejudice” and scribbling all day. There may have been some mental atrophy.
There are a few songs that I get tagged with by default–after all, I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, have brown eyes and my name is Michelle.
I’m going to have “Michelle” and “Brown Eyed Girl” thrown at me with some frequency. It can’t be helped.
There are worse songs to have associated with me, I suppose.
Coming up with songs that I identify with, or that remind me of myself was a little harder.
One of those is “Morning Song” by the Lumineers. You could probably insert any Lumineers song here. I’m pretty sure they go through my diary and steal my thoughts and write songs about them. Bastards. I don’t get any of the royalties, either.
“I Think It’s Going To Rain Today”–Randy Newman. Always a sucker for a sad lyric. I had trouble with people in the 90’s. Yes, I still do, but it isn’t quite as bad.
Lonely, lonely
Tin can at my feet
Think I’ll kick it down the street
That’s the way to treat a friend
“And She Was”–Talking Heads Because…because…I’m always floating away, or trying to.
She was glad about it… no doubt about it
She isn’t sure where she’s gone
No time to think about what to tell them
No time to think about what she’s done
And she was
“Comfortably Numb”–Pink Floyd
Totally me at a certain time in my life. A very long time of my life. There might not been much me there for a few decades. A common problem, I understand.
“Creep”–Radiohead. OK. This is probably my song. If I was a 90’s kid, instead of a 70’s kid, I’d have worn out several copies of it. I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo? Right. Me. Me and every other angst-ridden teenager ever. Except that I was an adult when it came out. Adults can be angst-ridden teenagers too, you know.
“We Walk The Same Line”–Everything But The Girl. Mid 90’s me.
And that big old moon
Lights every corner of the room
Your back aches from lying
And your head aches from crying
Brief pause to jump around while “Been Caught Stealing” played.
Brief pause to listen to X.
Brief pause to sing along to some Bette Midler songs.
Brief pause to wonder if we should tell people our songs when we’re introduced like we used to do with our astrological signs.
Hi, my name is Michelle. I’m a Scorpio, and Creep.
Maybe I should just listen and sing and not analyze so much.
Done.
Well, at least until I get in my car for the ride to work. My morning Mis-guided Meditation will be set to music as always.
Start singing, everyone.
You pick the song!