Certifiable Music Dork

The deliciously frank and incredibly talented
Kelly unwittingly opened up a nasty can of worms by tagging my incredibly musically challenged self with a meme about the top seven songs on my playlist, or something along those lines. You can check out her blog to see the exact challenge, and I do mean challenge, you'll also find wonderful writing and often hilarious stories about her life.

Ok. I was actually kind of excited about this because there are a couple of songs currently getting air time that I like.
"Oooh, the chance to sound hip."

But then I got to thinking:

"Amanda, by the time stuff is on the radio, it's no longer really hip. And it's the radio, c'mon. If your are truly hip you are going on iTunes and creating playlists that blend old and new and totally mix genres in that awesome, magically cohesive yet totally not contrived way."

A few years back I started listening to the top 40 station. I said I did it because at the time I was working with at-risk kids and we were putting on a talent show. Adult contemporary and Top 40 are the kiss of death for any desired hipness quotient. I'll gladly say I don't go in for adult contemporary, but Top 40? Well this particular time was during the debut of the Justin Timberlake song where he did that impossibly catchy mm-psst, mmm-psst thing, which I am sure is really something more like mm-bcht, mm-bcht, mm-bcht because I always get these things wrong. But whatever, I'm a dork. I loved it.

Well, the Top 40 thing, I didn't get that it was diluted. I figured out the songs with the kids and had Sean download them. Did you know that there are radio versions and not for radio versions? I didn't, perhaps that's why the kids loved me, I was like the simple cousin who babysat and let them swing from the chandelier and eat ho-hos and drink Jolt because they said their parents let them do it. Imagine my suprise when I was singing along to the lyrics and realized that all of a sudden there were a few extra words that I was not familiar with.

Fast forward 5+ years and I am still listening to the Top 40 station. And the two country stations. And the mix of yesterday, today and tomorrow's hits station. I also listen to the cds in the car, the playlist Sean sets up for me in the iPod when we go to the gym and on and on. The idea of writing down 7 songs, well, it's seems impossible, but let's see if I can do it.

1. There is a song out that makes me smile. It makes me smile like Gettin' Jiggy With It made me smile in college. I didn't know the title so I asked Sean.

"Hey babe?"

"Yeah."

"I got tagged for a meme about music. I want to put down a song I like but I need your help."

"Ok." He perked up because he loves talking about music and I usally take very little interest.

"Ok, it just came out and he goes - something, something shake it. Ummm, then it's like - shake it, I know you like to jiggle it like butter or something like that."

He was looking at me with the most bewildered expression.

"Honey, come one. He keeps talking about how he knows she likes to shake it and she should just show him how she shakes it. And she's like big like, something big. Do you know the song? It's either on 102 or 92 I'm not sure."

More looks screaming that he thinks I've lost it.

"What? Don't laugh at me. You don't know the shake it song?"

"The milk shake song?"

"No. That's a woman. And that didn't just come out. C'mon and show me how you shake? "

Shaking his head.

Scratch that one.

2. Ok, does the Outback jingle count? Let's go Outback tonight. We can something, something, so-um-thing. I always have that in my head.

3. Thre's a song playing these days by the guys who sing the song that talks about being 15 for a minute. I love that one.

4. The Fairy Song. I think it's actually called Firefly and it sounds like Michael Stipe is singing back up. Briar loves it so it makes her quiet me happy.

5. Me and My Gang continues to be a favorite around these parts. I mean if you have a song that in the first three bars (is that the right term?) has both girls bouncing and squealing no matter their moods? Well then my friends you have found cheap, attainable nirvana. I swear they know it's on before I recognize it, but I suppose that really isn't saying much considering my total lack of musical acumen.

6. Every once in a while I stumble upon a song Sean downloaded for me after I heard as the credits rolled for some movie. I believe it's called The Book of Love.

7. Can I have the silence after a song be my favorite? If so I call the end of any of the Backyardigans songs as my absolute favorite.


Because this was such an abomination of a meme answer I apologize to Kelly and decline to pass this on to anyone as I wasn't worthy of it to begin with. Wait, I take that back. I want to tag Karen. Feel free to tag yourself if you are interested in doing this. I am off to sing Ariel songs with Briar.