I'm reading Songbook, Nick Hornby's love letter to some of his favorite songs. I've started to gather some of the more promising songs and check them out.

How have I never heard You Had Time by Ani Difranco before?  It's so awesome. I've seen the china shop line quoted somewhere, have no idea where, but I've never heard the song before today.  My passion for Ani is like my thing for DMB; I'll never love the whole catalog, but some of the songs are some of the most perfect I've ever heard.  This song joins 32 flavors, untouchable face. and 'tis of thee on my Ani pedestal.  It's nice to put something else up there instead of her rage rock that I need to hear at times. 


Thanks to iTunes and all the info it likes to collect, I can tell you that I added the song to my library at 1039a this morning, and have listened to the entire song eight times so far. Of course, it's playing right now also, and iTunes stats don't take into account the number of times I've jumped to an earlier part of the song before the track has reached the absolute end (which is when iTunes increments its counter, for those of you dying to know the quirks of Apple's memory hog media library app). 

Anyone familiar with the song who can throw me a "if you like that, you'll LOVE LOVE LOVE . . ."  bone?  I could use an entire playlist of songs like this, tender and passionate without being too emotional. Something I can connect to that won't make me sad or enraged.  The Desree song from Romeo + Juliet may make the list, but it really comes close to being too emotional for me at times.  I feel sorry for tick043 and mister_biv, who had to listen to me hum or sing along to it about a thousand times last week, after it became the official theme of me writing my wedding toast. 

I look forward to your suggestions.

My new karaoke obsession has the greatest selection!

I sang I Am Changing from Dreamgirls last week, just for the hell of it.

Surprisingly, I kind of kicked its ass. It sits in a really good spot in my voice, once I take it down. With a little practice, I'm going to completely rock it.

My plan is not to sing it in public again until right before the movie comes out, a marketing ploy, "Come hear a fat white guy sing it before you can see a somewhat heavy set black woman do it right!"

Suzanne and I sang the pants off Barbie Girl, too. So fun. The crowd is great, unlike the other place we sing, where people are pissy because so many people sing, they treat you like you are getting in the way of them singing.

Why did I wait to download the Jason Robert Brown album? Oh, that's right, I decided that it didn't look worth spending the money on. For free, that's another story.

Anyway, why have I never heard Music of Heaven before today? It's perfection. Here . . .
http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1T2CYPGG2TD8Z2DRW8X3NCG8HF

I expect to turn around quickly one day, and see JRB crouching behind something, taking notes about my life. It started with I'm Not Afraid of Anything; before that song, a piece of music had never made me feel so vulnerable, so known. So many of his songs have been just a little closer to my experience than others, and have been more powerful because of it. This song mirrors me, and it's comforting. My challenges are not unique, other people have been here before, others will visit long after I've moved on.

The lyrics
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Do you use iTunes? Do you want some free downloads? Suzanne and I are sitting on a motherload of free download codes, thanks to her brother.

Anyway, since I don't see myself using too many of them, I'm giving away some of my share of them. Let me know if you'd like to be a recipient.

If you'd like some, respond to this post with an email address that you'd like the code(s) sent to. Comments are screened on this entry, so I will be the only person to see the email address. kisses.

Note to self (and a warning to others)-when trying to get things off the tivo, some shows can be watched back to back, and some, I now know, cannot.

South Park - Can, for at least a few episodes
Intervention - CANNOT. Maybe the last episode was just bad, but it really irritated me. Three in a row, it was too much like being at work.
24 - Can, and it is so much better in marathon format. Screw that anticipation crap, I want my Michelle fix now!

If I listen to The Color Purple (title song from the musical) one more time today, I may just become a black woman. The line "look what God has done" makes me so happy, though. I can't wait for the cast album.

And a completely hypothetical question. If I wanted to save a copy of streamed video that comes in windows media player, how would I do that? I would also like to make an mp3 of the song, hypothetically of course. The cast appearance on Oprah is better than the download from the CP website, and I would hypothetically like to take it with me to work, so I can listen to it 56491491986 more times this week.

Not any of his music, I have all of that. I want HIM, even if scrawny men aren't usually my type.

The concert was awesome. Started a little slow, but after a few songs, I was completely engrossed. There is a depth to his songs when performed live that the recordings lack. I never really appreciated Poses until last night, and the emotionally raw way he presented Want took a song that I have enjoyed in the past to a new level. "I'll settle for love" is giving me chills today.

I never really heard the lyrics near the end of Gay Messiah until last night. How I missed "baptized by come" in all the times I've listened to that song, I'll never know.

Official notice: you (yes, you!) should worship onthestairs.

Why?

Girl can build a playlist that rocks, mixing old favorites with awesome new stuff. How did I get this far in life without hearing Regina Spektor's voice? I think she's the love child of Natalie Merchant and Alana Davis, given to Fiona Apple for vocal lessons. Regina, not Christie. Then again, Christie's cool enough to be the love child of two awesome musicians.

A big heartfelt thank you for the pleasure of this playlist. You are toooo kind.

Scotty and I went to Midland Sunday to find The Light in the Piazza and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Best Buy didn't have them. A week after the Tony's, and a Best Buy didn't have two shows that were heavily featured!

I officially live in the middle of nowhere.

Then I remembered that Midland also had a Barnes and Noble, which, lucky for me, carried both cds. So, I paid B&N music dept prices, but I think I still came out ahead of what I would have paid to buy them online and have them shipped. On top of that, I remembered that I had part of a gift card left in my wallet, so I "saved" an additional ten dollars and some change. Not bad at all.

I'm in love with both of them. Piazza saves the bomb drop for later in the production than either the book or the movie, and I kind of like that.

With regard to Spelling Bee: I would have never guessed that the definition of Chimerical would make me cry. The I Love You Song rips my heart out.

For those that have iTunes (and for those that don't, go download it), two of the free downloads this week (check the lower right corner of the Music Store) are completely amazing.

Nikka Costa - Till I Get To You
Kyle Riabko - Do You Right

Hey, you can't beat free, and these songs are killer. The Nikka song may be my new definitive, good mood song. I usually don't find twink attractive, but Kyle Riabko is the hottest thing I've seen in a long time (and I "read" richardwalker regularly!).

Enjoy, for whatever reason.


P.S. Send Trisha Yearwood some love, and pay to download her new song. It's growing on me.