Thursday, May 10, 2007

LIST: What's REALLY on Your Playlist?

You know how everyone's always posting what's on their iPod playlists, and it's always a list of cool, eclectic music that shows their awesome range of taste and, by extension, illustrates what a hip, open-minded person they must be? Well, I don't have an iPod. And at the rate at which I adopt new technologies, I expect that my first MP3 player will be one of Sam's cast-offs when he's in junior high school.

So, because of the dearth of music-related gadgetry in my life, I have to rely on a tool that people have been relying on since the dawn of time. And so I bring you...
My Playlist, Comprised of Annoying Tunes That Play of Their Own Accord Inside My Head
"Sussudio" - Phil Collins
"What About Love" - Heart
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat" - Anonymous Eliphalet Oram Lyte (Whoops. Didn't realize this was a sore spot for some.)
"I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston*
That song from that commercial
"Sunglasses at Night" - Corey Hart
"Stand By Your Man" - Tammy Wynette**
"Safety Dance" - Men Without Hats
"I Touch Myself" - The Divinyls
"She Drives Me Crazy (Ooh Ooh)" - Fine Young Cannibals
"I Know What Boys Like" - The Waitresses
"Mighty Machines" - Theme song from the TV series Mighty Machines
These are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. If you recognize even half of them, you're wincing in sympathy right now. Or you have terrible taste in music.

So what's in rotation on your mental playlist? Tell the truth now. It's okay not to be cool some of the time.

*As with many of the other songs on this list, it's just the title that I hear being sung in my head. Over and over and over.
**I actually like this song, but good god, there's a LIMIT.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't have an iPod either. I don't think I listen to music enough to justify buying one, but everyone I know insists my life would be measurably better if I did.

Sheryl Crow's "Every Day is a Winding Road" has been playing on a loop in my brain for a few weeks now. I usually have only one earworm at a time. Before that it was "The Joker" by Steve Miller.

Anonymous said...

"you see your gypsy . . . "

"I come from a land down under . . "

"But don't give your self awaaaa--aay!"

"he opens the door, he's got that look on his face . . ."

"slow ride . . . take it easy . . ."

"Won't you be, please won't you be, please won't you be . . . my neighbor."

This topic always makes me think of Cartman HAVING to sing "I'm Sailing Away . . ." every time he thinks about the song.

donajo said...

Sorry in advance for this bitchy comment, but you've hit on a pet peeve of mine.

The author of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is not anonymous. I don't blame you for not looking up the author, but it's more correct to list "Author Unknown" not "Anonymous". It's not as if Eliphalet Oram Lyte doesn't want the credit for his work.

< /bitch>

Anonymous said...

well, now it's the i wear my sunglasses song.... thanks...

doris day

Anonymous said...

'sexuality' - billy bragg - just that word though, not the whole song

the theme from Peep and the big wide world - Taj mahal

israelites - desmond dekker

sweet city woman - the stampeders

no mp3 either - I'm waiting for the implant version

Anonymous said...

I take issue with Donajo's comment.

Let the record show, I DID WRITE Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

Cory said...

Oh, so embarrassing.
"Come to my window" Melissa Etheridge

"For Crying Out Loud (You know, I Love You)" MeatLoaf

The song about New Year's Eve from Rent (I mean what does one wear that's appropos for a party, that's also a crime?)

The song when Valjean admits to Javert he's captured the wrong man, Les Mis (Valjean, at last, we see each other plain. Monsieur, le mayor, you wear a different chain.)

And always, somewhere, some Ani DiFranco song (Today, it's Fuel. Yesterday, it was Two Little Girls).

Dave said...

My brain can only really handle one mental playlist song at a time. Currently, it's the Zoom Zoom song they used to play during Mazda commercials. Not so interesting. Alright, let's see how many times I have to hit the random button on my iPod before I come to something shameful. My prediction: it'll happen two songs in. Here goes.

Oh, one. "Crunchy Granola Suite [Live]" - Neil Diamond. I honestly have no idea what that song is, but I'm ashamed all the same.

notanillusion said...

I posted mine in my blog. :)

The lovely and talented Doppelganger over at 50 Books, is requesting that we honestly list the soundtrack that plays in my head. This is going to be humiliating, and also awesome.

1. “Girlfriend” or whatever that new piece of shit Avril Lavigne song is. It gets in my head because I think of songs that I fucking hate and there it goes.
2. “Lips of an Angel” – Hinder. See Number 1 re: Songs I Hate.
3. “Call Me Al” – Paul Simon. This is my bounce in my chair song. I always feel happier when it’s playing.
4. “Before He Cheats” – Carrie Underwood. Don’t love this song, don’t hate it. It’s on the radio a lot.
5. “Never is Enough” – Barenaked Ladies. Huh, interesting. I thought, “What BNL song goes in?” and that was the very first thing to pop into my mind. I haven’t listened to that song in ages.
6. “For You” – BNL. Now I’m going to be on a BNL roll for a minute.
7. “Call and Answer” – BNL.
8. “Demons” – Guster. That was the first Guster song to come to mind. Love it.
9. “Manifest Destiny” – Guster. Again with the awesome.
10. “Either Way” – Guster. Go buy some Guster. Now.
11. “Winter” – Tori Amos. One of my top favorite songs by Tori or anyone else.
12. “Time After Time” – Cyndi Lauper and Sarah McLachlan. If you haven’t heard this version yet, it kicks ass.
13. “When You Come Back Down” – Nickel Creek. The mandolin rocks me out of my shoes.
14. “Man of Constant Sorrow” – Foggy Bottom Boys. Well that’s random and also excellent.
15. “Never Again” – Kelly Clarkson. I love her to a degree that embarrasses me.

Anonymous said...

Dang. Off the top of my head:

-"What's New Pussycat?" - Tom Jones
-"Sussudio" - Phil Collins
-"Centerfold" - J. Giles Band
-"What About Love" - Heart
-"Why" - Annie Lennox
-That song from that commercial; many of these, in fact.
-"Wanted Dead or Alive" - Bon Jovi
-"Toxic" -Britney Spears

Anonymous said...

"I guess the rain's down in Africa" - toto
Jambalaya - Hank Williams
If you want my body AND you think I'm sexy - Rod Stewart and also because So I married an axe
murderer is my favorite movie
My HUmps - The Alannis Morrisette version.
A little too Late - Jojo - God I love that song.

Matthew E said...

You suffer from the Mighty Machines theme too, huh? I always hear the second line wrong, even though I know what it is. Instead of:

Mighty machines
Big and mighty machines


I hear

Mighty machines
Friggin' mighty machines


which I actually like better.

Steph said...

These lists are making me sooooooo happy.

Thanks so much for making me remember the Divinyls.

Anonymous said...

Bookie, I have to correct you, one because I just saw Toto in concert on Friday, and two because I too sang the wrong lyrics to "Africa" for years. It's "I bless the rains down in Africa," not " I guess" or, as I used to sing it, "I'd test." Although personally, I think, "I'd test the rains down in Africa," makes for a way better love song, but anyway.

And thank you so much Doppelganger for pointing out the "look at my too-cool obscure playlist" phenomenon. I hate that! I just saw Toto, for godssakes, you're obviously not going to find much obscure music on my list. I'm just not cool enough, but even more importantly, I'm lazy. I don't have time to find all these bands I've never heard of.

Lisa said...

The theme from Backyardigans
the part of Wonder Pets that goes "the phone, the phone is ringing. The phone, we'll be right there!"- every single time the phone rings.
Girlfriend (as someone else said)

Anonymous said...

http://www.steeveschicago.com/music.htm

BabelBabe said...

oh my fucking God, I hate you all. My own horrible mental playlist was bad enough (Little Einsteins theme song, Ralph's World's The Coffee Song, the waaaaaahhhhhh parts of Hey Jude (otherwise a fine fine song) and Phil Collins' version of You Can't Hurry Love, to name just a few) but now - NOW I am singing Toto and Melissa Etheridge and the Eagles and...and...and....I want to DIE. Thankyouverymuch. "The phone....the phone is ringing!" Gah!

Tammy said...

BabelBabe: Hahahahaha!

And Matthew E:

You suffer from the Mighty Machines theme too, huh? I always hear the second line wrong, even though I know what it is. Instead of:

Mighty machines
Big and mighty machines

I hear

Mighty machines
Friggin' mighty machines


Oh my god! Me too! Now, let me ask you a question: when the song goes on

Working so hard doing mighty things,
Mighty machines


do you also hear

Working damn hard doing mighty things,
Mighty machines
?

Bybee said...

My coworker gave me an O Canada! earworm several days ago. Luckily, patriotism's not a big thing for me, or I'd be trying to cut my own head off!

I used to have Waitresses earworms all the time. I loved their album "Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful"

notanillusion said...

Thanks to Scrubs, whenever I hear "Africa" I hear J.D. going "I bless the RAINS down in Africa... ba dun dun dundun dun DYEA nuh... ooh, mango body butter." Hee.

Here, Youtube it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ3MSCLBpaM

Matthew E said...

Now, let me ask you a question: when the song goes on

Working so hard doing mighty things,
Mighty machines

do you also hear

Working damn hard doing mighty things,
Mighty machines?


No, but I do fill in lyrics that don't belong in the song. For instance, I seem to be convinced, deep down, that "Hear them roar/Watch them soar" should be followed by "Sit right down and cry" for some reason. My brain has also come up with a couple of rhymes in case the producers ever want to turn it into a Robot Wars type of show, like "Mighty machines/Pointy bitey machines" or "Mighty machines/Mean and fighty machines".

Anonymous said...

OK, thanks for the correction. lol, I have been singing the wrong lyrics to toto for 20 years.

Whoever said Backyardigans....Yes! Always, what about that "Riding the Range" song.