"Love Her Madly" - The Doors

I will go out on a limb here and presume that this refers to an amorous personal relationship and will eschew cheeky angles such as "my right hand" or "music" or "baseball" or the like.

My first "real" girlfriend and love was my senior year in high school. Long story short without going into too much personal detail, she was a bit sheltered growing up. Now, while I was not the parental nightmare of a fuck up back then (quite the contrary; I was like something plucked out of a Norman Rockwell bucolic), compared to her I was WAY more worldly. And one of the things she was never into before me was the music of The Doors.

Admittedly, albums like The Doors "Greatest Hits" are rather vanilla entry-level for classic rock (especially compared to the stuff on the boxed set!), but it WAS the Midwest in the late 80s. Anything other than the pop radio crap du jour was a HUGE upgrade. Well, she became an instant fan. I think I even bought her the "Greatest Hits" CDs for some gift-giving occasion or the other.

Well, we stayed together post-graduation (there's a funny story surrounding my commencement speech that involved her that I will have to share sometime) and headed off to different schools. She visited me once in the fall and spent winter break together back home, so things were going well. Then she started hanging out with some douchebag at her school, and the seams began to unravel rather quickly. Some harsh words may have been exchanged.

In her final kiss-off, salt-in-the-wound letter, she had the gall to quote the Poet Morrison to me. 

Don't you love her as she's walking out the door.

Bitch.

25 Songs in 25 Days

Sad to see them go, but good to see them go out on top of their game. We really do not need to see another faded, malingering act. U2 has that market cornered.

"Drunk Girls" - LCD Soundsystem

This was a tough one, because there were three otrfour viable candidates for this most prestigious award. The past summer was a very expansive time for me musically. I am sure it was, in no small part, a reaction to having to silently and optimistically endure my wife's day-to-day struggles with the "high-risk" pregnancy. In any case, this past summer had some great fucking songs. As a matter of context, I listen almost exclusively to XM Radio in the car (Alt Nation, Lithium, Grateful Dead, Classic Vinyl and Deep Tracks, in that order), and I get many of my new artist "leads" from Alt Nation. Also, I buy almost exclusively from Amazon, and I have found the Amazon "you might also like" suggestions helpful. And I have a few core Twitter friends whom I consider invaluable sources for music suggestions.

In addition to my choice above, here was my "playlist" for the better part of the summer.

"The High Road" - Broken Bells
"Bruises" - Chairlift
"Felicia" - The Constellations
"The Dark of the Matinee" - Franz Ferdiand
"No You Girls" - Franz Ferdinand
"Do You Want To" - Franz Ferdiand
"Feel Good, Inc." - Gorillaz
"Clint Eastwood" -  Gorillaz
"Rhinestone Eyes" - Gorillaz
"How You Like Me Now" - Heavy 
"Out of the Blue" (Live) - Julian Casablancas
"Everyday I Love You Less and Less" - Kaiser Chiefs
"I Predict A Riot" - Kaiser Chiefs
"Me and Bobby McGee" - Kris Kristofferson
"Gold Guns Girls" - Metric
"Yeah Teah Yeah" - New Politics
"Crash Years" - New Pornographers 
 "Only" - Nine Inch Nails
"This Too Shall Pass" - OK Go 
"Panic Switch" - Silversun Pickups
"Baptized by Fire" - Spinetette
 "Take a Load Off" - Stone Temple Pilots
"Hell" - Teegan and Sara
"Someone's daughter" - The Whigs
 "Crystalized" - XX
"Zero" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs 

"Crystalized" and "Felicia" were damn close, the former reminding me of standing in cool, shady, evening grass and the latter of riding around with the windows down on a hot, sweaty, sticky day (i.e., 95 degrees, 95% humidity). But LCD Soundsystem just crushed the ball out of the park with this one. Frivilous fun--what summer is all about. This song ALWAYS puts a smile on my face, something that was most essential last summer.

25 Songs in 25 Days

"Travelling Riverside Blues" - Led Zeppelin

My best friend in college and most nefarious partner in crime, Tim, was, to his core, as big of a classic guitar rock fan as I was. We both had friends who were more into progressive or alternative or indie or whatever-you-want-to-call-it bands (I believe the term "college radio" was still en vogue back then). However, we could always count on each other to be up for some three- four- and five-piece, guitar-driven, R&B-influeced psychedelia at any time of the day or night. Whether it be Pink Floyd or Frank Zappa or The Rolling Stones, we could never get enough. Mind you, we still had cassettes in those days!

I do not get the impression that "Travelling Riverside Blues" is considered part of Zep's "canon" of top hits. However, if you wanted to do a clinical study in what made this band so great, you need not look any further. From Bonham's steady drums to Jones' smooth base to Page's ranging guitar (from almost-howling riffs to, dare we say, funky chord progressions) to Plant's filthy vocals, they nailed it with this one.

Tim was a part of some of the greatest times of my life. We had one of the greatest acid trips imaginable, including floating in a congealed room while listening to Dark Side of the Moon. We drank Milwaukee's Best (leaded, not light) and played NCAA COllege Basketball on SNES for days on end over winter and spring break. We played Frisbee golf until it was too dark to see the discs. And we jammed to Zeppelin. 

Tim did a great Page/Plant combo to this song. Air guitar. Vocals. Body movement. Dangling Camel Light. The works. So, Tim, wherever you are, here's to you and all the brain cells we killed and all the fun we had doing it.

25 Songs in 25 Days

"Opera Singer" - Cake

This was the hardest of the first five for me, as the answer did not just pop into my head. I firmly believe that I have a rare form of ADHD. I constantly have ideas and songs and images running through my head at a breakneck pace. When I was in college, alcohol was a means by which I was able to rest these flying furies, though I would not prescribe the treatment as a long-term solution. 

Over the years, I have learned to focus the hyperactivity. Occupationally, this has become one of my most valuable assets. I can consume, digest and synthesize inhumane amounts of paper and information at a pace that consistently surprises people. "Impossible" deadlines are an essential part of the euphoric blood lust that successful deal lawyers savor. It is one of the few aspects of the job that I still find satisfying.

Age, experience and parenthood have taught me how to bring this hyperfocus to bear in non-work situations. I guess the skill always was there--as a child, I could lose myself for a whole day with Legos. But know I understand how to flip the proverbial switch. When I turn the mental hat around, I become a hyperfocused truck, so to speak. Thus, as I was sitting in the rocking chair and holding our daughter as she slept, I closed my eyes and peeled back the onion skins. This song was the last one remaining.

The harmonies in this song are brilliant. And perfect. Especially in the the last stanza, where they bring up the bass and the vocals ever so slightly in the mix, consummating a meticulous layering of elements at just the right moment. And, hitting a self-fulfilling prophecy aspect of this song within this post, "My talent feeds my darker side / but no one will complain." Apropos, to say the least.

And, yes, I often find myself humming or singing this song to myself from time to time.

25 Songs in 25 Days