Another Round of Crap

So, I missed it on Friday. Sue me. I was busy.

The thing is this: I thought about it. I thought about how I should be doing it. I thought about how much I wanted to be doing it. Two short weeks into this stupid “Random 10” and I’m already an addict. Way to go stupid internet blog memes. Way to goddamn go.

So, in spite of the fact that it’s late by a handful of days, here is this week’s Friday “Random 10” (or, in this case, 11)

1. Eva Cassidy – Somewhere Over the Rainbow – This song completely destroys my brain every time I hear it. Eva Cassidy – who died a few years back, far too young – turns a song that everyone knows into the most amazingly melancholy piece of music. I have a very, very special place for this song in a play I’m desperate to direct one day.


2. Nirvana – Tourette’s – There’s a handful of Nirvana songs that I enjoy – and those that I do, I enjoy quite a bit. I don’t think this is one of them, really…


3. Elton John & Billy Joel – The Bitch is Back – Two piano legends on a song that isn’t one of my favourites is a recipe for some fine mediocrity.


4. Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop – I’m not sure how this got on my playlist, but it’s a damn fine song – one of those iconic pieces that you recognize, immediately, from the first few chords.


5. Ani DiFranco – Everest – I suppose I should confess that I prefer the earlier, acoustic-er Ani than to the later, more produced and electric Ani. Does that make me a bad person?


6. Cher – Strong Enough – Yes, I have a Cher “Greatest Hits” album. What’re you gonna do about it?


7. The Orb – Time – A cover of a popular Pink Floyd tune. Except it’s got all sorts of weird dance beat stuff in it. This is in my playlist only because it is tangently related to Pink Floyd. Which is reason enough to download anything, I think.


8. John Lennon – Look at Me – Having missed the magic of the Beatles, and of Lennon himself as a solo artist, while both were actually in existence, I can’t help but wonder if some of the power we place on Lennon’s work stems from the fact that, as an artist, his ability to output material was rather abruptly cut off when he was shot to death. Not to disrespect what is clearly a valid talent – “Imagine” is one of my favourite songs of all time – but I wonder if perhaps we tend to over-romanticize those artists that die too young.


9. Silicon Knights – The Last Hope – From the game “Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem” which had a fine soundtrack, and was a damn fine horror game as well.


10. Billy Joel – Don’t Ask Me Why – I don’t think I even know this song…


11. Joe Cocker – You Are So Beautiful to Me – And a lovely note to end on. Sometimes the most moving songs are the ones that are the most simple. Sometimes we need to be reminded that, when you strip everything else away, the bare bones of life are pretty basic.

And that’s it for this week. See you again next week, with a “Random 10” which, I can assure you right now, will be at least just as late as this one. Thank you, and good night!