Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Memes, Musical Memes

I'm doing the music shuffle meme that people like Drs Crazy and Curmudgeon have been playing with, even though I'm terrible at hearing, much less remembering, song lyrics, and the whole exercise has been one of having to look up the opening lines myownself, often going "Wha??? That's what they were saying?" So, consider this an educational experience for me, if you define "educational" synonymous with "procrastinatory." (I also have been over-thinking how one defines "the first line" of a song, since they often look very different on the lyrics pages from how I would divide them up. I guess I could start with shorter lines to make it harder...)

Here are the rules of the game:

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike through when someone gets them right
Step 5: (for the guessers) Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING. So is looking at my last.fm feed for the last hour or so (if I had one, that is)

1. Fallin’, fallin’, gonna drop like a stone (Talking Heads, "Sax and Violins")
2. You’re such an inspiration for the ways that I’ll never ever choose to be (A Perfect Circle, "Judith")
3. My tendency for dependency is offending me
4. See it comin' at my head, I'm not running, I'm not scared
5. 4:05 in my neighborhood (Jane's Addiction, "Classic Girl")
6. Shakes me up, to see you walk* (The Cramps, "Save It")
7. Well if you set your mind upon it I know that you can
8. I know I should get next to you
9. I need, I feel, a love
10. Well all the apostles --- they're sitting in swings
11. Back in the garage with my bullshit detector (The Clash, "Garageland")
12. There are no monks in my band
13. Istanbul was once Constantinople (They Might be Giants, "Istanbul Not Constantinople")
14. I’m ready, I’m ready for the laughing gas (U2, "Zoo Station")
15. Laocoon and her two sons (REM, "Laughing")
16. After the glow, the scene, the stage, the set (Pavement, "Range Life")
17. I’m gnawing on the knowledge that I have been burned
18. Peace, I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues…** (Butthole Surfers, "I Had a Dream (Last Night)")
19. Does he kiss your eyelids in the morning when you start to raise your head? (Bright Eyes, "The Calendar Hung Itself")
20. I never wanted anything so bad, I never knew just what I never had
21. Turn yourself around, you weren't invited (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Honeybear")
22. One summer evening drunk to hell
23. Let me take your hands I’m shaking like milk (The Cure, "Let's Go to Bed")
24. I get high on a buzz, then a rush when I'm plugged in you
25. I dropped my anchor in the dead of night; I packed my suitcase and threw it away



* technically, this one starts out "Mwooo hoo hoo hah hah hah hah" and goes on that way for a while, but I'm not sure a) whether those count as lyrics and b) how to phonetically spell deep, maniacal laughter

** Hint: this is not a poetry reading here, but the next line is the title of the song
______________
Huh, well for some reason this is a more accurate reflection of the ex-B's collection than what I've bought over the years ---- I ripped his entire CD collection to my computer when he was gone that spring break ---- so while I see some entries here that I really never listen to, I've managed to escape anything too embarrassing, I think. (If my hair-metal tapes from my pre-teen days had been uploaded, though, it'd be another story!)

So the game isn't fun unless you guess! Guess, guess!

Update: Keep those guesses coming! You're doing great! We need some more 80s alternative fans to step up, it seems, and some angsty emo indie boys to help out with the ex's side of the CD collection. I see at least five or six alone Scott needs could jump on if he'd give up on that writing business and procrastinate with us.

12 comments:

Dr. Crazy said...

23. Let's go to bed - The Cure

Maude said...

13. istanbul (not constantinople): they might be giants.

of course, i choose the easiest one there, except i also knew 23.

oh, wait, and 14. is "even better than the real thing" u2.

negativecapability said...

5. "Classic Girl" - Jane's Addiction. I heart Jane's Addiction.

negativecapability said...

Oh, and 2. "Judith" - A Perfect Circle.

Dr. Curmudgeon said...

So many bands I love...

#6 - "Save It" The Cramps
#11 - "Garageland" the Clash
#14 - "Zoo Station" U2
#21 - "Honeybear" the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Hooray!

Dr. Curmudgeon said...

Apologies for the double-post...isn't #1 the Talking Heads? Is it "Sex and Violins"?

Feminist Avatar said...

18. I had a dream (last night) butthole surfers?

Dr. Curmudgeon said...

One more...isn't #15 "Laughing" by REM?

D said...

hey, you gotta pay your dues before you pay the rent.

16. pavement - "range life"

god damn it!

Unknown said...

I'm de-lurking to comment on a meme. There is something odd about the world.

19 - The Calendar Hung Itself - Bright Eyes

Sisyphus said...

Heh heh --- I have inspired procrastination in many!

(tents fingers) Exxxxcellent!

Unknown said...

25 gnawed at for some time before revealing itself.
It's Beck "Derelict Wind."