Tuesday, October 07, 2008

You Talk About Just Every Band, but the Names You Drop Are Second Hand

So, the squirrels around town have been acting a little squirrely lately. I'm sure they're getting all ready for Winter, but it's not like there aren't tons of black walnuts all over town for them. For a while there, I thought I might need to wear a helmet when I ran to keep from getting knocked out by all the black walnuts falling from the trees.

Tonight I'm doing a meme from Chance at The Sapient Sutler blog. Here's how it works.

Turn on your iTunes or equivalent.

Put it on shuffle.

Write something (a sentence, a paragraph, a story, a word,) about the first 5 songs that come up.

I started photographing this one squirrel that was hanging out in my friend J.'s front yard. She seemed just as interested in me.

1.) "A Million Miles Away" by the Plimsouls. I can't hear this song without thinking about the movie Valley Girl. It's from my high school years. Sure, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is my all time favorite teen movie from when I was in high school, but Valley Girl is right up there. Even if Nicholas Cage's teeth weren't fixed yet.

She also seemed to love the camera. She would climb a little, then pose a lot. Then climb a bit more, then pose again.

2.) "Middle of the Road" by The Pretenders. I guess we're still going with the middle eighties theme. The strongest memory I have of this song, was back in 1984 at my friend Craig Wyricks' college graduation party. They cranked this song through speakers facing out the windows and we danced to it in the middle of the road...Or South Linn Street. At least until the cops came and told us to quiet down.

3.) "Rich" by the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's. This song and this band always reminds me of Coadster. She was so into them a few years ago and listened to them in the way only junior high kids can stand - over and over and over and over. She didn't quite ruin them for me, but I still can't listen to them all that often.

I think this is it's best angle right here. Sure, she's got that walnut in her mouth, but she can still pull off the full frontal.

4.) "Come as You Are" by Nirvana. This song reminds me of my friend April. She worked with me at Great Midwestern when this song was big. She used to think the lyrics were "...Oh yes, I smell and I don't have a job..." And I can't hear them any other way now. I bet Kurt Cobain wishes he had written them that way too.

5.) "Fox on the Run", by Sweet. Hell, I can't remember if I've ever admitted to you all how much I love the band, Sweet, but I do. "Love is Like Oxygen" is probably my favorite Sweet song, but this one is a close second. It was the soundtrack of every skating or make-out party I went to in junior high. When I was 19 and just starting to work at a restaurant in Iowa City called The Mill, the other cook recited the lyrics to me out of the blue, like he was starting a conversation, "I don't want to know your name. Cuz you don't look the same. The way you did before." I played it off and tried to act all serious while responding, "Okay. You think you got a pretty face, but the rest of you is out of place. You looked alright before." He was my best friend for years after that.

14 comments:

Lynnster said...

Yes, yes, "Valley Girl" - that's where I fell in love with The Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away" too. I saw that movie and "Fast Times" at the old drive-in (as opposed to the new one across the river, which had sound that came thru your radio instead of those godawful speakers you hung on your car windows.

As for The Sweet, I kinda vacillate between "Fox on the Run" and "Little Willy" as favorite. Loved them both, really.

Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

Fast Times At Ridgemont High was a great movie.. Even Sean Penn was good in it..

Unknown said...

I love your little stories-- I tried the i-tunes shuffle part of the meme- but when it started with three audio book chapters, I bored myself to sleep.

Tara said...

I've been due for a meme post, I think I might do this one.

Great shots of the squirrel super model! For awhile I wasn't seeing any squirrels at all, but this year I see something out of the corner of my eye from my window, and there will be a fat squirrel scrambling around for food.

NoRegrets said...

See, the thing is, some of us don't have ipods... yup. live in the stone age.

I'd love to meet that squirrel. It would stay still so I could get it with my shotgun. Oops, likely shouldn't say that since you seem to like them. Very cute full frontal though.

Poptart said...

Wasn't Valley Girl the one where Nic Cage has the triangle of chest hair? I seem to remember that most vividly...

Ok, also, I miss Dan Coffey, this is from your last post.

And yes, I am loser without an ipod, too.

Susan said...

I have these deer in my yard that are there more than me. I keep thinking I should take pictures but I never get around to it.

Unknown said...

More squirrels here...Enjoy!

Dex

http://www.cuteoverload.com/

fringes said...

That looks like a fun meme. Those without iPods can substitute "mp3 player" or "favorite CD" and have just as much fun.

Hey, thanks for that comment a few days (weeks) ago on my blog about your sister and her kids. You made me feel much better about so many things.

Chance said...

Your list was everything I hoped for and more. A funny new mondegreen and The Sweet! yes! They rock.

laura b. said...

I love how just hearing a song can transport you to a whole different time and place. That is a great meme.

Aw, I like the squirrel pictures too :-) Let NoRegrets borrow your iPod as a distraction from a-huntin' them thar squirrels! haha!

Minyo said...

Cute squirrel! It looks like there's a lot of food for squirrels this fall. I've also heard that the Farmer's Almanac predicts a winter worse than last. That makes me cringe!

I finally have a Mac, thus I have iTunes but don't have an iPod. I'm still building up my collection. It'll take awhile. I'll make it to the current century eventually :)

Anonymous said...

I will do this one in the next couple days. Great answers even though some of these songs are foreign to me.

Churlita said...

Lynnster,

I would love to see a movie in a drive-in again.

Mrs.,

I loved Sean Penn in that Movie. Forrest Whitacker and Nicholas Cage were also in it and all went on to win Academy awards. Crazy.

Another,

Make a music playlist and then put that on shuffle. I had to use one of my running playlists, because I didn't want my daughter's music on it and we all share the same iPod.

Tara,

I can't wait to see yours.

Nor,

I don't love squirrels. In fact, sometimes they kind of freak me out. But this squirrel was such an attention whore and begged me to shoot her...With my camera, that is.

Poptart,

Now I'm thinking about Nicholas Cage's chest hair and I really don't want to.

I didn't have an iPod until last year. So, I'm still a loser.

Susan,

If you take the pics and put them on your blog, I promise to oooh and aaah over them.

Dexter,

Those squirrels are adorable too.

Fringes,

I'm glad it helped. It sounds like everything is good in the baby department now, right?

Chance,

Thanks. I'm glad so many people still like Sweet.

LauraB.,

That's what I like most about music, the way it transports me.

Minyo,

I've heard that too and it scares the crap out of me. The Farmer's Almanac is wrong sometimes, isn't it?

AlienCG,

I know. I like all kinds of weird music. I can't for your take on the meme.