15 Minutes of Music

Yesterday we had what I would imagine is English weather (I wouldn’t know since I’ve never been, but I’ve heard tell). Cloudy and gloomy, with just a constant drip, no downpour, just drizzle. I loved it. Unfortunately my Tuesdays are packed, so I couldn’t spend the day in bed with a good book as I would have liked. So I stepped out in a sweatshirt, with my ipod playing my rainy day playlist. The thing about listening to songs on a rainy day is that you are more aware of what you’re listening to. You got your head down, trying to avoid the puddles and everyone else is doing the same so you aren’t forced to make small talk or the obligatory nod and smile. Then once you’ve wet your shoes and jeans so much that you don’t worry about the puddles anymore, you can look at the pretty way the rain drips off the leaves, or the clouds go silver around the edges as the sun tries to shine through. And you can listen to your music.

I like how when you listen to songs, one word has the ability to trigger a whole chain of thoughts. Or a word in each different song stands out so that with every song you’re thinking of something new. So that’s what happened in the 15 minutes I was quick-stepping to class, in between dodging puddles and admiring clouds. My rainy day playlist (yes, that’s really what it’s called. I also have night time, gym, shopping and city playlists. What can I say, I like mood music) includes some of these songs, which brought on these thoughts:

Drive- Incubus: I have no drive. Its so sad really, I could do so much, anything really, if I had the inspiration and motivation. It’s like I’m waiting for someone to come along and kick me into gear. So where can I find it, this elusive drive?

Can you tell me- Usher: I love this song. He sounds so sad and confused. Besides he’s hot, he can sing and the boy can move! Why wouldn’t you like it? Anyway, every time I hear this I think women are crazy. Really. I’m a female so I can say this. And I’m not just talking wtf moments like Pissu, I’m saying we’re really truly nuts. We don’t know what we want. We think we want something, then, when we get it, we don’t want it. We never say what we mean, and then when we say something we don’t really mean it. We are eternally confused about everything. We can never keep things simple, always reading things into the most basic action. We are fiercely feminist and then fuss when a guy doesn’t hold the door open. We are insanely hypocritical. We always pick on other women. Honestly, we’re just crazy. Don’t even bother trying to figure us out.

Dolphin’s Cry and Lightening Crashes- Live: these are just two really great songs. So powerful. They remind me of the time I first heard them, a really strange period, one of those weird, adolescent, growing up phases. So I just shut up and listen. I get the shivers.

Paper Shoes- Incubus: love is so fickle. That’s what I think, every time. And no, no bad experiences have made me bitter. I’d just much rather be alone.

Closing Time- Semisonic: such a sad song. About endings and all that. Closure. It’s over. Sigh.

Fast Car- Tracy Chapman: again, a sad song. About finding yourself, getting away, being free. Nostalgia inducing. ‘I had a feeling I could be someone’. Love it.

There are more songs on this playlist, but it only takes 15 minutes to get to class.