Songs 241 to 249

Back for more after a brief break to plead with my children to nap and to swap loads of laundry. I feel so accomplished when the laundry's done and put away; it's so sad. But, almost nothing in my life is finished, so the sight of empty laundry baskets is awe inspiring. That and a made bed. It's the little things, dear reader. On Friday, my son tripped on the playground at school and bit a hole through his lip. The doctor told me that if I wanted it to look "perfect," I could have a plastic surgeon put a couple of stitches in it, otherwise it would just heal on its own. "Perfect," isn't that Jon-Benet creepy. Iquickly made the "heal on its own" choice, which he seemed to agree with (as did the nice overanxious intern with him). I guess they found it creepy, too. But, today, whilst reading the NYT, I looked up to see him standing next to his sister (they were robot-dancing, of course) and realized exactly why my son tripped over his own feet. He's had an atomic blast-worthy growth spurt and now is taller than she. He's a biggun, that boy! Such cuties, and now back to our show.

Song 241: Joshua Radin, "Star Mile." I believe this was off a Scrubs list. It has an early Simon & Garfunkel feel to it--all the way down to the line endings. Very relaxing and harmonic. The lyrics are sad, but it all sounds so pretty. I can picture rocking my babies to sleep to this.

Song 242: Quad City DJs, "Come on Ride It." I bought this picturing how my kids would like it--and robot dance to it. We've also just bought a new edition of The Little Engine that Could, so this seemed fitting. Over seven minutes of completely pointless party music complete with whistles and choo choo noises for less than a buck. How can you go wrong?

Song 243: Quien Es, Boom! "Our Home, Edna." Tinkling percussion and vague electronica. The vocals are mixed so low, it's kind of difficult to discern them. This song is compelling, nonetheless. There's something there in the music that's missing in a lot of current indie stuff; it has a depth that's interesting and makes you want to listen again.

Song 244: Ray LaMontagne, "Trouble." This is a retro Muscle Shoals song that may be aiming for Otis Redding but actually sounds more like Janis Joplin. His voice is too light for the Otis growl. I don't get the sense he's had enough real trouble to get the gravitas needed.

Song 245: Serena Maneesh, "Her Name is Suicide." Yep, it's more chilly soundscapes from the Norweigan triangle. This doesn't have the bone break sparseness of Sigur Ros, though. It's got a little too much new age-iness about it. And, there are moments when the instrumentation has a 70s feel, like a tv movie theme.

Song 246: Sergio Mendes & the Black Eyed Peas, "Mas Que Nada." I grew up on the Sergio Mendes/Herb Alpert lush production streaming from my parents' stereo credenza. This is a nice street-friendly remix. It would be ideal in a Fame update. There's something about the BEP's sound that's immediately appealing and forgettable at once.

Song 247: The Streets, "Never Went to Church." An odd anthemic song about loss, religion, and a stereotypically British stiff-upper-lip emotionally wrenching father/son relationship. What if R. Kelly were a Britkid chronicling his inability to deal with parental lost? Here ya' go.

Song 248: The Strokes, "You Only Live Once." How could I have gone eight months without a Strokes song? I seem to see one of Fabrizio's many floppy fro'd cousins every day. They're fine enough, but this music seems kind of limited. I feel like one Strokes song is all Strokes songs.

Song 249: Vaux, "Are You With Me?" This was a free download. It's worth that much. Pose-y rock that's too repetitive and seems to rehearse a billion other songs. I can see them being a big deal in their local market, but I think we've all heard this band before.

116 to go.