the sloppy copy

Ben Folds writes songs the way that, in Alternate Universe Land, I’d write songs if I could.
A quick browse through the internets reveals that approximately half of Youtube “identifies” with some sort of angsty, misguided mess that they’ve projected on this song. I desperately beg to differ. To be sure: growing up does have its sucky points. But I don’t think Mr. F is writing about Oh-Dad-Oh-Mom-I-Hate-You-And-You-Fucked-Me-Up gibberish. He’s just singing about life. Which, incidentally, goes on.
Watch the video. It’s nice.

“Still Fighting It” / Ben Folds (2001)

Nope, no Elliott Smith today…
just kidding. Here he is before he went solo.
Also, the dude (always a dude) who posted this video to YouTube? Nice screen name, weirdo.

“You Gotta Move” / Heatmiser (1996)

Wow, what a dearth of actual posts lately. I strive to correct this. In the meantime, take a listen to this and – if you’ve got the time – check out the video. It’s silly and fun.

“Pretty Good at Drinking Beer” / Billy Currington (2010)

It was really, really hard to find a decent video of this song, so please ignore the screaming in the background of the video.

Also, this is my alternate universe – if – i – auditioned – for – american – idol song.

“All I Really Want to Do” / Cher (1965)

I admit, I took a little respite from my compulsive job-search recently. Checking the same websites fourteen times a day proved to be less-than-fruitful (go figure!), so I scaled it back a bit. As I flipped over the ol’ calendar into 2011, I restarted my searching with (somewhat) renewed intensity. Here’s a snippet of what I’ve found:

the cast of Nurses, an NBC spin-off of Empty Nest. And now your television history lesson is complete.

* I’ve had to wade through a lot of medical and faculty positions posted at my local universities, two of which have major teaching hospitals / medical programs. Some of these sound pretty intriguing, but as qualified as I think I am for the position of “surgery scheduler,” watching reruns of Nurses (anyone else remember that show? Anyone?) doesn’t seem like it fits with the “two years experience” criteria.

* There’s also an interesting number of student affiars/teaching positions open for some new institutions based in the Middle East. And when I say “interesting” I mean “duh.”

[Side note: nothing against these schools, I’m just saying it takes an extra-super-special person to want to relocate to these areas from the United States. In this case, I am not extra-super-special.]

* It wasn’t very long ago that I invested in resume paper and large manilla envelopes in anticipation of a post-graduation job hunt. I’ve not had to submit a single application/cover letter/ resume by mail in this ENTIRE, most recent, process. Everything is electronic. I have mixed feelings about this.
Also, I still have some of that paper.

* I genuinely feel as if I’ve learned some pretty valuable and applicable lessons in my current position – things that would serve me well in a 9-5 job. But I can’t seem to communicate this in cover letter form without sounding like a form-letter-writing idiot.

No, really, I love to write the way Keith Olbermann loves to hear himself talk. But when it comes to putting together a cover letter I am helpless and the words just sort of fall limply out of my brain and lay there on the page like a wet blanket. Blah! It all sounds like crap! Crap, I tell you!

That’s all I have to say about this. It was real nice talking with you.

Hey, do you remember that time I went out with some folks the first time I tried out grad school? And we went to that club in Broad Ripple and we drank, like a lot-lot? And this song came on? And I danced to it? Like, really danced? And I think people might have possibly been standing in a circle around me?

Yeah, I don’t really either.

“Dirt off your shoulder” / Jay-Z (2003)

I used to be really, really, really against using music that I liked in commercials and on television shows. I don’t know why, really. I once heard an Iron & Wine song I really liked in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy before I liked Grey’s Anatomy and it made me arbitrarily irate. Again, for reasons unknown.

But you know what? If commercials and programs didn’t do this, there’d be a whole lot of music I’d probably never hear, i.e. Mr. Sean Hayes (no, not that Sean Hayes, I was briefly confused too), as featured in an ad for Subaru. Take a listen to the whole thing:

“Powerful Stuff” / Sean Hayes (2010)

There is something echoy and sad – but pretty – about her version.

“Sea of Love” / Cat Power (1999)*

*This is, of course, her version of the song. The original Phil Phillips’ 1959 version is here – decidedly different, but beautiful in different ways.

I just rented The Kids are All Right, with Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. Heard of it? It’s about a lesbian couple (Bening and Moore), their two kids, and the sperm donor (Ruffalo) who made said kids possible.

It’s great, but in an emotionally-raw kind of way. There were definitely some wince-inducing moments, but as I cringed at the screen I couldn’t help but think “that’s how a real person would react.”

If you’re looking for something fluffily entertaining, with a predictable, satisfying and neat plot / ending – this ain’t it. But if you’re want to watch something and get that “wow… just… wow” feeling by the end, this might be a good pick.

4/5 stars

p.s. Annette Bening won a Golden Globe for her performance. Well-deserved, I think, but the category was “Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical.” Definitely would not classify this as a comedy (though there were some very laugh-out-loud moments)… maybe a dramedy, perhaps.

Important: Anyone who likes music and likes words and likes reading words about music should read Nick Hornby’s Songbook. I should hope that it would inspire you to think hard about songs you love and why you love them. And now back to regularly scheduled programming.

I first heard this song at a point in time I initially dubbed as “much too late,” meaning: Where was this song for the first 20-plus years of my life? I could have been listening to it and chewing it up and digesting it this entire time and I’m only now experiencing it? But these thoughts were fleeting, and pushed aside in favor of just taking the song in again. And again.

I like the Beatles. I’ve met few (if any?) folks who claim to “hate” them, and few folks who claim to “love” them and then give me concrete evidence to support this declaration. My brother falls into the latter category; his fascination and fondness comes from some sort of organic place where music and culture and history converge into some sort of divine emotive stew.

It was he who introduced me to this song, my favorite of their catalog.

Thanks, brother.

“Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” / the Beatles (1965)