Day: July 23, 2010

And the logical conclusion: Friday

The office was uncomfortably cold today, but luckily I only had to put up with it until one o’clock.

And therein lies the only benefit of summer hours, right there. It’s arguably a big benefit, and I am enjoying leaving early on Fridays, but the weeks themselves have felt kind of long. Only two weeks in (with a month-plus to go), and I’m already sort of missing my regular work hours.

I’m looking forward to a quiet, relaxing weekend.

Song of the day

Here’s another song that goes quickly from the silly to the serious, Ani DiFranco’s “Fuel.”

Maybe I should put a bucket over my head
And a marshmallow in each ear
And stumble around for another dumb numb week
For another humdrum hit song to appear

DiFranco’s a much more electrifying presence live than on her recorded albums — I saw her at Penn State in 1998, and I still think her live double album Living in Clip, released the year before, is some of the best work she’s ever done. I like her more recent music, and some of it quite a lot, but maybe not as much as the earlier songs. I only just bought her 2003 album Evolve, and she’s released four other albums since then. (To say nothing of bootlegs and compilation packages.)

It’s with this song, and the rest of ’98’s Little Plastic Castle, that I first discovered DiFranco’s music. There’s definitely a spoken-word feel to it, and I still listen to it all the time.

Random 10 7-23

The results were a lot better last week. But how will you fare with these lyrics?

  1. “Miracle Drug” by A.C. Newman
    We’ve followed you with interest for some time
  2. “The Black One” from Passing Strange
    He’ll give the bum’s rush to your ennui
  3. “Judy Is a Punk” by the Ramones
    Third verse, different from the first
  4. “Nothing to Prove” by Jill Sobule
    And when they tell me they’re in the industry, I ask, oh, are you in steel?
  5. “I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love With You” by Emiliana Torrini (orig. Tom Waits), guessed by Chris McLaren
    I wish I had the guts to bum one, but we’ve never met
  6. “Amazing” by Aerosmith
    Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins
  7. “Oh! The Divorces!” by Tracey Thorn
    He was a chamer, I wish him bad karma
  8. “1340 Chesapeake St.” by Devon Sproule
    The bruise on my knee is almost gone
  9. “Underneath Your Clothes” by Shakira
    Don’t get me wrong ’cause this might sound to you a bit odd
  10. “Homeward Bound” by Simon & Garfunkel, guessed by Clayton
    Everyday’s an endless stream of cigarettes and magazines

Good luck guessing!