Let’s just pretend it’s still April, shall we?
Day 20: You and your parent(s) like
“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Pt.1)” by The Flaming Lips
I’ve always been into the rock music that my dad and mom grew up with and enjoyed, like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and The Clash and The Ramones. When I was in high school though our interests in music continued to be shared, but this time it worked both ways–I was still into “classic rock”, but my parents for the most part took interest in the music my brother and I were getting into during that time, including The Flaming Lips concept album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. On various trips we would sing this featured song in the car all together. Now that I think about it, this is a really nice memory.
Day 21: Would be the theme to your dream vacation
“Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra
When I think of my “dream vacation”, I think of our honeymoon. It involved sleeping in, playing our days by ear, and driving on gloriously hilly and scenic Pennsylvania country roads from one bizarre destination to the next. The weather was generally beautiful the whole time (or maybe that’s how I’ve chosen to remember it!) and there was a lot of laughing and listening to the radio in the car. This is such a great driving song. It honestly makes me want to start perusing road trip itineraries on Pinterest, and wherever else these sorts of things can be found.
Day 22: Was popular when you were working one of your earliest jobs
“This is Not a Test” by She & Him
Right after college I moved to Pittsburgh, where I had been hired to work in a public access television station, and my alarm in the morning was set to the local independent music station, WYEP (http://wyep.org/). This song was played often on the station along with Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble”, Brett Dennen’s “Make You Crazy”, and Duffy’s “Mercy”. Time capsule!
Day 23: Is by an artist you’ve just learned about
“Good Magicians” by Sidney Gish
I’ve recently become a fan of the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour and I was listening to some back-episodes and stumbled upon their SXSW episode, which led me to Sidney Gish and some other delightful artists (like the Illuminati Hotties). Anyway, Sidney Gish’s No Dogs Allowed album is incredibly fun and wonderful, so check it out. NOW.
Day 24: Is featured in one of your favorite movies/shows
“Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips
There is an episode in season two of 30 Rock where Kenneth the Page, a good religious boy, gets addicted to caffeine and blames the evil influence of New York City, and as a result wants to move back to his hometown in Georgia. You know what, it’s better if we just watch some of it. This is the best clip I was able to find on the internet, so apologies to everyone.
Day 25: Is by an artist/band that you want to hang out with
“White and Nerdy” by “Weird Al” Yankovic
I am a Weird Al super fan. Know this about me, and everything else will basically fall into place.
Ideally I would want to chat with Al over donuts and coffee/tea. However, based on various interviews I’ve seen and even in my own experiences meeting him, he’s not terribly loquacious with rando’s like me, so maybe we can just go to Six Flags and ride some roller-coasters and eat cotton candy. You have NO IDEA how down for that I’d be.
Day 26: You like the cover better than the original
“Hurt” by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ song “Hurt” is so haunting and beautiful and sad. I try not to listen to it too often because it has a way of creeping into my heart and bumming me out. The pounding piano at the end gets to me too. Sigh.
Day 27: Reminds you of a crush you once had
“Alive” by P.O.D.
Hahah! Oh man. This song is pretty much a catch-all for all the crushes I had while I was in high school. I ran in primarily Christian youth-group centric circles, and the guys I was drawn to all seemed to love hard rock and were unabashedly into Christian groups like P.O.D. We were all about this song. “Alive” definitely served as the attractiveness litmus test I implemented when I was 14-15 years old.
Day 28: Makes you feel like a bad-ass
“The Man” by The Killers
I know this song is tongue-in-cheek, but I love singing it with confidence, especially because I don’t usually EVER feel like I’m “the man”. It’s actually helped me a good deal to sing this song with conviction before a socially-scary situation or while I’m working out. Makes me feel awesome, but also a little silly at the same time.
Day 29: You want to wake up to in the morning
“You’re the Best” by Joe Esposito
In a similar vein to the “bad-ass” question, this song pumps me up, but it’s also got that cheery, cheesy 80’s sound to it that I would never mind waking up to.
Day 30: Is an all-time favorite
“Blister in the Sun” by the Violent Femmes
I had SO many songs to choose from for this question, but I do think this one works best. I sing along with it super loudly when they play it on the radio. I get really into it any time a cover band plays it at a bar. I love the guitar. I love the vocals. It’s all so weird and I can’t get enough.
and finally…
Day 31: You recommended to a friend in the last month
“Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
I can’t believe that this is the song that’s driving this project to a close. The universe works in strange ways sometimes.
Like a lot of America, this song has both captured my heart and endlessly flooded my eardrums, and when I first heard it I played it over and over so many times. I found it to be both confusing and lovable. Then I asked pretty much everyone I knew if they had heard it, and if they hadn’t, then I made sure to send them a link to the audio. HOWEVER, looks like I now can send them a link to an amazing video instead. I refuse to apologize for liking this so much.
And the 30 Day Song Challenge experiment has come to a close! Thank you for joining me on this wacky journey. What questions did you like answering the most?
