[tyler sonnichsen]

I had a long, hot, sunsoaked weekend that didn't leave me a whole lot of time to write or even contemplate anything philosophical. I did enough of that last week. We did get some good filming done, which I'll hopefully edit into a preview of some sort in the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

I just got back in touch with a friend of mine who was priveleged to spend this past semester in Madrid, which continues to joust man-to-man-to-man with Boston and Washington as my favorite city on Earth. I realized it's been a long (albeit great) three years since I've been across the pond. I found an old red notebook I kept all sorts of notes with while over there, and I found a list I compiled of my favorite songs at the time. I think I was riding back to Madrid after an excursion to Extremadura (see photo below). I wound up rounding it down to 18 or so when I cleaned it up, which is fair, 15 is just not cutting it, and 20 is cliche (unless your name is Hampton, then it's cool).

I think I'm going to reserve this for once every three years, since that's a pretty ample amount of time to live your life, discover new music and the passions that go with it. I do reserve the right to shorten the frame out of self-interest or sheer boredom, though.



Anyway, here's the list, in rough order...

1. Erasure- “A Little Respect”
2. Gang of Four- “Anthrax”
3. The Misfits - "Horror Business"*
4. The Dismemberment Plan - "Ellen and Ben"*
5. Orange Juice - "Dying Day” (the You Can't Hide Your Love Forever version)*
6. The Ronettes- “Be My Baby”
7. Afghan Whigs- “Let Me Lie to You”*
8. The Ducky Boys - "Alone Tonight"*
9. The Zombies - "This Will Be Our Year"*
10. Chixdiggit- “Where’s Your Mom?”
11. The Streets- “Don’t Mug Yourself”
12. American Music Club - "At My Mercy"*
13. The Replacements - "Left of the Dial"*
14. Prince- “Kiss”
15. T.S.S. Eliot- “Mad Libs Love Song"
16. Paul Westerberg- “Let’s Not Belong” (as Grandpaboy)
17. Walk Mink - "Overgrown"*
18. Blur- “End of the Century”

All of the songs with an asterisk weren't on this list 3 years ago. I'd heard a couple of them and they'd made an impression, but they hadn't snuck their way into "holy crap I love that song" territory yet. Some of you probably know a bunch of these. Some of you probably don't know any of these, and that's cool. I highly suggest you try this for yourself and check out any themes you can find. My songs are a pretty diverse mix, but a lot of the best ones are those that make me nostalgic for stuff I've never experienced. I guess I've got convictions I'm taking to my grave. Also, don't go into the bathroom with me, and remember... you don't have to be rich to be my girl. Nor cool to rule my world.