Not too log ago, I read an article and subsequent quiz that tried to define people’s personality types based upon their iPod library. It appeared to be an lazy attempt at pop psychoanalysis by a grad student who never made it past Psych 101, and as such it came as no surprise that people who listened to classical music are typed as conservative with superiority complexes, those who prefer country are simpletons, hip hop lovers are superficial, and people who listened to jazz are mediocre and narcissistic. Those with an eclectic mix were not even worth of a mention, but I would bet that the author might call us “schizophrenic”. There was no right answer according to the test, but anyone who has an iPod is in dire need of Lithium. The quiz was even worse than the “How catty are you?” quizzes in the back pages of Cosmo.
It did inspire me to create a Top Ten playlist on my iPod. Although it is labeled “Kelly’s Top Ten”, it really is a collection of 26 songs. That’s the best I could do. There is no way to whittle it down to ten. In no particular order, my can’t live without list is:
“I Can See Clearly Now” - Jimmy Cliff
“Seek Up” (Live at Red Rocks version) - Dave Matthews Band
“You Wreck Me” - Tom Petty
“Brazilica” - Beck
“For What It’s Worth” - Buffalo Springfield
“Southern Cross” - Crosby, Stills and Nash
“Hare Krshna” - Thievery Corporation
“Riders on the Storm” - Creed’s version (from “Stoned Immaculate”)
“Wander This World” - Jonny Lang
“Pussy Control” - Prince
“Synchronicity II” - The Police
“Lose Yourself” - Enimen
“Cosmic Game” - Thievery Corporation
“Long, Cool Woman in a Black Dress” - The Hollies
“Bad” - U2
“Everybody's Got Their Something” - Nikka Costa
“Imagine” - John Lennon
“Christians Murdered Indians” - Corporate Avenger
“Hotel California” (Live) - The Eagles
“Spirits (Having Flown)” - The Bee Gees
“Electrical Storm” - U2
“Don’t Stand So Close to Me” - The Police
“Dear Prudence” - from the “Across the Universe” soundtrack
“Uno y Uno Es Igual a las Tres” - Jeremias
“The Seed” featuring Cody Chesnutt - The Roots
“O Fortuna” - Karl Orff
Despite almost 25 years of marriage, my husband and former music major could not list any of my favorite songs. The best he could do was to say, “Well, something by Dave Matthews,” when I queried him. My staff did better, having picked “Everybody’s Got Their Something” and “The Seed” when asked to name my favorite songs, and they don’t even speak English! They also suggested a songs by Madonna, the Bee Gees and Santana that made my favorites list but not my top 26 list. Of course, they do play “Kelly’s Favorite” more often than the other 29 playlists I created for the store, and they could probably list at least 50 of the 200 plus songs on that list, English be damned.
What does that say about the state of my martial relationship? It’s not like my beloved hasn’t heard me play these songs a million times. I thought he would at least pick, “Love Will Keep Us Together” by The Captain and Tenille, which I play a lot and would rank in a Top Fifty list. How can it be that the man I love the most doesn’t know which songs I love the most? How could he not know that “Spirits (Having Flown)” is my ultimate comfort song, the one I play over and over when something really bad happens in my life? And why not “The Seed” since I crank up the volume and dance every time I hear it? I accept that he is denial that I like Eminem and he always turns the volume down when “Lose Yourself” comes over the stereo.
Could I name Rob’s most favorite songs? They would include “Skating Away” by Jethro Tull, “San Andreas Fault” by Natalie Merchant, “Lento” bu Julieta Venegas, “Graceland by Paul Simon, “Sultans on Swing” by Dire Straits, and a few titles by Mark Knopfler, as well as some Charlie Parker and Miles Davis tunes that I know by ear but not by name, and possibly “Private Conversation” or “Her First Mistake” by Lyle Lovett. I am not sure how he would rank them, but I could put together a good playlist of 200 of his all-time favorites.
I am thinking a lot about music and relationships having just finished Nick Hornby’s latest novel, “Juliet, Naked”, which is so far my favorite Nick Hornby book. While not knowing your wife’s favorite songs isn’t necessarily an indicator that your marriage is a sham, it’s one of the questions that an INS investigator might ask a perspective US green card or passport applicant to verify the marriage isn’t one of bureaucratic convenience. Thousands of couples in sham marriages are brushing up on these very questions and the best my significant other could do is list some of my favorite bands. I guess there is always something new to learn about the other, but it shouldn’t take 25 years to learn some of the answers!
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