Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance to the Radio

Strangely enough, during the six months that we've written this blog, we haven't really discussed our music taste. Sure, you've picked up some clues as to where our musical tastes lie with our weekly Hump Day Helpers, or our diatribes against wussy rock. Oh yeah, sure, there was that whole Rock The Bells recap too. Oh, and that whole tag of "My Attempts At Music Journalism". I guess we really do talk a lot about our musical taste. Yet somehow, we never really talked about one of our uniting musical interests. And that (kind of) plays into this quick story here.



I was sitting in the dentist's chair, experiencing the mild torture that is a gum check. Now, I've never been one to complain about a dental visit (after all, it's not like I'm a kindergartner any more), but I've found that listening to the soft music crap that they pipe in is an effective distraction from the eerie scraping they're doing to my toothbones. Considering it is a dentist's office, that means a lot of AC radio--AC being Adult Contemporary. What the hell is Adult Contemporary? Well, think of elevator music, but with the lyrics still in place. It's fuckin' old people music.

It was in this setting that I heard a song that totally blew my mind. In between The Police's "Message In A Bottle" and that stupid song that goes "Let's Give Them Something To Talk About!", I heard what had to be a massive fuckup on the DJ/Automaton's part in selecting the playlist--Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun". I can only imagine the look of horror upon the station employees' faces as the great guitar noise-freakout of a solo took place, as they contemplated how many bored soccermoms and doting old grandparents they just offended.



Now, considering that this was an AC station, I don't know whether or not I should be offended. On the one hand, one should be happy that they got some kickass music on their playlist for once...on the other, apparently Soundgarden is now considered "safe" and "appropriate for old folks". All I know is that if I were a bit older, like 30, I'd feel reeeeeeaaaally fucking old right now. And though all the members of the WDR crew dig the Seattle Sound and are fans of "Grunge Music", we weren't children of the movement. I think we'll only know for sure when ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead hits those playlists.

Hump Day Helper -- Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone Edition

Because it's Wednesday, and we all need a pick-me-up to make it through the rest of the week in our respective hells, WDR is providing some fun.

This week's video isn't necessarily a pick-me-up in the true sense of the word. It's a great song, yes, and it puts a smile on my face, but I'm not sure that if you're sitting at your cubicle watching/listening to this that you'll feel the necessary joie de vivre to continue making it through your day. Hopefully it'll make you feel wistful, or some other shit like that.

The reason for today's selection? It's because it comes from the most hilariously depressing (or depressingly hilarious) album title that I own, The Walkmen's Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone. Everyone I know is off at school or working by now, so I figured it fit very well. If you actually want a song that makes you happy, try Louisiana, or if you want to get amped up, take a listen to The Rat. Everyone else, be content to listen to the full version of a song that you heard on a Saturn commercial from long ago. See me age 19 with some dumb haircut from 1960...